Stage 11 of the 2010 Tour de France brought excitement and controversy to the popular event. Mark Cavendish, riding for HTC-Columbia, came out on top but many fans feel the win was not deserved.
It was the final stretch of Stage 11. Mark Renshaw was the lead-out man for Mark Candish while Julian Dean was the lead-out man for Tyler Farrar.
So why did Mark Renshaw get disqualified from the race?
Take a look at the video below. You can clearly see that, in an effort to block Dean, Renshaw ended up headbutting his competitor multiple times. Hypothetically speaking, if Dean had fallen off his bike as a result of the headbutts and pushes, many other cyclists could have (and probably would have) been hurt.
And while the decision to disqualify Renshaw from the competition is final, Renshaw, Cavendish and many fans are furious over the results.
“I’m lucky to have a guy who will put himself on the line for me like that,” said Cavendish. “He’s got incredible bike handling skills and it’s so nice to be able to follow his wheel from 50 kilometers to go and know that, at the finish, I’ll be put in a winning position.”
And Renshaw wasted no time jumping his own defense. He explained that Dean put him in danger of crashing into the barriers by pushing him to the left. Cavendish agreed with Renshaw’s comments, explaining “It was Julian who put his elbow in and if Mark didn’t push back there was a chance they could have locked elbows and gone down. Mark just kept going and did everything he could to keep me out of trouble.”
Seems like everyone is split down the middle on this one. Do you think Mark Renshaw deserved to be eliminated from the Tour de France competition because of this headbutt:
Comments
Lou
July 16th, 2010 - 8:09:20 AM
The lead out man's job is to pull the sprinter (slipstream) and then drop straight back and keep a line. It is against the rules to block other riders. Dean was running into Renshaw so Renshaw head butted him so Cavendish would not get forced into the wall. Because Dean came from the right I assume that Renshaw thought Farrar was going to come from the right as well and went left.
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Ed
July 16th, 2010 - 8:37:11 AM
Renshaw was wrong and I call it cheating and dirty. Why in the hell would you head butt another cyclist and taking a chance of getting in an accident. It is seen clearly on the film. It was dangerous, it is a stupid tactic especially in a sprint. I fully agree with the suspension and he should be disallowed to do the tour next year.
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James
July 16th, 2010 - 9:32:59 AM
No, he shouldn't have been disqualified. That's absurd. The move was just as dangerous to basically ride up his right pedal. When you watch that birds-eye angle, it's obvious that Julian was going to lean right into Renshaw. It's not like Mark rode toward him and started head butting him. Totally bogus. This sport is sicker than baseball ever was. What a joke.
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Farmer
July 17th, 2010 - 8:08:44 AM
Ed: When sprinting its not uncommon to have to lean into another rider with your shoulder. AKA bumping. That or clip peddles and crash
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cassago
July 17th, 2010 - 10:20:21 AM
This is a typical track racing maneuver, leaning in and taking space. Personally I don't call that a headbutt, but whatever. Then when he pulled out of the way, he was supposed to just pull back on line, but he hardly deviated from that path, just a little left. Big whoop--all the other riders are ALSO moving slightly side-to-side. Le Tour is killing itself with all the scandals it causes. Typical French wankers.
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Bike-Books.com
July 22nd, 2010 - 2:21:51 AM
It seems that Renshaw remains vigilant (if not somewhat philosophical) about what happened that he's re-evaluating his future options. It's a cool, if not an amusing article about what can happen when things are taken too far. http://www.bike-books.com/makin-news/renshaw-trials-new-equipment/
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