Astana Qazaqstan have reset after losing Mark Cavendish to a stage 8 crash at the Tour de France, with his lead-out man stepping up in the absence of the British veteran.
Former sprinter Mark Renshaw is staying with the team as a consultant until the finish of the race in Paris and says that Cees Bol will be one of the best-prepared sprinters in the bunch with his assistance.
“We’ve analysed all four sprints that we’ve had, I’ve given him all the overhead footage,” Renshaw said before the start of stage 11 on Wednesday. “He’s got all the videos of the final along with the whole team, so really just looking at who he needs to ride off the back of because we don’t have a huge team to pull for him.”
Renshaw this month returned to the Tour for the first time since his retirement from racing in 2019, initially with the goal of aiding Cavendish’s attempt at a record-breaking 35th stage victory.
The Australian played a huge role in Cavendish’s storied Tour success as a lead-out specialist. The pair were so successful that they in 2009 finished one-two on the Champs-Elysées.
“We obviously really miss him because he was integral,” Renshaw said. “It’s the reason a lot of the guys were here; [Gianni] Moscon was brought after his effort in the Giro and how well he connects with Cav, and Cees Bol was brought to the team for Cav as well.
“So, it’s a big opportunity for Cees now to have a chance at doing a nice podium or a victory, and I’m treating every day the same as I would if Cav was here or not.”
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) was billed as the sprinter to beat in the lead-up to the Tour and has proved why, claiming his fourth win on stage 11 in Moulins. Bol placed 12th.
“It was quite a relaxed day, relatively. But with the rain in the final it made it a bit stressful,” Bol said post-race. “We had quite a good position for a long time behind Soudal-QuickStep and Jumbo-Visma.
“he last 3km or so were super hectic and got a bit too far back I guess, and the final line was just, it’s actually always, behind the first guys, always chaos because everybody tries to find the way out, so I was a bit in the chaos there and didn’t really get to sprint full gas. That’s always frustrating.”
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