By Parker McKenzie
When Australian cyclist Simon Clarke spoke to the Star Mail, he was waiting at Paris Airport preparing to travel to Canada.
A long way from his childhood home in the Dandenong Ranges, Clarke has endured a whirlwind of highs and lows over the past year.
“I’m fortunate that I’m from the hills instead of closer to Melbourne because cycling is a very mountainous sport,” he said.
“To have grown up with the Dandenongs at my doorstep was definitely ushered in my development in cycling and was probably a good step in becoming a professional cyclist, giving me a cycling playground that I’ve been enjoying since the early days.”
On Wednesday 6 August, Clarke won the fifth stage of the Tour De France, completing the 157km ride from Lille to Arenberg in 3 hours, 13 minutes and 35 seconds.
The 36-year-old nearly didn’t make it to the stage after his previous team Team Qhubeka folded in December 2021.
Clarke said the period after was one of the most challenging periods of his career.
“I had a two-year contract for last year and this year then the team I was with folded at the end of last year when it ran out of financial backing,” Clarke said.
“It was after the traditional transfer window, nearly all the teams had filled up all their spots and if they hadn’t they’d spent their budget anyway.”
Despite the setback, Clarke would sign with Israel-Premier Tech in January, setting the stage for the most prestigious win of his career.
He said the win was made even sweeter after the difficult situation he found himself in during the offseason.
“It gives you some motivation to really prove that although you were left on the side, you’re still worthy of being a professional bike rider,” Clarke said.
The high was quickly followed by another low, when he was unable to finish the tour after testing positive for Covid-19 before the 15th stage.
Clarke first became interested in cycling when his dad, former Yarra Ranges councillor Mike Clarke, entered the family into the Great Victorian Bike Ride when he was an 11-year-old attending Selby Primary School.
He said he quickly become interested in cycling, winning medals at state championships and national competitions while studying at Billanook College in Mooroolbark, before moving to Europe at 16 to chase his dream.
“I was in Bologna, Italy for the first three years. I still finished school by studying from abroad, I did my last two years of high school teaching myself out of textbooks,” Clarke said.
“If you want to play American football, and you’re any good, you have to be in America. The same goes with cycling; if you want to race at the top level, then you have to be in Europe.”
Clarke turned professional in 2009 when he was 23 and has spent the last 13 years competing around the world in the sport he loves.
His advice for any aspiring cyclist is simple: “chase the dream.”
“Make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons because the challenges of any sport at the highest level are so demanding,” Clarke said.
“You need to be doing what you are passionate about as a number one priority.”
