Luke Rowe (born 10 March 1990) is a British former

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling spo ...

from Wales, who rode professionally for and its later iterations between 2012 and 2024. Largely deployed as a

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their cycling team, team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équip ...

during his professional career, Rowe took two wins – stage victories at the

2012 Tour of Britain The 2012 Tour of Britain was the ninth running of the current Tour of Britain and the 73rd British tour in total. The race consisted of eight stages, starting on 9 September in Ipswich, and finishing on 16 September in Guildford. The race was pa ...

and the 2017 Herald Sun Tour. Rowe represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games at four consecutive Games between

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, and was also a team member of five consecutive

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

victories by / riders between

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, which included him being the

lanterne rouge The ''lanterne rouge'' () is the competitor in last place in the Tour de France. The phrase comes from the French for "Red Lantern" and refers to the red lantern hung on the rear vehicle of a passenger railway train or the brake van of a freight ...

of the

2017 Tour de France The 2017 Tour de France was the 104th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 21-stage race took place across , commencing with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf, Germany on 1 July, and concluding with the Champs ...

. Following his retirement from the peloton in 2024, Rowe became a

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (, ) is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is seen as the equivalent to a field manager in baseball, or a head coach in football. At professional level, a directeur sportif follows t ...

with

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

Career

Early career

Born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Rowe began racing at a young age, initially riding with his parents on a

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

. He began to enjoy cycling and became a member of the Maindy Flyers, based at

Maindy Centre Maindy Centre (, formerly known as Maindy Stadium, now also known as Maindy Pool and Cycle Track) is a velodrome and indoor swimming pool facility in the Maindy area of Cardiff, Wales. The velodrome was used in the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

, and as a junior, he was a member of

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national sport governing body, governing body for cycle sport in United Kingdom, Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands a ...

's Olympic Development Programme. In 2007, Rowe signed an initial one-year contract with

UCI Continental team +Men Teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who a ...

, but could not ride UCI races with the team as he was still a junior. He made his European debut as a member of the junior team pursuit squad who took the gold medal at the

UEC European Track Championships The European Track Cycling Championships are a set of elite level competition events held annually for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling, exclusively for European cyclists, and regulated by the European Cycling Union (UEC ...

in Germany, and later in the year, he won the elite British National Madison Championships with Adam Blythe. He remained with the team into his final junior year in 2008, winning a silver medal in the junior road race at the

UEC European Road Championships UEC may refer to: Organisations * Uganda Electoral Commission, the electoral commission of Uganda * Union Election Commission, the electoral commission of Myanmar * University of Electro-Communications, a university based in Chofu city, Tokyo, Japa ...

in Italy, and two medals at the

in Poland – gold in the madison with Mark Christian and silver in the team pursuit. For 2009, Rowe joined the British Cycling Academy and its 100% ME teams on the road and the track. During his first season in the British Cycling Academy, Rowe won the ZLM Tour one-day race held as part of the

UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup is an annual, season-long competition for under-23 male road cyclists. It was created by the Union Cycliste Internationale in 2007 to aid in the development of young riders. It is the most important competition for u ...

, and finished second in the British National Madison Championships with

Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, ( , ; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and ...

. The following year, he won the

Gran Premio di Poggiana The Gran Premio Sportivi di Poggiana is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Poggiana, Italy. It has been part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introd ...

one-day race, and the British National Madison Championships with Mark Christian, as well as making his first appearance for Wales at the Commonwealth Games, finishing ninth in the road race in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. He won the ZLM Tour for the second time in three years in 2011, as well as winning a stage of the Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23, and he defended his British National Madison Championships title – partnering

Peter Kennaugh Peter Robert Kennaugh Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 15 June 1989) is a Isle of Man, Manx former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2019 for and . In 2012 he won the gold medal as part of the Great Brit ...

this time around.

Team Sky (2012–2024)

Rowe joined for the 2012 season as a neo-pro, having signed an initial two-year deal. He took his first professional victory that September by winning the opening stage of the

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after th ...

, avoiding a crash inside the final that delayed several sprinters. At the end of the month, Rowe and

Alex Dowsett Alex Edward Albert Dowsett (born 3 October 1988) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He was a time trial specialist, and in 2015, he broke track cycling's world hour record ...

placed second at the

Duo Normand The Duo Normand is a two-man team time trial (against the clock) for elite racing cyclists. Held annually at Marigny-le-Lozon in Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive wi ...

, behind

Luke Durbridge Luke Durbridge (born 9 April 1991) is an Australian road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Durbridge specialises in the individual time trial, Road bicycle racing, road races, and various track cycling events. As well a ...

and

Svein Tuft Svein Tuft (born May 9, 1977) is a Canadian former road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2019 for the , , , and teams. Tuft was the winner of the 2006–07 UCI America Tour, and was a thirteen-time champion at the Canadia ...

