Omega Pharma-Quickstep, like the famous HTC team before them, have made it their duty to lead out from the front – with the likes of Tony Martin and Niki Terpstra performing huge shifts in the wind in the closing kilometres.

Rivals Giant-Shimano operate a similar system, with each rider having a clearly defined role at the Tour de France, like the ‘breakaway killer’ Cheng Ji and the ‘pace injector’ John Degenkolb.

And Renshaw insists the key for a team to dictate a sprint is to get to the front as soon as the chance presents itself.

“The biggest things to look out for in the sprint are the riders coming from behind the wave,” he explains, “which ultimately means you get boxed in and can’t contest the sprints.

“This is the thing that is most important, so when the first wave comes you have to make sure you are always on the front foot, trying to move out of the bunch and move up.

“It’s much easier to take the sprint from head on.”