Clark ruled out of Burnie as weather dampens action

LLNESS has forced cycling legend Danny Clark to withdraw from Thursday's Burnie New Year's Day carnival.

Clark, 63, is battling a mystery virus and was holding out hope of returning to the scene of his famous Burnie Wheel win in 1977 but officially pulled out last night.

The news was a further blow to the Fulton Hogan Christmas Carnival series after the cancellation of Devonport's day one program.

It forced organisers to reschedule today's program to include the prestigious running events, including the men's and women's Gifts.

Clark, a five-time world champion, came out of retirement this year to ride at the 30th anniversary Launceston Carnival at the Silverdome last Saturday night.

He was struck down by an illness but still raced at the Silverdome, opting to forgo Latrobe on Sunday in a bid to hopefully be fit and healthy for Burnie.

However, his recovery hasn't gone as well as expected, in fact much worse, and the winner of all four major Tasmanian wheelraces was in bed again yesterday.

Burnie Athletic Club president Bruce Jackson said while the club was disappointed by Clark's withdrawal, Thursday's carnival would still be high calibre.

"Danny Clark was the icing on an already impressive cake, so it's still a great program even without him," Jackson said.