Danny Clark (cyclist)

Danny Clark
Personal information
Full name Daniel Clark
Born (1951-08-30) 30 August 1951
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Team information
Discipline Track
Role Rider
Professional team(s)
1974–2000 –
Major wins

European championships:


Omnium 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988
Derny 1985, 1986, 1990
Motor-paced 1988
Madison 1979, 1988
Infobox last updated on
November 2008

Daniel "Danny" Clark OAM[1] (born 30 August 1951[2] in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia) is a retired track cyclist and road bicycle racer from Australia, who was a professional rider from 1974 to 1997. He won five world championships and at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, came second in the 1,000m time trial.[3]

Clark was often fastest finishing rider in six-day races, especially as Patrick Sercu slowed after the mid-1970s. Clark and the British rider, Tony Doyle, won many six-day races. Clark enjoyed the party atmosphere of the races, and continued to work in them as a Derny pacer after retiring.

Biography

Clark began cycling on a bike borrowed from a local enthusiast, which he used for three months before acquiring his eldest brother's semi-racer.[4]

He became one of the most successful riders in six-day racing in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 74 races, second to Patrick Sercu's 88. Most of these wins came after a crash in the 1983 Frankfurt six-day which broke his hip. Clark still carries a plate inserted to help the fracture heal and said that when sprinting or climbing, only his right leg delivered full power.[4]

Clark won the Australian one-mile penny-farthing championship in Evandale, Tasmania, in 1989, beating the Briton Doug Pinkerton and Matthew Driver.[5]

He lives in Surfers Paradise, near Brisbane.[5]

Palmarès

Olympic Games

World championships

Six-days

European championships

Honours

Clark received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1986[1] and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.[6] He received an Australian Sports Medal and a Centenary Medal in 2001.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Clark, Daniel, OAM". It's an Honour. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Site du Cyclisme, Rider database, Danny Clark
  3. ↑ "Danny Clark Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 Licorice Gallery, Interview with Danny Clark
  5. 1 2 Canberra Bicycle Museum, Article about Danny Clark sourced from "Freewheel" Issue 11, New Zealand
  6. ↑ "Danny Clark". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Clark, Danny: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  8. ↑ "Clark, Daniel: Centenary Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
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