Mark Renshaw to make debut with Omega Pharma-Quickstep at Tour Down Under

MARK Renshaw will debut with new team Omega Pharma-Quickstep at the Santos Tour Down Under next month.

Mark Renshaw, seen here during the Tour de France, will race again in the Tour Down Under.

AUSTRALIAN fan favourite Mark Renshaw will debut with his new team Omega Pharma-Quickstep at the Santos Tour Down Under in Adelaide next month.

Renshaw will return to his post as Mark Cavendish's trusted lead-out man next season but with Cavendish not making the trip to Australia, Renshaw will assume the top job.

He spent the past two seasons sprinting for himself as team leader at Dutch team Belkin.

Joining him in Adelaide for the January 19-26 race will be Tour de France stage winner Jan Bakelants - who wore the yellow jersey for two days this year - after switching teams from RadioShack-Leopard in the off-season.

"We'll have a few days in Australia before the race to adjust to the jet lag and take advantage of the good weather to train," team sports director Rik Van Slycke said.

"The squad will have an athlete like Mark Renshaw, who will be highly motivated for his hometown race, in which he's already done well in the past.

"Next to him we'll have (Matteo) Trentin and (Andrew) Fenn, the young (Julian) Alaphilippe, in his first race as a pro, and (Carlos) Verona. Experience on the team will be guaranteed by Bakelants and (Serge) Pauwels.

"The goal is to stand out as major players from the get-go and try to obtain a victory right away. It will be an important way to get the season of to the best possible start."

TDU race director Mike Turtur said Omega Pharma-Quickstep had named a "solid, experienced" team to race in SA.

"The team we'll see here in South Australia has a good mix of strengths and we look forward to seeing how this translates across the varied race routes we've presented," he said.

"Serge Pauwels, who won the mountains classification at the 2007 Santos Tour Down Under, will return and is likely to be in the mix on climbs such as Corkscrew and Menglers hills."