Second in last year's Vattenfall Cyclassic in Hamburg, Germany, Columbia-HTC sprinter Mark Renshaw is aiming for a top result again in the prestigious German one-day race this Sunday.  "I came out of the Tour de France in good shape, but rather than ease off I haven't really shut down," Renshaw says.

"Mark [Cavendish] and I did quite a few criteriums, as well as a race in Germany [Sparkasse-Bochum] which he won.  In Vattenfall, I'll definitely be looking for a good result. It's basically a sprinter's race, although breaks do tend to go on the last climb and it can be a pretty crazy finish, coming off a big road onto a smaller one. Last year we managed to pull them all back, and this year we'll try and do the same," Renshaw added.

"Vattenfall's always complicated with those last final kilometres, and that's why you have to make sure you cover as many bases as possible," adds team manager Rolf Aldag.  "We'll have Edvald [Boasson Hagen] as our main man for the breaks, but then we've got two great options for the bunch sprint with Mark Renshaw and Andre Greipel as well.  Andre has won 15 races this season, the last just recently in the Tour of Poland, so that shows what kind of shape he's in, and I know Mark is very motivated and in good condition as well."

Aldag warns that the final sprint in Vattenfall "is slightly uphill for the last 700 or 800 metres. It's tricky and a sprinter has to judge his effort very well."

Team Columbia-HTC for Vattenfall Cyclassics:
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor); Marcus Burghardt (Ger); Bernhard Eisel (Aut); Andre Greipel (Ger); Kim Kirchen (Lux); Thomas Lovkvist (Swe); Mark Renshaw (Aus); Marcel Sieberg (Ger).