CYCLING
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HE has played a leading hand in setting up more than 20 Tour de France stage wins, and while Bathurst cyclist Mark Renshaw has not yet been able to stand on the top tier of the podium himself, his efforts have led him to a very big honour.
On Friday night Renshaw was named in the Australian Tour de France team of the century alongside the likes of 2011 Tour champion Cadel Evans and three-time green jersey winner Robbie McEwen.
The team was selected to celebrating the 100th anniversary of Don Kirkham and Iddo ‘Snowy’ Munro becoming the first Australians to ride the Tour de France.
Renshaw was named as one of two lead out men in the nine-rider team, the other being Brad McGee.
“It is a little bit of a surprise, but honestly the role I’ve ridden as lead out man the last couple of years has been pretty specific and not a lot of Australians have done that role, so it left the door open for me,” he said.
“I’ve also been lucky to ride with some pretty talented guys that have made me look good.”
Renshaw might be modest about his efforts, but the man whom he has helped to a number of stage wins since they first joined forces in 2009 – Mark Cavendish – has made it clear the Bathurst product is a star.
“There’s no one in the world that can do his job; he’s the best in the world at what he does,” Cavendish said in a 2011 interview.
The man known as the Manx Missile has won 25 Tour de France stages and one green jersey.
While Renshaw has not been at Cavendish’s side for all of those successes, for the bulk of them the Isle of Man sprinter was dragged towards the line by the former Bathurst Sportsperson of the Year.
In the 2009 Tour de France the pair were particularly devastating on flat stages, Renshaw helping Cavendish to five stage wins.
“I’d say 2009 was the best – we were pretty dominant that year in all the stages and everything went well for us,” Renshaw said, picking that campaign as his highlight over 2011 when he helped Cavendish win the points classification.
In terms of his own Tour de France record, Renshaw has eight top 10 finishes, which includes two seconds and a third. This year he also placed fifth in the points classification.
Given that impressive record, it was not a huge surprise to see Renshaw be picked in the team of the century, one which oozes talent.
“The history of Australian cycling in the tour has been great, lately we’ve had some good results and over the last couple of years have won a lot of stages,” Renshaw said.
Phil Anderson, the first non-European to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, was also named in the team. He said it was an honour to be recognised by Cycling Australia.
“Fifty Australians have ridden the Tour and I have great respect for all those guys,” Anderson said.
“I couldn’t imagine what it was like for Snowy Munro and Don Kirkham [the first Australians to ride the Tour in 1914]. How did they even know about the tour?”
The captain of the Australian Tour de France team of the century, Sir Hubert Opperman, also has a link to Bathurst.
In 1938 – a time when the road between Bathurst and Lithgow was a weaving and winding cement track – Opperman made his way through the city. He rode from Dubbo to Sydney and recorded a time of six hours, 48 minutes for the last 132 miles between Bathurst and his final destination.