CYCLING
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“IT’S now full speed ahead for the Tour.”
Those were words of Bathurst professional cyclist Mark Renshaw when it was officially revealed by Omega Pharma-QuickStep officials on Monday evening that he will be riding for them in next month’s Tour de France. But if he thinks it is full speed now, wait until he tackles the biggest cycling race in the world.
This year’s 101st edition of the Tour de France will see riders cover 3,664 kilometres in 21 stages, but it will nine of those that are the focus for Renshaw.
Those nine flat stages are where Renshaw and team-mate Mark Cavendish will resume one of the most lethal lead out man/main sprinter combinations in the recent history of the Tour de France.
It was back in 2008 Cavendish claimed the first of his 25 Tour de France stage wins while that same year, a former track star from Bathurst called Mark Renshaw made his debut in the event for Credit Agricole.
Renshaw did not make it to Paris that year as illness forced him to withdraw, but before his retirement the lead out efforts he provided for Thor Hushovd were something Cavendish took note of.
The Isle of Man sprinter wanted Renshaw to help him and in 2009 he got his wish as the pair lined up as Tour de France team-mates for HTC-Columbia.
It was the beginning of a powerful combination.
That year Renshaw helped Cavendish to six stage wins and second place in the battle for the sprinters’ green jersey. The ‘Manx Missile’ added another five victories to his tally in 2010, but better was to come 12 months later.
With Renshaw aiding his cause, Cavendish picked up another five stage wins and finally claimed the green jersey. It saw the talented sprinter label his team-mate “the world’s best lead out man”.
But lack of sponsorship dollars saw HTC fold at the end of 2011 and the powerful Cavendish-Renshaw combination split.
Renshaw rode for Rabobank in the 2012 Tour de France, but a series of crashes prevented him from showcasing his sprinting talents and he was forced to withdraw. Last year injury kept him out altogether.
In turn Cavendish struggled without his great ally, his remarkable strike rate dropping with just six wins in two years.
As a man who loves winning so much, he wanted Renshaw back, especially with the 2014 Tour de France opening with three British stages.
Cavendish got his wish with Renshaw joining him at QuickStep.
“Of course, after a couple of years apart, riding on the same team as my good friend Mark Cavendish again is something I am going to enjoy,” Renshaw said when signing up with the team.
“It will be great returning to lead out duty’s fighting for victories with Cav. Hopefully we will celebrate many wins with him and the rest of the team.
“This season the team wanted to invest more in the lead out, it was Cav’s idea to bring me back in, it’s tried and tested and he wants someone he trusts and can rely on.
“Obviously it’s worked really well in the past, so I was his number one choice.”
So far this year Renshaw has helped Cavendish to 10 victories, the most recent of which came in the Tour de Suisse.
That nine-stage event was the final lead up to the Tour de France and saw QuickStep hold the yellow jersey via eventual fourth-placed Tony Martin.
“We had a great Tour de Suisse, four victories in nine days and defending the yellow jersey for eight of them,” Renshaw tweeted.
“Hard week of racing but good to have under the belt for the Tour de France. I came into the race recovering from a sinus infection and came out healthy. It’s now full speed ahead for the Tour.”
Renshaw and the seven other QuickStep riders who will contest the Tour de France will have some recovery rides in Italy before taking on the opening stage from Leeds to Harrogate on July 5.