Luke Rowe

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 Centre. As a junior, he was a member of British Cycling's Olympic Development Programme,^[4] His father, Courtney Rowe, coaches the Paralympian Simon Richardson,^{[citation needed]} while his brother Matthew Rowe and his sister-in-law Dani Rowe also competed professionally.

Track career edit

Rowe made his European debut as a member of the team pursuit squad who took the gold medal at the 2007 UEC 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.^[5]

Team Sky / INEOS Grenadiers (2012–2024) edit

Rowe joined Team Sky for the 2012 season as a neo-pro, having signed a two-year deal.^[6][7] 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.^[8]

Rowe represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, 2014,^[9] and finished sixth in the road race, which was won by teammate Geraint Thomas. Rowe rode the 2014 Vuelta a España, and helped Chris Froome to finish second overall.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[10] 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.^[11] He was selected in Sky's team for the Tour de France,^[12][13] becoming the third Welsh rider to compete in the Tour after Colin Lewis and Geraint Thomas.^[14]

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. 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.^[15] Having feared he would be unlikely to race for up to a year,^[16] Rowe returned to racing earlier than expected, in late February at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour,^[17] having originally planned to return for the Commonwealth Games.

In February 2020, Rowe signed a new contract with Team Ineos, extending his contract with the team until the end of the 2023 season.^[18]

In May 2024, Rowe announced his retirement from professional cycling. He had signed new two-year contract with the Ineos Grenadiers in October 2023, but had not raced since suffering a concussion in a crash at the E3 Saxo Classic in March and said that had been a factor in his decision. . Rowe hopes to end career at tour of britain in September 2024.

Grand Tour general classification results timeline edit

Grand Tour	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Giro d'Italia	Has not contested during his career
Tour de France	—	—	136	151	167	128	DSQ	129	DNF	106
Vuelta a España	DNF	141	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Classics results timeline edit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luke Rowe.

• Official website
• Luke Rowe profile at Team Sky
• Luke Rowe at UCI
• Luke Rowe at ProCyclingStats
• Luke Rowe at Cycling Archives
• Luke Rowe at Team Wales
• Luke Rowe at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
• Luke Rowe on X