Mark Renshaw’s devastating partnership with Mark Cavendish has ended after the Australian leadout specialist signed for Rabobank.
- Mark Renshaw has been a familiar sight at the thick-end of bunch sprints
The 28-year-old has signed a two-year partnership with the Dutch team and, with Cavendish heavily linked with a move to Team Sky, will now look to go head-to-head with the Brit as well as work alongside new team-mate Theo Bos.
Despite being one of the fastest men in the peloton, Renshaw has scored relatively few individual victories, instead sacrificing his efforts in launching the Manx Missile, who has 20 Tour de France stage victories to his name and this year won the green jersey.
“For many years I’ve helped others to win race, now I’m going to try to win some of the biggest competitions myself,” he said. “The Rabobank cycling team is one of the most professional teams with a solid structure, which means that I can pursue my goals.
“I’m looking forward to sharing my experience, helping Theo Bos and the Rabobank cycling team to take victories.”
The rampaging HTC-Highroad sprint train has become one of the most recognisable sights in pro cycling and, with the team to fold at the end of the season, Chris Boardman said Cavendish would be “crazy” not to take Renshaw with him to his next team.
Another of Cavendish’s key team-mates, Bernhard Eisel, is expected to follow the sprint sensation but Rabobank’s technical director Erik Breukink revealed Renshaw will now split his efforts between extending his own palmarès and using his experience to help five-time track gold medallist Bos convert his speed to the road.
“Renshaw has excellent qualities, extensive experience in the sprinting field, he can work for others as well as winning himself,” said Breukink. “The fact that the initiative came from Renshaw says a lot about the esteem in which riders hold our team.”
Meanwhile, Tour de France and Giro d’Italia stage winner Pieter Weening has left Rabobank for the new Australian GreenEDGE team, who Renshaw was previously linked to, while world champion Thor Hushovd, who won two stages in this year’s Tour, will ride for Cadel Evans’ BMC team in 2012.
Hushovd wore the yellow jersey for seven days in July but revealed his main target is in spring not summer.
“It’s a serious team where it looks like everything is well-organised,” he said. “There’s a plan put together for the riders for all the big and important races. Everyone knows what to do. That’s a good thing.
“My biggest goal is still to win Paris-Roubaix. The BMC Racing Team has good riders to support me or for me to help someone else on the team win.”
