Mark Renshaw: "I know Cav well and in a situation like now, we could see him take one victory, or two"

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.