Mark Renshaw, The Tour commissars decided enough was enough. Mark Renshaw has been disqualified from the Tour de France, becoming the first rider to leave the race in eight years (excepting doping-related exclusions.) In the final kilometer, Julian Dean tried to bring his sprinter Tyler Farrar up to the front, and moved into Renshaw’s space. Renshaw reacted by head-butting Dean three times in an effort to push Dean off his line. You just don’t see that every day. Then, as Cavendish bounded up the road to stage victory, Renshaw drifted back, and slammed the door on Tyler Farrar. The hook was gradual, much less so than Bettini’s move against Baden Cooke in the Giro a few years back, but it served to impede Farrar and prevent him from sprinting.
Mark Renshaw serves as lead-out to ace sprinter Mark Cavendish and Renshaw has a few tricks up his sleeve. He is best known for his ability to thread through the traffic in the final kilometer and deliver Cavendish to the final 200 meters. Today, Renshaw crossed the invisible line between aggressive riding in the final kilometer and dangerous riding. At least, that’s how the commissairs saw it. Me, I expected Renshaw to get the big R for relegation, but to see him removed from the Tour came as quite a surprise.
Reportedly, Renshaw will appeal his disqualification. No word yet on the outcome of his appeal.
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