Mark Renshaw drops out of Commonwealth Games
Australian cyclist Mark Renshaw dropped out of the Commonwealth Games before the opening ceremonies in response to a breakout of dengue Fever in the athlete’s village. He is following the example of the British cycling team, which saw their riders, one-by-one,
cancelling their plans to compete in New Delhi.
''To be honest, now the whole British team has pulled out … the point comes where [you ask] is it worth going when we are only going to be racing against India and a couple of these other countries?” said Renshaw. “It's not going to be a 100 percent strong
field.''
The Australian rides for HTC-Columbia, the clear world leader in sprints, with Mark Cavendish, the world’s fastest rider, known for taking the team to the top in sprint competitions at the world’s biggest stage races. Renshaw is Cavendish’s favourite lead-out
man, but the Australian was looking forward to the chance to compete against his Isle-of-Man teammate at the end of the season. They opposed each other at the UCI Road World Championships in Renshaw’s home country on Sunday, but neither one was in contention
for the win.
''The problem is the mosquitoes and dengue fever. It's a bit of a worry. I was looking forward to [it] until I came back here to Australia, and now the thought of going to India, and just the way it's been covered in Australia, it's pretty daunting.”
Renshaw has already had health issues this year, having been out-of-commission earlier this season with the Epstein-Barr virus. Approximately 3500 cases of dengue Fever have been confirmed this season in New Delhi, more than 100 of them reported since the
athlete’s have arrived for the Games. The HTC-Columbia rider’s spot on the Australian team has been filled by Michael Matthews, the new Under-23 world road race champion.
''[Renshaw] had had an immune system problem in the past, Edwin [sic] Barr virus,'' said Australian team chief Steve Moneghetti. ''I think we've found a pretty adequate replacement in Michael Matthews. He's in pretty good current form.''
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