Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Mario De Clercq | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Oudenaarde, Belgium | 5 March 1966||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 66 kg (146 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline |
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Role |
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Professional teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1991–1992 | Buckler–Colnago–Decca | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1993–1995 | Lotto | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1996–2000 | Palmans–Boghemans | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2001 | Domo–Farm Frites–Latexco | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002–2003 | Palmans–Collstrop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004 | Mr. Bookmaker–Palmans–Collstrop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Managerial team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007–2015 | Sunweb–Projob | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mario De Clercq (born 5 March 1966) is a Belgian former racing cyclist. He specialized in cyclo-cross racing but also rode on the road and circuit races during his career, he raced as a professional between 1991 and 2004. The majority of his years as a professional were under the sponsorship of Palmans–Boghemans and its various co-sponsors.
Born in Oudenaarde, Belgium, De Clercq is a three-time world cyclo-cross champion capturing the 1998, 1999 and 2002 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. In addition, De Clercq won the 2001 and 2002 Belgian National Cyclo-cross Championships.
Accused of being in possession of banned substances, along with Johan Museeuw and nine other riders, investigators visited their houses in 2003, [1] they faced an initial hearing in Kortrijk on 11 October 2005. [2] De Clercq was due to stand trial on drug charges at a Belgian Court in 2006. [3]
De Clercq, along with Hans De Clercq (no relation), [4] has been managing the Sunweb - Pro Job Cycling Team since early 2007.
In September 2007, the long-awaited trial began. [5] [6] De Clercq was found in possession of human growth hormone and Aranesp, a synthetic drug which increases red blood cell levels, which Museeuw obtained from Jose Landuyt. The court proceedings were adjourned until 23 September 2008, pending a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the point of law. [7]
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