A year ago this week, Simon Clarke was handed a late lifeline by Israel-Premier Tech after he had been left without a contract for 2022 following the demise of the Qhubeka-NextHash team.
Twelve months on, and after a fine season capped by a stage victory at the Tour de France, Clarke began his second campaign with the team on a strong note with second place at the Australian Championships road race behind Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers).
“I suppose it was a bit of a wake-up call for me,” Clarke told reporters of his anxious wait for a contract last season.
“You think you’re trying hard and trying to be professional and then something like this happens and you think, actually, maybe I should be trying harder.”
Clarke got off to a flying start in 2022, with a string of placings at the Challenge Mallorca, and he scarcely let up thereafter. Long before he claimed victory on the cobbles at Arenberg on stage 5 of the Tour, it was clear that he would not be waiting on a contract for 2023. In August, it was duly confirmed that Clarke had signed on with Israel-Premier Tech for two more years.
“I definitely stepped things up a notch since last summer after everything that happened, and things are going well,” Clarke said. “I had great year, and I said to myself that I didn’t want to be known for that one year I came back for. I want to set that as a new standard, and hopefully this year I can continue like I started today.”
Clarke was an aggressive presence at Sunday’s Australian Championships road race, and on the final lap, he was part of the winning move with Plapp, Michael Matthews (Jayco-AlUla), and Drew Morey (Kinan Racing). The 36-year-old’s pedigree and form had made him one of the most heavily marked riders, but he had no complaints.
“It’s also an honour because they respect you and fear you,” Clarke said. “It means you have to be smarter and make more calculated moves. Like Luke did in the final, you really have to play your cards right and chapeau to him.”
Clarke knew that the defending champion Plapp would be a dangerman on the final lap, though he felt the onus to control the front group was on Matthews, the quickest finisher by reputation.
“With Matthews being the fastest sprinter I felt it was on him to cover that move, so when Plapp went, I just said I’m on red,” Clarke said. "I hoped he would chase, but he was a bit undecided. A split second of indecision with a class act like Plapp and it’s all over, so then I just said right I’ve got to come home with the best sprint possible.”
Clarke duly beat Matthews to second place, three seconds down on Plapp, and the Melbourne native will hope his silver medal ride augurs well for the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
“I worked hard, and with Israel being relegated to Pro Continental, we’re really motivated to start the year off strong and on a good foot. That starts here and at the Tour Down Under,” said Clarke.
“On paper, I’m more of a one-day racer than a week-long stage racer, so I definitely have a bit of an idea on Cadel’s race. With prologue at the start of the Tour Down Under, it doesn’t really suit me with these engines we’re up against, so we’ll see how we go.”