. Rowe made his Grand Tour debut at the

2013 Vuelta a España The 2013 Vuelta a España was the 68th edition of the race. Chris Horner won the 2013 Vuelta at the age of 41 on 15 September 2013, becoming the oldest ever Grand Tour winner. Horner beat his nearest challenger, Italian Vincenzo Nibali, by finis ...

, but withdrew from the race before the final rest day. In December 2013, Rowe signed a contract extension with . Rowe represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games for the second consecutive edition in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, and finished sixth in the road race in Glasgow, won by teammate

. Rowe rode the

2014 Vuelta a España The 2014 Vuelta a España took place between 23 August and 14 September 2014 and was the 69th edition of the race. It featured eight mountain stages, five hill stages, five flat stages, and three time trials (one team and two individual), two of ...

, and helped

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...

to finish second overall. Rowe enjoyed a strong start to the 2015 season with fourth place at the

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race also known as Great Ocean Road Race or Cadel Road Race is an annual professional one-day road bicycle racing for both men and women starting and finishing in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and routed along t ...

and seventh overall at the

Tour of Qatar The Tour of Qatar was an annual professional cycling stage race held in Qatar. First organized in 2002, the event was part of the UCI Asia Tour until 2016. The 2017 edition was to have seen the event upgraded to the UCI World Tour for the firs ...

. Rowe then had a breakthrough classics campaign, placing ninth in

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad , previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and holds significant pre ...

(won by teammate Ian Stannard), thirteenth in

E3 Harelbeke E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 ki ...

(won by teammate Thomas), and eighth in

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

, ten places ahead of

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional Road bicycle racing, road and track cycling, track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but ...

, who was riding his final race for . He was selected in 's squad for the

, becoming the third Welsh rider to compete in the race after

Colin Lewis Colin Lewis (27 July 1942 – 4 March 2022) was a British racing cyclist. He started racing at 19 and rode the Milk Race in 1960, finishing 7th. Cycling career Lewis represented Britain in the Tour de l'Avenir and the world championships a ...

and Thomas. Froome ultimately won the race for the second successive year, with Rowe predominantly marshalling the breakaway compositions at the front of the peloton, along with Stannard. Later in the season, Rowe signed a three-year contract extension with the team, until the end of the 2018 season. In 2016, Rowe placed fourth at

, having initiated a five-man breakaway with around remaining that held to the finish. Later in the year, Rowe was 's highest-placed rider at the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

– finishing in fifth place – before supporting Froome to a third consecutive

win.

After a fifth-place finish at the 2017 Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Rowe took his second professional victory with a win on the second stage of the

Herald Sun Tour The Herald Sun Tour is an Australian professional bicycle race held in Melbourne and provincial Victoria, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The first tour was held in October 1952 as a six-day event. It is now held annuall ...

; having been a part of a ten-man breakaway, Rowe followed a move by Tanner Putt inside the final before dropping Putt and soloing to a 33-second victory over Conor Dunne. He also placed highly in both races of the Belgian "Opening Weekend", finishing sixth at

and third at

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Be ...

. He was selected for a third consecutive

, with teammate Froome looking for a fourth consecutive win at the race; on the opening stage, he broke a rib in a crash, but rode on and ultimately finished the race as the

, having finished as the last-placed of the 167 riders in the general classification, topped by Froome. The following month, 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. Having feared he would be unlikely to race for up to a year, Rowe returned to racing earlier than expected, in February 2018 at the

Abu Dhabi Tour The Abu Dhabi Tour was a men's Road bicycle racing#Stage races, cycling stage race that took place in the United Arab Emirates, held annually between 2015 Abu Dhabi Tour, 2015 and 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour, 2018. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi Tour merged with ...

, having originally planned to return for the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

. He was disqualified at the

for illegally riding on a bike path during the race, but was a road captain for a fourth successive overall win by a rider at the

– this time for his fellow Welshman Thomas. That October, Rowe signed a three-year contract extension, which tied him to the team until the end of the 2021 season. In 2019, Rowe took sixth-place finishes in the

and

Dwars door Vlaanderen ''Dwars door Vlaanderen'' ('Across Flanders') is a semi-classic road bicycle race in Belgium, held annually since 1945. The race starts in Roeselare and finishes in Waregem, both in West Flanders. Since 2017 the event is included in the UCI Wor ...

one-day races, and he also placed second on a stage of the

– as part of a 1–2 finish for , behind

Owain Doull Owain Daniel Doull (born 2 May 1993) is a Welsh people, Welsh road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Doull specialises in the team pursuit on the track, and won a gold medal in the discipline at the Cycling at the 2016 S ...

. He was also part of a fifth successive overall win for the team at the

, with

Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 202 ...

winning the general classification; Rowe was ultimately disqualified from the race, following an altercation with Tony Martin during stage seventeen. In February 2020, Rowe signed a two-year contract extension with the team, now renamed as , until the end of the 2023 season. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in Wales The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Wales on 28 February 2020, with a case being reported in the Swansea area; this first known case was a person who had recently returned from Italy. The first known case of community transmi ...

