[Rohan Dennis pointed to his own head before he went flying through the air with such force that he lost control of his bike. Describing the World Championship time trial as a "mental game," he referred not only to the hour he spent in the saddle, but also to the two months that preceded it.

"I withdrew from the Tour de France," Dennis said at his victory press conference in Harrogate.

While it is impossible to know why he abruptly dismounted from his bike at the edge of a cliff in the Pyrenees, he opened up about the "negative thoughts" that swirled in the aftermath and the process that led to what he described as the biggest victory of his career.

"There was a lot of backlash. I took a lot of it in and it wasn't healthy for me. 'I was running and I took things negatively and it was affecting my training. I didn't think I was good enough."

With the help of sports psychologist David Spindler, Dennis decided he needed to block out his negative feelings and deleted his Twitter account.

"I did a lot of mental work off the bike to get ready to just line up here, let alone win," Dennis said.

"The celebration reminded me that it wasn't just my body. My body was always good. It was also a thank you to David Spindler for what he did for me. Honestly, it's hard to explain, but in a very basic way, he gave me a lot of support to believe in myself, to be more confident, to not be negative in my head, to be more positive about the good things that are happening in my life."

"Physically, it's been that way all year. Mentally, it was about getting back into the flow of not worrying so much about anything other than what I was doing. It was about getting rid of the negativity and really thinking about the people who are there for me no matter what."

Those people include his wife and young son, whom he first celebrated with in Harrogate. They were also the last people he saw before leaving the Australian team's hotel for the start in Northallerton. Along the way, he posted a photo of himself with his son on Instagram with the caption, "Really important stuff."

"That put everything into perspective. When I saw that picture, I thought, 'It's just a bike race,'" Dennis said.

"Whatever happens, I'm fine. My son and my wife are not going anywhere. They will support me no matter what the result is. Of course I'm happy to win, but when I'm 65, it won't be one of the top 10 things I'm proud of in my life. What's important is my family."

A visit from his family has set his mind on the path to winning a world title, but his belief that it is possible goes back a little further.

"It was September 15, to be exact," Dennis revealed, referring to a training session that went particularly well.

"We mimicked last year's preparation session, and we surpassed it, hands down. I was able to get my confidence back then. Since then, I believed I would be on the podium here, and I saw no reason why I couldn't win."

"I was very happy with my performance," Dennis said, referring to a training session that went particularly well.

By the time he stood on the podium in Harrogate with a smile on his face, Dennis had exorcised his demons.

Tensions with the Bahrain-Merida team were broadcast worldwide throughout the time trial.

BMC posted a picture of Dennis on his bike on their Instagram account, but Bahrain Merida made no public mention of the fact that one of their riders had won the world title as of this writing. The silence is deafening," they say.

Asked about his choice of equipment at the press conference, Dennis was cautious. I'm not sure what I'm going to do," he said, referring to the small pre-race media gathering on Monday. The bike was supplied by Cycling Australia and they decided it was the fastest bike for me and my shape. I can't speak for Bahrain-Merida and I don't know how they feel about it.

Asked if he was riding to prove a point, he replied: "To anyone but myself. Revenge." "No, this is for myself. This is a world championship for nobody else, just me and the small team that supports me. There is no revenge. This is all a blessing. There is no malice in me winning this time trial. It's about my family and the happiness of the riders behind me."

Dennis will again don Australian colors on Sunday in the elite men's road race supporting Michael Matthews, but is not set to race for Bahrain-Merida again in 2019.

"I guess I'll have to ask people about that. Right now the only race left for me is Sunday. At that point I will fold up the bike for the off-season, re-set it up for 2020, and work towards my goal of the Tokyo Olympics," Dennis said.

As for whether we will see him in the Bahrain jersey in 2020, the second and final year of his contract, he simply said: "Nothing is confirmed at this point."

For now, Dennis has closed himself off for a few weeks, but is pleased to have expressed his willingness to do so.

"I'm, well, basically, confident I'm here to stay," the 29-year-old said. Not just for the next 12 months, but for the future."

"I'll be here longer. I'm not going anywhere."

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