'Today the dream came true': Simon Clarke wins Tour de France fifth stage

Seven months ago, Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech) was without a contract, knocking on every door possible to get another year on the UCI WorldTour - today, he is a Tour de France stage winner.

The 35-year-old's unwillingness to go quietly into a forced retirement was encapsulated perfectly in the final 800 metres of Stage 5 from Lille to Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, winning with a all-in last-ditch surge and throw on the line over breakaway companion Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux).

Clarke was overcome with joy and shock in the aftermath of the brutal 153.7km cobbled stage in northern France, shedding tears of happiness at the realisation of a childhood dream finally being fulfilled.

"I still can’t believe I got it on the line there, Taco was well ahead of me even with less than 50 metres to go and I was cramping in both legs and just lined up the biggest throw I could possibly do and I just prayed it was enough," Clarke said.

"Honestly, I need to watch the replay, I still don’t quite believe it.

"I moved to Europe when I was 16 and I’m 36 on the second rest day, so 20 years now in Europe and today the dream came true.

"Zak Dempster (Israel-Premier Tech directeur sportif) came to me this morning and said ‘Clarkey, today’s the breakaway day, first one up so just got to make it count’.

"The stages I’ve won in the Vuelta before and the jersey I got in the Giro were all in the first week, these first couple of stages.

"So when he came to me this morning I thought maybe today’s the day."

Racing for the 14th year as a professional in 2022 was a feat that seemed almost gone at the tail end of 2021, after his former employer Team Qhubeka NextHash were refused a UCI WorldTour license for 2022.

That event left Clarke, his Australian teammates Robert Power and Dylan Sunderland, and the rest of the team on the backfoot for the 2022 season due to the dearth of open spots on other WorldTour squads.

But Clarke was persistent, staying active during the Australian summer of cycling and racing the Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits before departing for Israel-Premier Tech's pre-season camp in Girona on the eve of the AusCycling 2022 Federation University Road National Championships.

Handing Clarke a lifeline has turned out to be a stroke of genius for Israel-Premier Tech, with the Melburnian racing this season with renewed motivation for success.

"After the winter I had, to have no team, to then have Israel ring me up and say, 'we'll give you that chance', just gives you such a reality check to make the most of every opportunity," Clarke said.

"I think you’ve seen all year this season I’ve come out in every race swinging because I’m just trying to make the most of every opportunity, and even these first four or five days I’ve just been contributing to the team and then really checking out, taking it as easy as possible.

"Both stages I’ve won in the Vuelta came to similar finishes with two or three up sprints and you really just have to bide your time.

"Even when (Neilson) Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) attacked, you’ve just got to sit back and pray that the other guys panic before you do.

"I tried to leave Edvald (Boasson Hagen - TotalEnergies) a little bit of space to give him maybe … that he would try and get the jump on me and he took the bait and then I really had to chase him hard.

"Then Taco came straight over the top and I looked up and saw 350, and I thought wow, that is still a long way to go, we’ve been sprinting since the 800 to go corner and I just tucked in behind him and went as hard as I could to that line."

Clarke's win capped off a rollercoaster day for the Australians in Le Tour, the worst being the abandonment of general classification (GC) hopeful Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) for the second year in a row following a crash with 30km to go.

A loose hay bale was hit into the road, causing the crash, with several other riders hitting the deck.

Haig was taken to hospital following the crash, with the Bendigo product left with multiple abrasions and bruises over his body and requiring stitches for a cut above the elbow.

In a team media release, Bahrain Victorious said CT scans also revealed multiple non-displaced wrist fractures.

Fortunately, Jack had no concussion or head injury and will travel home tomorrow.

Australia's other GC hopeful Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citröen) suffered critical time losses on the cobbles due to a puncture at an inopportune time, eventually finishing three minutes and eight seconds behind the main group of GC riders after chasing for the final 50km.

"I was on the second sector and I punctured," O'Connor told SBS following the stage.

"Then the race started to split a lot and it was really hard to chase back, there was a million cars in between and too many motorbikes and TV cameras.

"So it was a bit rough for us to chase and we could never really get close.

"It's just really bad luck. I'm a bit sad and a bit disappointed."

Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) also hit the pavement in the same crash as Haig, but was able to continue to the finish.

Picture: ASO/Pauline Ballet