# Simon Clarke (cyclist)

Simon Clarke (born 18 July 1986) is an Australian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Israel–Premier Tech. He previously rode for the Astana (2011) and Orica–GreenEDGE (2012–2015) teams in the UCI World Tour. Before turning professional, Clarke competed in track cycling as an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. He is not related to fellow Australian cyclist and past teammate Will Clarke.

## 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. 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.
In September 2015, it was announced that Clarke would join Cannondale for the 2016 season. 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.
In November 2020, it was announced that Clarke would join the Team Qhubeka Assos team for the 2021 season. Clarke won the fifth stage of the 2022 Tour de France. 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.

## 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 (1 pro win)

    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 (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
    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

| Grand Tour | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | 63 | 67 | — | — | — | 75 | — | — | DNF | 97 |
| Tour de France | — | 68 | 113 | — | — | 86 | 100 | 61 | — | 123 | DNF | 109 | |
| Vuelta a España | 77 | 69 | 70 | — | DNF | 74 | 46 | — | — | — | — | | |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DSQ | Disqualified |
| DNF | Did not finish |
| IP | In progress |