BATHURST cyclist Mark Renshaw notched up his fourth top 10 placing of this year’s Tour de France yesterday as he was part of a thrilling finish to stage 15.

The day’s stage saw riders having to cover 222 kilometres on their way from Tallard to Nimes and for most of that journey, a two-man breakaway led the way to the line.

Martin Elmiger and Jack Bauer looked as if they would upset the sprinters as they were still clear of the peloton inside the final 500 metres, but in the shadows of the finish line the duo were caught.

Renshaw launched his sprint a fraction earlier than some of his rivals as he looked to earn his Omega Pharma-QuickStep team their third stage win of this year’s tour, but he too was swamped.

In the end it was Katusha’s Alexander Kristoff who got the nod, Renshaw finishing close behind in fifth after four hours, 56 minutes and 43 seconds of racing, on, at times, wet and slippery roads.

It was Renshaw’s ninth top-10 finish of the season overall for QuickStep and added to his previous third, fourth and seventh placings in the first week of the 2014 Tour de France.

“What a hectic final, the rain made it hard to know what was happening,” Renshaw tweeted.

“[The] Boys positioned me well but missed it in the final metres. Next time.”

After surviving two tough days in the Alps, the 15th stage was one in which Renshaw hoped to feature. There were no categorised climbs on the way to Nimes, which meant most pundits tipped a bunch finish.

Yet it almost did not eventuate after Elmiger and Bauer attacked from the get-go. At one stage their advantage over the peloton nudged nine minutes before the teams of the sprinters came to the front to spearhead the chase.

The duo were the first to arrive at the day’s intermediate sprint point at La Galine after 175.5 kilometres. However, Renshaw was the second man from the chasing peloton to pass under the banner to earn himself 14 points in the green jersey classification.

Those points, combined with the 22 he earned for his fifth placing, keep the Bathurst talent in fifth place overall in the points classification, but Peter Sagan is the man likely to finish with the green jersey on his shoulders. 

The only thing that would prevent the Cannodale rider from a podium in Paris would be if he was forced to withdraw from the tour, given he is 176 points clear of his nearest rival.

With 22km of stage 15 remaining, Renshaw’s team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski attacked off the front of the peloton. However, the young Polish rider never got more than 14 seconds clear.

While he was caught, QuickStep continued to ride aggressively with both Tony Martin and Jan Bakelants counter-attacking inside the final 5km.

Their effort helped spur on the chase, but with 500m the two breakaway riders still held a nine second advantage.

Renshaw and his team-mates had to drive hard to the line to make sure of the catch and while missing the outright stage win, they finished the day as the best performed outfit.

The QuickStep riders and the rest of the remaining field enjoyed a rest day after that chase but tonight (AEST) face the longest stage of the tour – a 237.5km leg from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon.