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DAILY RACE COVERAGE: RENSHAW RELEGATED, THEN REMOVED
Road Bike Action and AFP
July 15, 2010
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Mark Renshaw is Mark Cavendish's best lead out man, but has been disqualified from the race for headbutting.
(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Australian Mark Renshaw was disqualified from the 2010 Tour de France race for headbutting, a tactic typically reserved for sports such as WWF wrestling. Renshaw, the lead-out man for HTC-Columbia teammate Mark Cavendish and quite possibly the best lead out in the business, played a crucial role in Cavendish's six stage wins in the 2009 Tour de France.
But in the final 500 meters of the 184.5km stage 11 from Sisteron, the normally affable Australian lost his head when he tried to headbutt Garmin-Transitions' Kiwi lead-out man Julian Dean three times. Cavendish eventually raced on towards his third stage win of the race, and 13th of his career, as Renshaw then produced another blatant blunder by trying to block Dean's sprinter, Tyler Farrar, as the American tried to come up the inside of the barriers.
Top race official Jean-Francois Pescheux said they only needed to look at the television pictures once to make their decision. "Renshaw was declassified immediately but we have decided to also throw him off the race," said Pescheux. "We've only seen the pictures once, but his actions are plain for all to see. They were blatant. This is a bike race, not a gladiator's arena."
Television pictures show Dean getting very close to Renshaw as he tried to bring Farrar into position, although elbows and shoulders are certainly not unknown to clash in the hotly-contested bunch sprints.
For Dean, a former team-mate of Renshaw's at Credit Agricole, Renshaw's actions were simply uncalled for. However, the Kiwi suggested it was Renshaw's second error, closing the door on Farrar, that was most dangerous.
"All the other (HTC-Columbia) guys were fine, it was just Renshaw's behavior that was inappropriate," said Dean. "I jumped my front wheel in Cav's wheel. I went past Renshaw and tried to keep the speed high and while I was coming out of Renshaw, he didn't seem to like it too much.
"I didn't make any movement at all. Next thing I felt like he was leaning on me and hitting me with his head."
He added: "And then he carried on afterwards and came across on Tyler's line and stopped Tyler from possibly winning the stage. He shouldn't have done that. It's not appropriate.
"It's dangerous behavior and if there had been a crash there it would have caused some guys some serious damage.
"What we do is very dangerous and we don't need behavior like that to make it even more dangerous."
Speaking before being informed of the decision, Renshaw claimed he had been in danger of being put into the barriers by Dean; a claim that television pictures did not appear to corroborate. "The guy (Dean) came across from me... either he keeps turning left, puts me in the barrier and I crash, or I try to lean against him," he said. "I didn't have another option. It's all about sprinting straight."
Although saddened by the decision, Cavendish laid some of the blame on Dean, claiming the Kiwi "hooked his elbow over Mark's right elbow". "Mark used his head to try and get away. There's a risk when the elbows are that close (that) the handlebars are going to tangle," said Cavendish.
"That puts everyone behind in danger. Mark (Renshaw) gave us a bit of space that kept us upright. I'm very happy to win. The team did a great job."
Renshaw later posted in his Twitter account: "I think today's punishment was very harsh. I never
imagined that i would ever be dq'd from the tdf. Very disappointed."
In a statement issued Friday, Renshaw continues to defend his actions and his innocence:
"I'm extremely disappointed and also surprised at this decision. I never imagined I would be removed from any race especially the Tour de France. I pride myself on being a very fair, safe and a straight up sprinter and never in my career have I received a fine or even a warning."
"Julian came hard in on my position with his elbows. I needed to use my head to retain balance or there would have been a crash. If had used my elbows when Julian brought his elbow on top of mine we would also have crashed. The object was to hold my line and stay upright.
"I hadn't started the sprint yet. We were still at 375m to go. After that Cavendish had to start his sprint early and I was also ready to finish off the sprint as I still had a lot left in my legs. It would have been good to try to take some more points. I only saw open space on my left. I had no idea Tyler Farrar was there. By no means would I ever put any of my fellow riders in danger."
