Simon Clarke (born 18 July 1986) is an Australian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Israel–Premier Tech.[4][5] He previously rode for the Astana (2011) and Orica–GreenEDGE (2012–2015) teams in the UCI World Tour.[6] Before turning professional, Clarke competed in track cycling as an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.[7] He is not related to fellow Australian cyclist and past teammate Will Clarke.
 Clarke at the 2019 Tour de la Provence | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Simon Clarke |
| Nickname | Simo |
| Born | 18 July 1986 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Israel–Premier Tech |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Puncheur |
| Amateur team | |
| 2006–2008 | Southaustralia.com–AIS |
| Professional teams | |
| 2009 | Amica Chips–Knauf |
| 2009–2010 | ISD–NERI |
| 2011 | Astana |
| 2012–2015 | GreenEDGE[1] |
| 2016–2020 | Cannondale[2][3] |
| 2021 | Team Qhubeka Assos |
| 2022– | Israel–Premier Tech |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Professional career
editAt the 2012 Vuelta a España, Clarke won the fourth stage of the race, after being a part of an early breakaway that made it home on the mountainous race. The only other survivor of the break was Omega Pharma–Quick-Step's Tony Martin, whom Clarke out sprinted to claim his first professional victory.[8] During the twentieth stage, Clarke placed first at the first three of five categorised climbs, to win the most combative rider for the stage and to secure himself the blue polka-dot jersey, as winner of the mountains classification.[9]
In September 2015, it was announced that Clarke would join Cannondale for the 2016 season.[10] He was added to Australia's roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics, replacing Simon Gerrans (Orica–GreenEDGE), who had crashed out of the Tour de France.[11]
In November 2020, it was announced that Clarke would join the Team Qhubeka Assos team for the 2021 season.[12] Clarke won the fifth stage of the 2022 Tour de France.[13] He joined the winning breakaway group on a stage that included eleven sections of cobbles, many of which were unfamiliar sections that had never been used in the Tour or Paris–Roubaix. As the third week began he was forced to quit the Tour for the first time in his career, due to a positive COVID test.[14]
Major results
edit- 2004
- 1st
Team pursuit, UCI Junior Track World Championships
- 2005
- 5th Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo
- 8th Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic
- 10th Overall Giro delle Regioni
- 2006
- 1st
Madison, National Junior Track Championships
- 4th Overall Giro delle Regioni
- 5th Trofeo Città di Brescia
- 7th Overall Vuelta a Navarra
- 1st Stage 4
- 8th Overall Herald Sun Tour
- 8th Overall Tour Down Under
- 9th Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23
- 2007
- 2nd Gran Premio Palio del Recioto
- 3rd Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
- 3rd Down Under Classic
- 3rd GP Liberazione
- 6th Overall Tour of Britain
- 7th Overall Herald Sun Tour
- 1st
Young rider classification
- 1st
- 7th Overall Circuito Montañés
- 8th Giro del Mendrisiotto
- 8th GP Capodarco
- 10th Overall Tour Down Under
- 1st
- 1st
- 2008
- 1st
- 1st Trofeo Città di San Vendemiano
- 1st Stage 4 Tour of Japan
- 2nd GP Capodarco
- 2nd La Côte Picarde
- 2nd Trofeo Alcide Degasperi
- 4th Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften
- 6th Overall Tour of Ireland
- 7th Trofeo Città di Castelfidardo
- 2009
- 8th Overall Tour of Britain
- 8th Gran Premio dell'Insubria-Lugano
- 8th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 10th Memorial Cimurri
- 2010
- 4th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
- 2011
- 5th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
- 5th Tre Valli Varesine
- 7th Giro del Friuli
- 7th Vattenfall Cyclassics
- 10th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
- 2012 (1 pro win)
- Vuelta a España
- 1st
Mountains classification
- 1st Stage 4
- 1st
- 2nd Overall Tour of Norway
- 2nd Rogaland GP
- 5th Overall Tour du Haut Var
- 7th Japan Cup
- 2013
- 1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France
- 7th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
- 2014 (2)
- 1st
Overall Herald Sun Tour
- 1st Stage 2
- 4th Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
- 2015
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT)
- Held
after Stage 4
- 2nd Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- 4th Overall Herald Sun Tour
- 10th International Road Cycling Challenge
- 10th Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia
- 2016 (1)
- 1st GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
- 2017
- 6th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
- 2018 (1)
- 1st Stage 5 Vuelta a España
- 8th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
- 2019
- 2nd Overall Tour de la Provence
- 1st
Points classification
- 1st
- 2nd Amstel Gold Race
- 8th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 8th Strade Bianche
- 9th Overall BinckBank Tour
- 9th Milan–San Remo
- 2020 (1)
- 1st La Drôme Classic
- 2021
- 5th Royal Bernard Drôme Classic
- 5th Primus Classic
- 8th Strade Bianche
- 2022 (1)
- 1st Stage 5 Tour de France
- 3rd GP Miguel Induráin
- 3rd Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana
- 5th Trofeo Calvià
- 6th Trofeo Pollença – Port d'Andratx
- 2023
- 2nd Road race, National Road Championships
- 2nd Vuelta a Murcia
- 3rd Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
- 5th Dwars door het Hageland
- 8th La Drôme Classic
Combativity award Stage 6 Giro d'Italia
- 2024
- 6th Overall Tour de Wallonie
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
edit| Grand Tour | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | 63 | 67 | — | — | — | 75 | — | — | DNF | 97 | |
| — | 68 | 113 | — | — | 86 | 100 | 61 | — | 123 | DNF | 109 | ||
| 77 | 69 | 70 | — | DNF | 74 | 46 | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DSQ | Disqualified |
| DNF | Did not finish |
| IP | In progress |
References
edit- ^ "Orica-GreenEDGE (OGE) – AUS". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ "EF Education First Pro Cycling". Cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
- ^ Bacon, Ellis (1 January 2020). "2020 Team Preview: EF Education First". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ^ "Team Qhubeka Assos". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Qhubeka Assos continue to build 2021 squad with Clarke, Claeys, Frankiny". Cyclingnews.com. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Clarke bound for GreenEdge". cyclingnews.com. 23 August 2011.
- ^ Cycling Australian road cycling team announced for world championships
- ^ Atkins, Ben (21 August 2012). "Vuelta a España: Simon Clarke wins in stage four breakaway as Valverde loses to a crash". VeloNation. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ "Clarke: I'm not a climber, I'm an opportunist". Cycling News. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
- ^ Windsor, Richard (24 September 2015). "Simon Clarke swaps Orica-GreenEdge for Cannondale-Garmin for 2016". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Australian Simon Clarke called up for Olympic Road Race". cyclingnews.com. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "Clarke, Claeys and Frankiny to boost Team Qhubeka-Assos". NTT Pro Cycling. Ryder Cycling. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Tour de France: Simon Clarke conquers cobbles to win stage 5". 6 July 2022.
- ^ "Cort Nielsen and Clarke out of Tour de France with COVID-19". Reuters. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
External links
edit- Simon Clarke at Cycling Archives (archived)
- Simon Clarke at ProCyclingStats
- Simon Clarke at CQ Ranking
- Simon Clarke at CycleBase
- Simon Clarke at Olympedia
- Simon Clarke at the Australian Olympic Committee
- Simon Clarke at Commonwealth Games Australia