Cavendish and Renshaw team up for Tour of Turkey

Dimension Data will head to the Tour of Turkey with Mark Cavendish and Australian lead-out man Mark Renshaw in the lineup.

Mark Cavendish. Source: Getty

Cavendish, who is in a long recovery following a battle with the Epstein-Barr virus, last rode Turkey in 2015 while Renshaw will be riding in his first stage race after he was struck down by a motorist in his hometown of Bathurst, New South Wales while on a training ride.

The six-stage race, which will be streamed live on Cycling Central from 16 - 21 April, features six WorldTour teams, 10 Pro Continental teams and the Turkey national team.

Cavendish and Renshaw will be supported by Jaco Venter, Ryan Gibbons, Stefan de Bod, Scott Davies and Australian climbing talent, Ben O'Connor.

“To have Mark Cavendish and Mark Renshaw in the lineup, along with Ryan Gibbons who has been impressive when he’s raced this year, is a big positive for us and I’m looking forward to seeing how they all go," said Dimension Data High-Performance Director, Rolf Aldag.

“Renshaw’s ride at Scheldeprijs was only his second since fracturing his hip late last year and he will now have the opportunity to get some good racing under the belt as he starts looking ahead to the rest of the season.

“And for O'Connor, this forms part of his final preparation for the Giro d’Italia so it is an important race for him.”

With three stages set for sprint finishes, Cavendish and Renshaw will have a chance to test their partnership against a field of strong quicks which include Australian Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Sam Bennett (BORA-hansgrohe) and a fast looking Deceuninck-Quick Step squad which includes Fabio Jakobsen, Alvaro Hodeg, Max Richeze, Michael Mørkøv and Davide Martinelli.