Danny Clark (cyclist)

Danny Clark
Personal information
Full name Daniel Clark
Born August 30, 1951(1951-08-30)
Launceston, Australia
Team information
Discipline Track
Role Rider
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 (born Launceston, Tasmania, 30 August 1951[1]) 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.His biggest Olympic success came in 1972, when he won the silver medal in the men's 1000m time trial at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.

Clark had an exceptional sprint, and was often the fastest finishing rider in six-day races, especially as the previous fastest rider, Patrick Sercu, slowed with age, after the mid-1970s.Clark formed a very tough partnership when the British rider Tony Doyle, and they won many six-day races together.Clark's ability enabled him to be much more relaxed during races than many other riders, who often became tense as they became more tired.Clark very much enjoyed the party atmosphere of the six-day races, and continued to work in them as a Derny motor-pacer after he retired from racing.

He began cycling on a bike borrowed from a local enthusiast, which he used for three months before acquiring his eldest brothers semi racer.[2] He became one of the most successful riders in six-day racing in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 74 races, second only to Sercu's 88. Most of these wins came after a heavy crash in the 1983 Frankfurt six-day which resulted in a broken hip. Clark still carries the plate that was inserted to help the fracture heal correctly, and later complained that when sprinting or climbing, only his right leg was delivering full power.[2]

Clark won the Australian one-mile penny-farthing championship in Evandale, Tasmania, in 1989, beating the Briton Doug Pinkerton and Matthew Driver.[3]

He lives now in Surfers Paradise, near Brisbane.[3]

Contents

Palmarès

Olympic Games

World championships

Six-days

European championships

References