Rabobank man loses out in tactical affair in Tournai
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Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) before the start.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Mark Renshaw (Rabobank)(Image credit: Daniel Simms)
Mark Renshaw (Rabobank)(Image credit: Mark Robinson)
Mark Renshaw (Rabobank) was left empty handed on stage two of the 2012 Tour France from Visé to Tournai, finishing ninth after he was boxed in during the sprint finish.
The Rabobank sprinter came into the stage as an outside bet for the win and heading into the final 10 kilometres he was in contention to take his first Tour de France stage but inside the final kilometre, with a bunch sprinters jostling for position, Renshaw became isolated and was unable to pull himself back into contention.
"I didn't even get a chance to sprint," he told Cyclingnews after crossing the line.
"I couldn't get out and I was boxed in on the barrier and didn't get to even sprint. It's disappointing."
Like all but a couple of his rivals Renshaw lacks a complete leadout train in this year's Tour and in the Australian's case he was left with Maarten Tjallingii for help in the closing stages.
"My legs got better throughout the stage but it's disappointing not to have a better sprint. I had Maarten Tjallingii leading me out and he did a great job actually. Now that I know how strong he is I can maybe save him for a bit longer."
"Without a HTC style leadout the speed isn't so high and there was a lot of jostling and it just means it's harder to judge the sprint."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
