Team Ineos has emerged as the leading candidate to sign free agent Rohan Dennis for next season, but the CCC team has not completely given up hope of rekindling its relationship with the Australian time trial world champion. Dennis rode for the team under the BMC Racing banner from 2014-2018.

Dennis' two-year contract with Bahrain-Merida was terminated on September 13 after he left the team following a disagreement with team management at the Tour de France in July. Dennis was not subsequently selected to race for Bahrain-Merida, but retained his time trial world title in national colors last month.

Several teams are working to acquire Dennis for next season, with Team Ineos being the most likely candidate. Movistar also told Cycling News that negotiations have not begun with Dennis or his agent, Andrew McQuaid, despite their interest back in June.

"There is a lot of interest from us and the teams, but it stops there," Movistar's Max Shandri told Cycling News.

Sciandri knew Dennis from his BMC Racing days, and the former British road rider spoke to Dennis in June about a possible move to Movistar. Earlier this month, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Movistar was looking to sign Dennis.

"We had a good talk with him at Suisse, but that was it. There was nothing more. There is a lot of interest. I know it is a Spanish team, but it could have been a team that would have developed him in different aspects in terms of the Grand Tour."[11

Several sources, including Sciandri, indicated that Denis would likely move to Team Ineos. However, Sciandri expressed some concern about whether there is room for Dennis to grow within the team. The Australian has publicly stated that he will focus on time trials for the 2020 Olympics and may shift to Grand Tour development the following year.

"If he goes to Ineos, he will be carrying another number with some great riders. I think he will go there. But whether he wants to focus on time trials or whether he wants to develop and look at different things, it depends on what he wants and what he needs. [Bernal, Thomas, Froome, and Carapas are there. Is he the next in line or is he going to lead the pack all day like Kwiatkowski? Is he trying to win the Giro or the Vuelta? I called him a couple of times and that was it."

Team Ineos would neither confirm nor deny signing Dennis, stating only: "We do not comment on contracts or transfer speculation."

The CCC team, which has publicly stated that it would like to sign Dennis, hopes that he will decide to run for them. According to Cycling News, the team has already offered Dennis terms, but they have been postponed.

Jim Ochowicz told Cycling News via text on Tuesday: "Nothing has changed since last week. We are very interested in having Rohan Dennis on the CCC team and are honored to do so."

Trekkie said.

Trek Segafredo was one of many teams approached by Dennis' agent over the summer, but he confirmed that no progress has been made on a possible move to the US team in 2020. Trek Segafredo has nearly completed its roster for next season and needs to find additional funding to make a deal possible.

Dennis' future may also be affected by the ongoing dispute with Bahrain Merida over the termination of his contract. When the team confirmed that Dennis had been terminated, it also announced that Dennis had filed a complaint with the UCI's arbitration committee over the matter.

The UCI confirmed Dennis' action on Wednesday, but no further progress was made. Dennis and his legal representatives have not filed anything with the UCI since then, and the governing body will not act until some complaint is made.

Asked to comment on Dennis' future, Director McQuaid replied: "The lawsuit is ongoing, and until its conclusion, I will refrain from commenting on Lohan's position."