Tour Down Under 2016: Aussie Caleb Ewan has what it takes to join sprinting elite: Mark Renshaw

MARK Cavendish’s right-hand man, Mark Renshaw, says comparisons between the superstar and Caleb Ewan are fair — but he has warned the Aussie will face a dogfight for position against bigger-bodied sprinters in Europe’s toughest races.

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MARK Cavendish’s right hand man, Mark Renshaw, says comparisons between the superstar Manxman and rising Australian star Caleb Ewan are fair but he has warned Ewan of a dogfight for position against bigger-bodied sprinters in Europe’s toughest races.

Renshaw believes the 21-year-old can break into the top five sprinters in the world after watching him win back-to-back WorldTour quality races in this week’s Tour Down Under.

He finished second behind Ewan on Stage 1 in Lyndoch on Tuesday, where the Orica-GreenEDGE rider’s explosive speed and aerodynamic position on the bike had social media and cycling experts likening him to Cavendish — winner of 26 Tour de France stages.

“He’s got a big future and if GreenEDGE manage it correctly he’ll go a long way,” Renshaw said before Stage 2 on Wednesday.

“He’s still got a lot of work to do to be in those top four or five sprinters in the world — that’s experience — but he’s got all the makings to break into that top five.

Caleb Ewan, leaning a long way forward on his bike, wins Stage 1 of the 2016 TDU. Picture: Sarah Reed

“For the moment there is still Cavendish, (Andre) Greipel and (Marcel) Kittel, but he’s a good prospect for Australia.

“We saw him line up in Turkey against Cav and was second one day; he’s only young but he’s got a big future and they’re right to talk him up.

“For sure his size is very similar to Cav and that’s probably a big advantage to him, but that will also be a disadvantage at some point when he tries to move Greipel — and he’s pretty hard to move. The same goes for Kittel.

“The bigger the name the more you’ll move for them and give them some racing room and as he (Ewan) wins more races he’ll get more of that but for now he’ll have a hard time to always get the right position.”

Inspiration ... Mark Cavendish wins Stage 7 of the 2015 Tour de France. Picture: Sarah Reed.

Renshaw has followed Cavendish to new team Dimension Data this season and has the chance to sprint for himself in this week’s Tour Down Under.

Then he’ll resume lead-out duties at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, where Cavendish will open his 2016 road season.

“I’m happy with second (on Tuesday), I haven’t done really any sprint training to take on Caleb so I’m happy with my form, it means I’m in good shape for the lead-out and with bigger objectives coming that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

Orica-GreenEDGE on Wednesday confirmed Ewan had been working on improving his sprinting efficiency and aerodynamic position on the bike by visiting the Monash University wind tunnel.

Like Cavendish who is 175cm and 70kg, Ewan is tiny at 165cm and 61kg compared to the likes of Greipel (184cm and 80kg) and Kittel (188cm and 86kg), meaning he must look for an aerodynamic advantage to compensate for the greater power the Germans are able to produce.

He leant so far forward over his bike in Tuesday’s sprint finish his chin was almost lower than his handlebars.

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Originally published as Tour Down Under 2016: Aussie Caleb Ewan has what it takes to join sprinting elite: Mark Renshaw