Shara Marche

Marche was born on 23 December 1987 in Nambour, Queensland.^[1][8] Her father David Gillow is an Olympic cyclist who represented Zimbabwe at the 1980 Summer Olympics.^[1][9] She attended Nambour Christian College then was home schooled and obtained a Bachelor of Language from Western Sydney Institute.^[1][8] As of 2012^[update], she lived in Belli Park, Queensland.^[1] Beyond cycling, Marche is also a surfer.^[8]

In 2019, she married Nicolas Marche, then a directeur sportif for UCI WorldTeam Team Sunweb. The couple live in Besançon, France,^[10] and have a son, born in 2022.

Marche did not become a professional cyclist until she was twenty years old, taking inspiration from her father to get involved with the sport.^[1][9]

Marche was coached by Martin Barras from 2010.^[1][8] Her coach said she "was one of the most physically gifted cyclists he had seen, but tended to be too conservative and protective when competing."^[9] Her primary training base is in Italy, with a secondary training base in Australia.^[1] She is a member of the Sunshine Coast Cycling Club.^[1] She has cycling scholarships with the Queensland Academy of Sport and Australian Institute of Sport.^[1][8] She was a member of the Orica–AIS professional cycling team.^[11]

Marche finished 4th at the 2011 Memorial Davide Fardelli in Rogno, Italy.^[1] She finished 3rd at the Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen in Germany.^[1] She finished 9th overall at the 2011 Giro d'Italia Femminile in Italy.^[1] She finished 8th at the 2012 La visite chrono du Gatineau in Canada.^[1] She finished 7th at the 2012 Prologue GP Elsy Jacobs in Luxembourg.^[1] She finished 1st in the individual time trial and 2nd in the road event at the 2012 Oceania Road Championships in Queenstown, New Zealand.^[1] She finished 2nd at the 2012 Women's Tour of New Zealand.^[1] She finished 1st in the individual time trial event at the 2012 Australian Road Championships in Learmonth, Australia.^[1]

Marche was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the road race and individual time trial.^{[1][9][11][12][13]} Prior to the Olympics, she raced with Australia's Orica–AIS team in the Giro Donne.^[9] She finished 13th in the time trial and 39th in the road race.^[14]

In September 2016, it was announced that Marche would join FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope for the 2017 season.^[15] She spent the rest of her professional career with the team, announcing her retirement in September 2020.^[16]

Source:^[17]