Born in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, Clarey made his World Cup debut in November 2003 and has five World Cup podiums through He set a World Cup speed record in 2013 at the classic downhill race in Wengen, Switzerland, with a maximum speed of at the "Haneggschuss", the fastest section of the Lauberhorn slope. Clarey finished fifth and was injured the following week at Kitzbühel and missed the remainder of the 2013 season, including the world championships.