Luke Rowe

Luke Rowe
Personal information
Full name Luke Rowe
Born (1990-03-10) 10 March 1990
Cardiff, Wales
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 72 kg (159 lb)
Team information
Current team Team Sky
Discipline Road and track
Role Rider
Rider type Classics specialist
Amateur team(s)
0 Maindy Flyers
0 Cardiff Ajax CC
2006 Glendene CC / Bike Trax
2007 Recycling.co.uk
2008–2011 Rapha Condor–Recycling.co.uk
Professional team(s)
2012– Team Sky[1]

Luke Rowe (born 10 March 1990) is a Welsh racing cyclist who currently rides for Team Sky.[2]

Biography

Born in Cardiff, Rowe began racing at a young age, initially riding with his parents on a tandem. He began to enjoy cycling and became a member of the Maindy Flyers, based at Maindy Stadium. As a junior, he was a member of British Cycling's Olympic Development Programme,[3] His brother Matt is also a racing cyclist, and his father, Courtney Rowe, coaches the Paralympian Simon Richardson.

Early career

Rowe made his European debut as a member of the team pursuit squad who took the gold medal at the 2007 European Track Championships. He finished second in the 2008 European Road Race Championships, and won the Madison, along with Mark Christian, and the silver in the team pursuit at the 2008 European Track Championships.[4]

Team Sky (2012–)

Rowe (in gold) at the 2012 Tour of Britain, wearing the leader's jersey during the second stage. Rowe won the race's first stage; his first professional victory.

Rowe joined Team Sky for the 2012 season as a neo-pro, having signed a two-year deal.[5] He took his first professional victory in September 2012 by winning the opening stage of the Tour of Britain. Rowe made his Grand Tour debut at the 2013 Vuelta a España.[6]

Rowe represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, 2014,[7] and finished sixth in road race, which was won by teammate Geraint Thomas. Rowe rode the 2014 Vuelta a España, and helped Chris Froome to finish second overall. Rowe enjoyed a strong start to the 2015 season with fourth place at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and seventh overall at the Tour of Qatar.[8] Rowe then had a breakthrough classics campaign, placing ninth in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (which was won by teammate Ian Stannard, thirteenth in E3 Harelbeke (won by teammate Geraint Thomas) and an impressive eighth in Paris–Roubaix, ahead of Bradley Wiggins (18th) who was riding his final race for Sky.[9] He was selected in Sky's team for the 2015 Tour de France,[10][11] becoming the third Welsh rider to compete in the Tour after Colin Lewis and Geraint Thomas.[12]

In August 2017, Rowe fractured the tibia and fibula in his right leg, when he jumped into shallow water while whitewater rafting at his brother's stag party in Prague.[13] As a result, he is unlikely to be able to race for up to a year.[14]

Rowe is due to return racing, earlier than expected in late February at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour.[15] Rowe originally planned to return for the Commonwealth Games.

Career achievements

Major results

2007
1st Team pursuit, UEC Junior European Track Championships
1st Madison (with Adam Blythe), National Track Championships
2008
UEC Junior European Track Championships
1st Madison (with Mark Christian)
2nd Team pursuit
1st National Derny Championships
2009
1st ZLM Tour
2nd Madison (with Geraint Thomas), National Track Championships
6th Coppa Colli Briantei Internazionale
2010
1st Madison (with Mark Christian), National Track Championships
1st Gran Premio di Poggiana
3rd Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo
4th Gran Premio Palio del Recioto
5th Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften
6th Overall Tour de Berlin
8th Trofeo Franco Balestra Memorial Metelli
9th Road race, Commonwealth Games
2011
1st Madison (with Peter Kennaugh), National Track Championships
1st ZLM Tour
1st Stage 7 Thüringen Rundfahrt
5th Overall Tour de Normandie
8th La Côte Picarde
9th Overall Olympia's Tour
2012
1st Stage 1 Tour of Britain
2nd Duo Normand (with Alex Dowsett)
Revolution Series, Round 3 (Manchester)
1st Scratch Race
1st Australian Pursuit
2013
National Road Championships
5th Road race
5th Time trial
9th Overall Tour of Qatar
2014
National Road Championships
4th Road race
4th Time trial
6th Road race, Commonwealth Games
2015
1st Stage 1 (TTT) Tour de Romandie
4th Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
7th Overall Tour of Qatar
8th Paris–Roubaix
9th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
2016
4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
5th Tour of Flanders
2017
1st Stage 2 Herald Sun Tour
3rd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
5th Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race
6th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
2018
1st Stage 3 (TTT) Critérium du Dauphiné

Classics Results Timeline

This chart shows Rowe's progress in the cobbled classics he mostly participated in from 2012 to present.

Year Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne E3 Harelbeke Gent–Wevelgem Tour of Flanders Paris–Roubaix
2013 53rd – 70th 56th 93rd 109th
2014 11th 120th DNF DNF 62nd 31st
2015 9th 51st 13th DNF 50th 8th
2016 4th 84th 23rd 22nd 5th 14th
2017 6th 3rd 15th DNF 120th DNF

DNF = Did not finish; - = Did not compete

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
A pink jersey Giro d'Italia — — — — — —
A yellow jersey Tour de France — — 136 151 167 128
A red jersey Vuelta a España DNF 141 — — — —
Legend
— Did not compete
DNF Did not finish

By finishing in 167th place in the 2017 Tour de France, Rowe earned the unofficial "Lanterne Rouge", a recognition reserved for the last rider to finish.

References

  1. ↑ Owen, Gareth Rhys (5 September 2011). "Welshman Luke Rowe makes Team Sky switch". BBC Sport Wales. BBC. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "Team Sky (SKY) – GBR". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Luke Rowe Bio". British Cycling. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  4. ↑ Andy Howell (16 September 2008). "Cycling: Young guns shine in Poland". Wales Online. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  5. ↑ "Team Sky signs Rowe". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "Vuelta a Espana: Luke Rowe sole Brit in Team Sky squad". 20 August 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Commonwealth Games 2014: Olympic champion Geraint Thomas and world sprint star Becky James head up Welsh cycling team for Glasgow". Wales Online. 2014-07-09. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Griffiths, Gareth (13 February 2015). "Cardiff cyclist Luke Rowe claims seventh place final finish on Tour of Qatar for Team Sky". Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "Luke Rowe: 8th in Roubaix a sign of things to come". 12 April 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Fotheringham, William (29 June 2015). "Tour de France: Luke Rowe among Froome's chaperones in Team Sky line-up". Retrieved 3 February 2017 – via The Guardian.
  11. ↑ "2015 Tour de France start list". Velo News. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "Tour de France 2015: Luke Rowe ecstatic at Tour selection". bbc.co.uk. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Luke Rowe: Team Sky rider breaks leg on brother's stag party". BBC Sport. 8 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  14. ↑ "Team Sky's Luke Rowe 'could miss a year' after rafting leg break". BBC Sport. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  15. ↑ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rowe-will-return-to-racing-with-team-sky-at-abu-dhabi-tour/
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