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Australian cyclist Simon Clarke is aiming high – literally – for his first race since having his appendix removed.
The Tour of Spain revelation will join Simon Gerrans in a formidable Australian team for the 2013 Jayco Herald Sun Tour in early January.
The pair will be primed for the final stage challenge on January 6 up the famous Arthurs Seat climb, on the Mornington Peninsula south-east of Melbourne.
It’s a 90km ride starting in Moonah Links with the peloton twice tackling the 314m summit, which is inclined at about 20 per cent.
Clarke, who won a 2012 Vuelta a Espana stage and King of the Mountains jersey in September, has been recovering from surgery.
Despite his obvious climbing talent the 26-year-old Victorian said he wasn’t sure what to expect.
“I have just had my appendix out and it will be my first race of the year so I can’t predict now how I am going to go,” Clarke said.
“I haven’t raced it before but I have ridden it enough times so I know it well.
“And it is definitely a hard climb. It will separate the men from the boys.”
The four-day tour starts with an individual time trial in Williamstown on January 3.
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