19/12/2023

Mark Cavendish's 2024 leadout "miles ahead", DS Mark Renshaw is confident of

Mark Cavendish took a victory in the Giro d'Italia this year, Astana Qazaqstan Team's biggest moment of the season. At the time he was helped by Geraint Thomas and surfed wheels, but new Team DS Mark Renshaw is confident that the Kazakh team's leadout in 2024 is 'miles ahead'.

"It's miles ahead. Having Morkov with his experience, having Ballerini, Cees Bol, Alexey Lutsenko - he made a good difference at the end of the Tour last year for Cees Bol - Yevgeniy Fedorov... We have some really strong riders who are morphing into more experienced riders," Mark Renshaw said in words to GCN. "Having Morkov there lifts everybody, because when you’re a good sprinter and you have a good lead-out, it really puts the pressure to deliver, because nine times out of 10, Morkov is going to put him in the perfect position. There’s no excuse, you’ve been delivered a straight view of the line and there’s no one impeding you, so you have to step up. Riders will lift with that."

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Cavendish has been reunited with Michael Morkov and Davide Ballerini who were the main cogs in his leadout during his successful 2021 season, former leadout man Mark Renshaw who is now a DS with the team, and Vasilis Anastopoulos who was his coach at Soudal - Quick-Step. It was a big investment with the full focus on the Manxman who seeks a record breaking 35th win at the Tour de France. This has convinced the veteran to postpone his retirement, to give it another shot at history. Renshaw was actually signed by the team last year as an analyst for the team, but ultimately takes on a full-time role now.

"Obviously, Cavendish really wanted me to help, especially at this year’s Tour because he was new to the team. He’d only been here a few months and he needed somebody from which he could trust the decisions. I think I really brought some big steps forward to the team as far as analyzing and preparing for sprints." Now, Renshaw has moved back to Europe full-time, leaving Australia once again after he himself retired from pro cycling.

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However Renshaw's job is not only to work with the Manxman. The team has signed Max Kanter as another option for the sprints, the team is hoping that he and Gleb Syritsa are able to take a step in their performance and bring more victories to the team throughout the season.

"Ten to 15 victories is achievable, and I'd like to say multiple wins at the Tour de France and other WorldTour one-day races. I think if our top-10 riders combined with the other top-10 riders from the other teams, they’re as good. We don't have the depth of some teams, but our top-10 riders go head to head with some of the other teams, no problem," the Australian concluded.