Simon Clarke (cyclist)

Simon Clarke (born 18 July 1986) is an Australian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Qhubeka Assos.[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.

Simon Clarke
Clarke at the 2009 Tour Down Under
Personal information
Full nameSimon Clarke
NicknameSimo
Born (1986-07-18) 18 July 1986
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb; 9 st 13 lb)
Team information
Current teamTeam Qhubeka Assos
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typePuncheur
Amateur team
2006–2008Southaustralia.com–AIS
Professional teams
2009Amica Chips–Knauf
2009–2010ISD–NERI
2011Astana
2012–2015GreenEDGE[1]
2016–2020Cannondale[2][3]
2021–Team Qhubeka Assos
Major wins
Grand Tours
Tour de France
1 TTT stage (2013)
Giro d'Italia
1 TTT stage (2015)
Vuelta a España
Mountains classification (2012)
2 individual stages (2012, 2018)

One-day races and Classics

GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano (2016)
La Drôme Classic (2020)

Professional career

At 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]

Major results
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
7th Overall Circuito Montañés
8th Giro del Mendrisiotto
8th GP Capodarco
10th Overall Tour Down Under
1st Young rider classification
2008
1st Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships
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
Vuelta a España
1st Mountains classification
1st Stage 4
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
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
1st GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
2017
6th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
2018
1st Stage 5 Vuelta a España
8th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
2019
2nd Overall Tour de la Provence
1st Points classification
2nd Amstel Gold Race
8th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
8th Strade Bianche
9th Overall BinckBank Tour
9th Milan–San Remo
2020
1st La Drôme Classic

Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Giro d'Italia — — — 63 67 — — — 75
Tour de France — 68 113 — — 86 100 61 —
Vuelta a España 77 69 70 — DNF 74 46 — —
Legend
DSQ Disqualified
DNF Did not finish
IP In progress

References
  1. "Orica-GreenEDGE (OGE) - AUS". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  2. "EF Education First Pro Cycling". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  3. Bacon, Ellis (1 January 2020). "2020 Team Preview: EF Education First". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  4. "Team Qhubeka Assos". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  5. "Qhubeka Assos continue to build 2021 squad with Clarke, Claeys, Frankiny". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  6. "Clarke bound for GreenEdge". cyclingnews.com. 23 August 2011.
  7. Cycling Australian road cycling team announced for world championships
  8. Atkins, Ben (21 August 2012). "Vuelta a España: Simon Clarke wins in stage four breakaway as Valverde loses to a crash". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  9. "Clarke: I'm not a climber, I'm an opportunist". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  10. Windsor, Richard (24 September 2015). "Simon Clarke swaps Orica-GreenEdge for Cannondale-Garmin for 2016". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  11. "Australian Simon Clarke called up for Olympic Road Race". cyclingnews.com. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  12. "Clarke, Claeys and Frankiny to boost Team Qhubeka-Assos". NTT Pro Cycling. Ryder Cycling. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
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