AS a three-times winner of the Tour de France’s green jersey, it is fair to say Robbie McEwen is a man who knows better than most how to succeed as a sprinter in the ultra competitive world of professional road cycling.
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So when McEwen says that Bathurst’s Mark Renshaw can make it as a lead sprinter, it is a stamp of approval that carries plenty of weight.
While McEwen’s reputation as a sprinter to be feared was established many years ago, next year is expected to be the first time Renshaw will act as lead sprinter for his team on a frequent basis.
The new role for Renshaw, who has previously acted as a lead out man for sprinters such as Thor Hushovd, Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish, comes as he switches teams.
American outfit HTC-Highroad, whom Renshaw rode with for the past three years, could not secure sponsorship for 2012 so the Bathurst talent signed up with Dutch team Rabobank.
McEwen said the move was a good one.
“He’s one of the great lead out men, he’s stamped himself, with the work he’s done for Cav [Cavendish], as one of the best lead out men in a highly competitive and super strong team,” McEwen said.
“Now he’s looking at riding for himself and I think that’s a good thing, he’s got the ambition, he’s not staying where he is, otherwise you can get stale.”
Though Renshaw himself only won three stages in the past two years – at the Tour of Qatar, Tour of Denmark and Tour of Britain – it is the work he has done for Cavendish that has McEwen confident he can succeed as a sprinter.
Renshaw has played a role in a bulk of Cavendish’s 15 Tour de France stage wins to date and his efforts at the intermediate sprint points in this year’s edition of the world’s most famed cycling race helped the Isle of Man rider to claim the green jersey.
“A lot of the time when he has led out Cav he’s still done enough to finish second,” McEwen pointed out.
“I think if Cav had chosen to sit up a bit, he [Renshaw] actually could have won a few stages, so he has obviously got the physiology that he needs to be at the front of the bunch and contest the sprints.
“He’s also shown on occasions that he has got the aggression, he just has to control that aggression to make sure he is not disqualified or kicked off tours.”
One of the big changes McEwen believes Renshaw will have to deal with when he rides for Rabobank is how to deal with the peloton when the finish line looms.
As a lead out man his job was to protect Cavendish and try to promote his chances, but when the becomes a lead sprinter the Bathurst rider will become more of a marked man.
Still, McEwen thinks he can handle it.
“It is different being the lead out man to the number one sprinter. When he was the lead out man he could work his way through the pack with Cav on his wheel, but when you are the number one sprinter the pack won’t let you do that, they aren’t just going to let you through,” he said.
“He’s going to be going for himself and nobody is going to give him any gifts.
“It is going to be a big adjustment for him, but I think that he is good enough.”
When a man who has won 12 stages of the Tour de France, 12 stages of the Giro d’Italia, 14 stages of the Tour Down Under and countless other sprints to the line thinks you are good enough, well, let’s just say watch out for Renshaw in 2012.