 We're friends to the end, and the finish line is the end. Schleck and Contador enjoy a chat during the sleepy stage 11 of the 2010 tour de France- before Schleck's SaxoBank team tried to pull one over on the Astana rider from Spain. (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Fair Winds did not sway Contador
Alberto Contador admitted experiencing a tense end to the 11th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday as he fought off an attempt to drop him by yellow jersey rival Andy Schleck.
Contador started the 184.5km 11th stage from Sisteron with a 41sec deficit on Schleck with no apparent reason to worry.
But with 19km remaining Schleck's Saxo Bank team pulled to the front of the peloton in ominous fashion. Jens Voigt led the team in an area with little protection from the strong crosswinds and they soon had the peloton strung out.
Gaps began to appear, and while three of Contador's climbing specialist team-mates were left behind in a smaller group, Spain's reigning yellow jersey champion looked to be briefly in trouble until teammate Alexandre Vinokourov pulled Contador to the front where he took the wheel of the yellow jersey of Schleck.
"It seemed pretty calm, but it turned out there was a lot of wind - but we got through it okay," said Contador, who rides for Astana. "But the tension was there."
Although the Schleck v Contador duel is likely to move up a gear once the race hits the Pyrenees for four stages beginning on Sunday, Saxo Bank's bid to drop Contador was not a total surprise. A similar move by the HTC-Columbia team on last year's race caused mayhem. Their turn of pace amid strong crosswinds on stage three to La Grande Motte split the race in two, leaving a 28-man group, which included Lance Armstrong but not his then team-mate Contador, to go it alone.
Among the main contenders to lose time that day were Schleck, Contador, Cadel Evans and Denis Menchov. That stage also confirmed that Armstrong, who started the 2009 race pledging to help Contador, had personal ambitions of his own.
Contador meanwhile has played down his chances of taking time off Schleck at the end of Friday's 210.5km stage to Mende, which ends with a steep 3km ascension of the 'Jalabert' climb.
He took time off Schleck there at the Paris-Nice stage race in March, but said: "It will be a totally different climb, first of all because we've already raced a lot of hard days on the Tour. "First we have to see how we are and then what we can do."
 Alessandro Petacchi takes green home tonight. Expect to see Thor Hushovd fight to the end to get it back in the 2010 Tour de France. (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Green Battle Heats Up
As the 2010 Tour de France makes its way through Provence and into the Pyrenees, the battle for the green sprinter's jersey brings the heat.
In Thursday's 184.5 km stage 11 from Sisteron to Bourg-les-Valence, Italian Alessandro Petacchi crossed the line in 2nd behind Cavendish, 5 spots ahead Cervelo TestTeam sprinter Thor Hushovd. The Italian veteran earned 30 points to steal away the jersey from the Norwegian by only 4 points.
Two-time green jersey winner Hushovd took only 19 points for his seventh-place finish, ending the hopes of team director Jean-Paul van Poppel for the day.
"We calculated that we could lose points today. We did the best we could. We tried to keep it, but it was not possible," said the Dutchman.
Hushovd later admitted he has lacked power for the bunch sprints since breaking his collarbone in May. "I know I am not as fast as last year in the sprint. My injury slowed down my preparations for the Tour," said the Norwegian. "But I feel like I am getting stronger day by day."
Petacchi came into the race primarily looking to boost his unremarkable season thus far with stage wins, and has already succeeded after winning the first and fourth stages.
However, the Italian now believes he can actually challenge Hushovd all the way to Paris for a prize whose points can be won at the finish line of the flatter stages as well as at intermediate sprints on all stages.
After admitting he could not overtake Cavendish in the final 80 meters, "because by then I was starting to reach a plateau", Petacchi has now turned his attention to a more unlikely achievement.
"I'd love to arrive in Paris with the green jersey. It's now a huge motivation for me on this race. And, I'm in good condition," said Petacchi.
Yet the Italian faces a battle.
Hushovd's determination to beat Cavendish to the prize last year left him going off on audacious solo raids into the mountains in a bid to gobble up the intermediate sprint points.
And the Norwegian suggested that more of the same could be on the menu. "I will keep fighting. Let's see how we get over the mountains," he said.
Van Poppel, meanwhile, believes the duel could even be decided on the final finish line on the Champs Elysees in Paris. "The fight for the green jersey will be very hard. We expect it to come down to the final sprint on Paris.
"Thor has the advantage that he can climb and I believe he is becoming stronger. It won't be easy." |
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