IT is a race which marked one of the milestones of his professional road cycling career and now, after a seven-year absence, Mark Renshaw is once again in the peloton for the Giro d'Italia.
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In was in the 2005 Giro - also known as the Tour of Italy - that Renshaw contested the first GrandTour event of his career.
Back then he marked the milestone moment by placing top 10 in the prologue - an individual time trial - representing French team FD Jeux.
He got to sprint alongside the likes of Erik Zabel and Paolo Bettini as he completed all 21 stages.
Now as a 36-year-old and with the experience of 16 GrandTours under his belt, Renshaw has different priorities.
In what is his fifth career appearance in the Giro he will be trying to set up his Dimension Data team-mates when it comes to sprint finishes on flat stages.
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He will also be sharing his experience and knowledge with his younger team-mates such as aspiring lead out man Scott Davies.
"Excited to be selected for the Giro D'Italia, I'll be giving it everything to help get Team Di Data boys some good results," he Tweeted.
As such the stage one eight kilometre individual time trial in Bologna on Saturday was not a priority for Renshaw, so he took things easy on the course he said featured "one solid climb up to the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca."
He was ranked 166th for the stage, clocking a time two minutes and 43 seconds slower than victor Primoz Roglic (12.54).