, which suspended racing from March until July, Rowe provided a replacement bicycle to an NHS key worker, whose bicycle had been stolen from outside the

University Hospital of Wales University Hospital of Wales () (UHW), also known as the Heath Hospital, is a 1,080-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. It is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Construction started in 1963, and the ...

. With none of the riders being in overall contention at the

, Rowe formed part of the breakaway on stage nineteen, ultimately finishing seventh on the stage to Champagnole. Over the following three seasons, Rowe did not record any top-ten individual finishes, although he did feature in the breakaway at the 2021 Paris–Roubaix and 2022 Bretagne Classic Ouest-France races on the

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

. In October 2023, he signed a new two-year deal with the team, again renamed as , until the end of the 2025 season. At the start of the 2024 season, Rowe featured in the breakaway on the final stage of

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

– on his 34th birthday – but crashed out of the E3 Saxo Classic later in March, suffering a concussion in the process. In May, Rowe announced that he would retire from professional cycling at the end of the year, citing that the concussion had been a factor in his decision; he expressed his dream to end his career at the

that September – however, this did not come to fruition.

Post-competitive career

In October 2024 it was announced that Rowe would join as a

from the start of the 2025 season.

Personal life

Rowe is married, with two children. His father, Courtney Rowe, coached the Paralympian Simon Richardson, while his brother Matthew Rowe and his sister-in-law

Dani Rowe Danielle 'Dani' Rowe Order of the British Empire, MBE (née King; born 21 November 1990) is a British former Road bicycle racing, road and track cyclist. She retired from cycling in December 2018. A Cycling at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women ...

also competed professionally. Along with his former teammate

, Rowe hosts a

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, ''Watts Occurring'', and the pair have contributed to

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

's coverage of professional cycling.

Major results

Road

Source: ;2007 : 1st Jersey green

Points classification, Junior Tour of Wales ;2008 : 2nd Silver medal europe

Road race, UEC European Junior Championships ;2009 : 1st ZLM Tour : 6th Coppa Colli Briantei Internazionale ;2010 : 1st

: 3rd

Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo The Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Un ...

: 4th

Gran Premio Palio del Recioto The Gran Premio Palio del Recioto is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Unio ...

: 5th Tour of Flanders U23 : 6th Overall

Tour de Berlin The Tour de Berlin was a road bicycle race held annually between 1953 and 2016 in Germany. From 2007 to its demise, the race was organised as a 2.2U event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing com ...

: 8th Trofeo Franco Balestra Memorial Metelli : 9th Road race,

;2011 : 1st ZLM Tour : 1st Stage 7 Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23 : 5th Overall

Tour de Normandie Tour de Normandie is a road bicycle race held annually in the region of Normandy, France. The race started in 1939, but was not held in the periods of 1940–1955 and 1960–1980. It was originally a race for amateurs, but was opened for professi ...

: 8th

La Côte Picarde La Côte Picarde was a professional cycling race held between 1986 and 2015 in Picardy, France. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 200 ...

: 9th Overall

Olympia's Tour The Olympia's Tour is a cycling stage race held in the Netherlands. History A.S.C. Olympia was founded in Amsterdam on 27 November 1898. It ran one-day races but wanted a race through all the Netherlands. The first Olympia's Tour was in 1909, wi ...

;2012 (1 pro win) : 1st Stage 1

: 2nd

(with

) ;2013 : National Championships ::5th Road race ::5th

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

: 9th Overall

;2014 : National Championships ::4th Road race ::4th

: 6th Road race,

;2015 : 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: 4th Road race, National Championships : 4th

: 7th Overall

: 8th

: 9th

;2016 : 4th

: 5th

;2017 (1) : 1st Stage 2

: 3rd

: 5th

: 6th

;2018 : 1st Stage 3 ( TTT)

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

: 1st Stage 1b ( TTT)

Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali (), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. History Between 1999 and 2000 it was cal ...

;2019 : 6th

: 6th

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Classics results timeline

Track

;2007 : 1st Team pursuit, UEC European Junior Championships : 1st Madison,

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

(with Adam Blythe) ;2008 : UEC European Junior Championships ::1st UEC Champion Jersey

Madison (with Mark Christian) ::2nd Silver medal europe

Team pursuit : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Derny A Derny is a motorized bicycle for motor-paced cycling events such as during six-day and Keirin racing and motor-paced road races. Some riders train behind a derny on the road. The Derny is so-called as it was originally produced by the Fren ...

;2009 : 2nd Madison,

(with

) ;2010 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Madison,

(with Mark Christian) ;2011 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Madison,

(with

) ;2012 : Revolution Series,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

::1st Australian pursuit ::1st Scratch

References

External links

*
Luke Rowe profile
at Team Sky * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Luke 1990 births Living people Welsh male cyclists British male cyclists Cyclists from Cardiff Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales Cyclists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games 21st-century Welsh sportsmen