Swiss rider calls time after nine years as professional
Image 1 of 2
Switzerland's Aurélien Clerc won green at Tour de Langkawi last year(Image credit: Shane Goss)
Aurélien Clerc (Bouygues Telecom) (c) challenges against Oscar Freire (Rabobank) (l) in the sprint.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Swiss rider Aurélien Clerc has decided to end his pro career having failed to secure a slot on a top-level squad. Following the end of his one-year deal with Ag2r-La Mondiale, the 30-year-old had been linked with a move to BMC Racing, but with no agreement reached Clerc has opted to take up a new career as an adviser at a Swiss assurance company.
A professional for nine seasons, Clerc looked set to be one of the sport’s top sprinters when he burst onto the scene with Mapei-Quick Step in 2002. However, he failed to build on a rush of wins in smaller races during that season. After two subsequent years with Quick Step, he moved on to Phonak for two seasons, then spent another two with Bouygues Telecom.
Winner of 15 races, Clerc’s stand-out performance came in last year’s edition of Gent-Wevelgem, where he finished a close runner-up to Oscar Freire. This season he was set back by a series of crashes that effectively ended his year at the end of August.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014).
