Mark Renshaw: "I know Cav well and in a situation like now, we could see him take one victory, or two"
Cycling
One victory is what separates Mark Cavendish from being the record holder of stage wins at the Tour de France, a record that could - as was the case with Eddy Merckx - stand for decades. These coming 21 days will be of extreme importance for the Manxman who has the chance to make history, and Mark Renshaw was signed by Astana to help it happen.
“I’m confident he’s definitely going to be in the pointy end and challenging the other best sprinters. Honestly, I know Cav well and in a situation like now, we could see him take one victory, or two, I think," Renshaw told CyclingWeekly. The Australian was for many years the main leadout-man for Cavendish, but has already hung up the wheels quite a few years ago. Astana Qazaqstan Team brought him onto the team just weeks before the Grand Boucle so as to advise and help the team with it's leadouts.
“I first pitched it to Cav late last year. Dmitriy Fofonov (Astana DS, ed.) was an old team-mate of mine, so I reached out to Dmitriy earlier this year," the Australian explains. "It was all finalized quite late, but throughout the year I spoke to Cav, and any help I can give him in his final year, I’d be proud to help.”
"Anything is possible like that. I think he’s going to come in in the best shape possible. I know he’s had a good preparation.” Although the Kazakh team has not brought all it's weapons to the fight, the veteran should have the support of Cees Bol and under-23 World Champion Yevgeniy Fedorov in the sprints.
Although his chances of succeeding hadn't looked too good throughout the year, Cavendish's form has soared in the closing stages of the Giro d'Italia, and he eventually succeeded in the final day of the race, taking a dominant and spectacular victory in Rome. This would have come as a big boost of motivation towards the Tour de France, and who knows, a possible dream scenario on the Champs-Elysées.
“When you see the finish line in sight in your career, there’s an extra motivation to give 110%. The one big thing is you can’t write him off. When you think he’s done, he pulls a rabbit out of a hat. Honestly, he doesn’t have the team, and youth’s not on his side - everything’s not on his side - but what he does have is he’s got a hell of a lot of determination and a hell of a lot of experience.," he concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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🇫🇷 ROSTER: @LeTour 🇰🇿 @AlexeyLutsenko3 🇰🇿 Yevgeniy Fedorov 🇬🇧 @MarkCavendish 🇳🇱 @ceesbol1995 🇪🇸 @iamdlax 🇪🇸 @LLEONSANCHEZ 🇮🇹 Gianni Moscon 🇨🇴 @haroldtejada1 #TDF2023 #AstanaQazaqstanTeam
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