Random post about Will Clarke plus random links:

Also this year, miss Fede is going to write a short introduction to every of the neo pros who have joined her favourite teams. Or, more or less, that's what she would like to do (she still doesn't know whether she'll have enough time to do so or not). Therefore, today me's going to dedicate a random post to Will Clarke, who's recently signed a 2 year contract with Team Luxembourg (aka 'Schleck the best, fuck the rest', 'We're the Cutest brothers of the peloton',ecc. ecc).
But before of starting to talk about Will, there are some things I have to do.
First of all, you probably know that last week I had a discussion with someone on another blog and I was told that I had a strange idea of friendship. Well, that person has recently deleted me from her list of friends on a social network without any explanation. Since I can't send her e-mails there anymore, I'm now going to thank her here for showing me what true friendship is through her honorable actions. Thank you very much dear, now my idea of friendship is much better than before and it's all due to you! =)

Anyway, after making you know about the mean part of me, let's go on with some links. First of all, on http://www.procycling.no/article3034930.ece there is an interview with Richie Porte in which, as well as other things, he said: 'I rode with Andy Schleck in the Classic of San Sebastian and he was my domestic. It was one of the best moments this season: I had a great rider who was riding in front of me and protecing me in the peloton'.
On http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/6447/Fothen-still-hasnt-got-a-contract-facing-future-as-a-pig-farmer.aspx (via http://sansenmag.livejournal.com/ ) instead you have an article about Marcus Fothen. After Milram's retirement from Cycledom, the 29-year-old German hasn't found any contract for next year yet. The problem for Marcus is that, if he doesn't find any new contract before of the end of 2010, he'll end up working at his parents' pig farm.Anyway, did you know that pigs are said to be able to eat human beings when they are extremely hungry? I already imagine the newspapers' headlines: 'Former promising cyclist gets eaten by a pig in the family's farm'. Terrible. Therefore, I really do hope that Marcus will be able to find a new contract for next year. Otherwise, let's just hope he'll be careful with the pink 4 legged creatures that his parents breed.
On http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vinokourov-aiming-for-tour-de-france-podium-in-2011 instead it is written that Vinokourov's aiming for a top 3 placement in next year Tour de France. Therefore, girls of the Vino-rehab, I'm afraid we'll have to meet us more often at the course, because I don't want anyone to pop up on this blog in the middle of July 2011 to tell me they've decided to support Vino rather than los Schlecks during the Tour! ;)

Anyway, let's now talk about Will Clarke. William is a Tasmanian rider who was born on the 11th of April 1985, is 192 cms tall and has a weight of 80 kgs.
Will (whose nickname is Wilbur and whose family has a farm) was a very good 400 and 800 metre runner before taking up cycling, a thing that he did just in 2007 (this reminds me a lot of Richie Porte, another Tasmanian rider that we've all learned to appreciate over the last months). Just like Richie, Clarke rode for team Praties (also known as Genesys Wealth Advisers/Praties Cycling Team). The difference between Will and Richie, however, is that Richie left that team in 2007 and Will joined it the following year.
In 2008 Will won an Australian race called 'Goulburn-Citi' and was 3rd in the 4th stage of Tour of Tasmania. The following year instead he won the Cycling Australia National Road Series, an annual award in which riders accumulate points during the year in selected Australian races. He accumulated the points by winning a stage and the GC of Canberra Tour, a stage at Tour of Geelong and the Launceston International Cycling Classic. That year he also got other good results in races near Australia.

In 2010 he was 4th in the National Open TT Championship and rode as a stagiaire for Ag2R since July. Moreover, last year the boy won a stage in the Mersey Valley Tour, dominated the Tour of the Southern Grampians (he won all 3 stages, the GC and even soloed 30 kms to the finish with a numerous group of cyclists behind him, unable to catch him). Then Will also won a stage in Tour of Canberra before heading to Europe, staying with Richie Porte in Monaco and getting his stagiaire contract with AG2R.
'Richie is just a good bloke and has been helping me a lot. He’s been letting me stay with him. I’ve also been training with him and it’s partly because of him I’ve been able to get this chance with Ag2r,’ he told the Daily Peloton this July.
Daily Peloton actually has lots of information about William and on http://www.dailypeloton.%20com/displayarticle.asp?pk=16277 there's also an interview with him. Here are some questions taken from it (interview by Chris Graetz):

ournalist: How did you first get into cycling, who was instrumental in this?
I first got into cycling just before my 22nd birthday in 2007. I bought a bike because I had been injured from running for a while. I was recovering from a navicular stress fracture in my leg and I couldn’t run - I rode because it didn’t put any pressure on my injury.
Soon I got the bug for it and went along to a "Bums on seats Race"-racing designed for beginners to learn the ropes about the sport. It was only a 37km handicap but I managed to get the fastest time and just missed out on winning. It is run by an older but experienced cyclist called Peter Fraser from Launceston. Peter really encouraged me early on and told me that I had a lot of talent. I kind of laughed at him to start with because I still thought I was a runner just keeping fit, but that soon changed and I became a cyclist. I met a guy called Tim Elmer out at my first cycling Tasmania Open Race. He was a really strong rider in his day and still is. He won the Victorian 200km championship 2008 aged in his 40’s and he took me under his wing and trained me and helped me develop from a C grade rider to an A grade rider in a bit over 6 months.
You were a big athletics star before you turned to cycling, can you shed more light into your other talents?
Will Clarke: Haha! I don’t think I have many other talents, but I seem to be reasonable at most sports like football and swimming. I did a lot of sport when I was at school - that is what I enjoyed doing.
Who were your heroes growing up and who are they now?
I used to love AFL football as a kid so I Idolized the Melbourne Demons. I admired all the great middle distance runners like Steve Ovett and Seb Coe and the battles they had even though it all happened before my time, and in cycling I really like the classics guys. If I could be any cyclist it would be Fabian Cancellara - he is amazing.
(...)
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
I think my strengths are my ability to ride hard for long periods of time. My weaknesses are that I can often get a bit carried away and I tend to waste energy at times when I don’t need to. However, as I develop more, I will learn how to deal with that.
What type of rider are you?
I’m a bit of an all rounder - but my sprinting and time trialing is probably better than my climbing. I just sort of try and hang in there and it is something I think I need to work on. I think my strengths are longer stage races and one day races. I seem to do better at these than the shorter races we do a lot of.
What are your hobbies besides cycling?
I like reading, I have an interest in history and I like watching most sports and going to the beach and relaxing.
Tasmania have produced some good talent and one of your friends, Richie Porte has turned professional. How much of a lift is it you to try and follow in his footsteps?
Tassie has produced its fair share of cyclists over the years, particularly Matthew Goss and Wesley Sulzberger. It’s definitely inspiring to see one of your friends join the Pro Tour ranks. It shows me that it’s not impossible and it can be done. I hope to follow Richie's lead.
What are your longer term goals?
My longer term goals are to represent my country in international events, and get a pro contract and be a professional cyclist.

As you can see from the interview above, Will took up cycling very late, but managed to get very good results in just two years. He's an all-rounder cyclist (although he's not that good at climbing, according to him) and in his free time he enjoyes reading. According to http://genesysprocycling.com.au/?page_id=245 ,his favourite movie is 300 (this is Spartaaaaa!) and he likes listening to all kind of music
If you've already started to like the boy as much as I do, here's Will's Twitter: http://twitter.com/clarkeywilbur . Now that we know a bit more about him, let's wish Will a good first season as a professional rider!!