The Australian was charged with causing death by dangerous driving after his wife was killed outside their home in Adelaide. He was also charged with careless driving and endangering life. 

The incident happened on an avenue near their home in the northern suburb of Medindie. According to The Sun, Dennis was behind the wheel when his car allegedly collided with his wife. The couple married in 2018 and have two children together. 

Melissa Hoskins, a multiple Olympian who narrowly missed out on a medal at London 2012, was taken to hospital with serious injuries and later died. They were married in 2017 and had two children. 

Detectives attended the scene to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. In a statement, South Australian Police said: “A woman has died and a man has been arrested following a collision in Medindie last night. 

"Just after 8pm on Saturday 30 December, police and emergency services were called to Avenel Gardens Road following reports that a woman had been struck by a car. A 32-year-old Medindie woman suffered serious injuries and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for treatment. She passed away in hospital overnight. 

Dennis, a gold medallist at last year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, retired this year after one final season with Jumbo-Visma. He later he paid tribute to his wife in an Instagram post. "Thank you Melissa Dennis for supporting me throughout my entire professional career, all while raising two of the best kids I could ever ask for," he posted. 

The Australian won stages in the Tour de France (he was the 2015 mountains classification champion), the Italian Giro and the Spanish Vuelta. He also held the prestigious one-hour record for almost three months in 2015, clocking 52,491km on 8 February 2015 (Britain's Alex Dowsett covered 52.937km on 2 May 2015). He also won back-to-back gold medals in the men's time trial at the 2018 and 2019 UCI World Championships. 

"We are shocked. We send our thoughts to those who love her, starting with her children, and who were lucky enough to ride with her during an all too short life," said CPA Women, the global association of women cyclists, in a public statement. 

"Major Crash officers attended the scene along with detectives from Eastern District CIB to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident. The driver is known to the woman. 

"Following an investigation, a 33-year-old Medindie man was arrested and charged with causing death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and endangering life," it concluded.