Stuart O'Grady

Stuart O'Grady OAM (born 6 August 1973) is a retired Australian professional road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 1995 and 2013.^[2] A former track cyclist, O'Grady and Graeme Brown won a gold medal in the Men's Madison at the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[3] O'Grady also won Paris–Roubaix in 2007. O'Grady competed in the Tour de France from 1997 and contended for the points classification in the Tour de France known as the green jersey, finishing second in the 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2005 races. He wore the yellow jersey of general classification leader in 1998 and 2001.

Stuart O'Grady
OAM

O'Grady at the 2013 Down Under Classic
Personal information
Full name	Stuart O'Grady
Nickname	Stuey
Born	(1973-08-06) 6 August 1973 (age 50) Adelaide, Australia
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	73 kg (161 lb; 11.5 st)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road and track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter/Classics specialist
Professional teams
1995–2003	GAN
2004–2005	Cofidis
2006–2010	Team CSC
2011	Leopard Trek
2012–2013	GreenEDGE^[1]
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 2 individual stages (1998, 2004) 2 TTT (2001, 2013) Vuelta a España 2 TTT (2006, 2011) Stage races Tour Down Under (1999, 2001) One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (2003) HEW Cyclassics (2004) Paris–Roubaix (2007)
Medal record Representing  Australia Men's track cycling Olympic Games 2004 Athens Madison 1992 Barcelona 4000m Team Pursuit 1996 Atlanta 4000m Team Pursuit 1996 Atlanta Points Race Commonwealth Games 1994 Victoria, BC Team Pursuit 1994 Victoria, BC 10 Miles Scratch 2002 Manchester Road Race 1994 Victoria, BC Points Race 1998 Kuala Lumpur Individual Time Trial 1994 Victoria, BC Individual Pursuit World Championships 1993 Hamar Team Pursuit 1995 Bogotá Team Pursuit 1991 Stuttgart Team Pursuit 1994 Palermo Team Pursuit 1995 Bogotá Individual Pursuit

With his participation in the 2013 Tour de France, he tied George Hincapie's record of 17 participations in the Tour de France. However, Hincapie was removed from three of his 17 starts for his part in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, and O'Grady himself admitted having been assisted by illicit erythropoietin (EPO) use at least on the 1998 Tour de France^[4][5] (the Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk holds the absolute records of completed Tours de France, with 16 from 1970 to 1986).

He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2005 Australia Day Honours "for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games."^[6][7] O'Grady is the current Race Director of the Tour Down Under.

Early life and amateur career

Stuart O'Grady was born in Adelaide and grew up as a part of a cycling family. His father represented South Australia in road and track cycling, and his uncle, Robert Baird, is a former Australian cyclist who competed in the men's team pursuit at the 1964 Summer Olympics.^[8]

As a student, he attended St Paul's College. At this time, he started in track cycling and won a silver medal in the 4000m team pursuit at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona at age 18.^[3] In the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, he won bronze medals in both the points race and team pursuit.^[3] He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.^[9]

Professional career

He joined the GAN professional team, which included English time trial specialist Chris Boardman. This team became known as Crédit Agricole from 1999.

In the 1998 Tour de France, a race for which he confirmed to doping himself with illicit and proscribed erythropoietin,^[4] he wore the yellow jersey for three days. He also won his first stage. In 2001 he wore the yellow jersey for six days. He was Australian Cyclist of the Year and Australian Male Road Cyclist of the Year in 1998 and 2001. In 1998 he finished second in the green jersey classification. On 6 July 2000, he pulled out of the Tour de France after breaking his collarbone in three places with 85 kilometres (53 mi) to the finish, he still finished the stage. In 2001, O'Grady had been in contention for the green jersey with Erik Zabel but he was defeated on the final day.

In 2001, he had a narrowing in the iliac artery. Tests showed his right leg produced more power than his left. After surgery in April 2002, he was again in contention in the 2002 Tour de France. In 2003 and 2004 he was overshadowed in the green jersey competition by fellow Australian sprinters Baden Cooke (2003) and Robbie McEwen (2004). O'Grady still managed to win his second Tour de France stage, in 2004.

 

O'Grady at the 2005 Tour de France.

O'Grady moved to Cofidis in 2004 to concentrate on races such as Paris–Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. After a start fraught with injuries and doping allegations in his team, he won two stages and the points classification in the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. He won a stage in the 2004 Tour de France and spent a few days in the green jersey. He won the UCI Road World Cup race, HEW Cyclassics. He topped his victories by winning an Olympic gold medal in the madison cycling with Graeme Brown.

In the 2005 Tour de France, O'Grady came second in the green jersey classification to Thor Hushovd of Norway, followed by Robbie McEwen. Late in 2005, he signed a one-year contract with Bjarne Riis to ride on Team CSC, now known as Saxo Bank, for 2006. He broke several ribs in an early season race in Italy and a vertebra in the Tour de France. O'Grady continued riding the Tour despite the pain, coming third in the final stage.

Early in 2007, O'Grady became the first Australian to win a major classic when he crossed the line first in Paris–Roubaix. He had a puncture midway but recovered to rejoin the field before arriving alone in the Roubaix Velodrome.^[10]

On 15 July 2007, O'Grady was forced to abandon on stage 8 of the 2007 Tour de France, from Le-Grand-Bornand to Tignes, after crashing on a descent, fracturing eight ribs, his right shoulder blade, right collar bone and three vertebrae, and puncturing his right lung.^[11]

O'Grady crashed 30 kilometres (19 mi) into the 2009 Milan–San Remo when another rider came down in front of him, he punctured his lung and suffered a broken right collar bone once again as well as a broken rib.^[12]

On 8 August 2011, O'Grady announced that he had joined the new Australian team GreenEDGE for 2012.^[1][13] He announced his retirement from professional cycling as a competitive rider on 23 July 2013, following the conclusion of the 2013 Tour de France.^[14]

Doping

On 24 July 2013, O'Grady was named in the French Senate report detailing EPO use in the 1998 Tour de France as having returned a sample suspicious for EPO use.^[15] He confirmed the same day in an interview with an Australian newspaper that he had taken EPO prior to the 1998 Tour de France, but stated that the arrests around that Tour scared him off doping in the rest of his career.^[4]

This announcement has created some controversy amongst cycling fans, as O'Grady had been a vocal critic of the doping culture that existed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.^[16][17] As a result of his doping admission, the Australian Institute of Sport indefinitely suspended O'Grady from its 'Best of the Best'. O'Grady had been inducted in 2006.^[18]

Personal life

O'Grady set up and financially supports an Australian junior cycling development team, CSC Team O'Grady, which was established in 2005.

O'Grady is today a member of the 'Champions for Peace' club, a group of 54 famous elite athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based international organisation.^[19]

O'Grady supports the Port Adelaide Power in the Australian Football League.^[20]

The Stuart O'Grady Bikeway adjacent to the Northern Expressway in the northern suburbs of Adelaide is named after O'Grady.

Major results

1992

2nd   Team pursuit, Olympic Games

1993

1st   Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships

1994

Commonwealth Games

1st   Team pursuit

1st   Scratch race

2nd   Points race

3rd   Individual pursuit

1995

1st   Team pursuit, UCI Track World Championships

1996

1st Stage 3 Vuelta a Murcia

Olympic Games

3rd   Team pursuit

3rd   Points race

1997

Herald Sun Tour

1st Stages 1, 6 & 8

1st Stage 5 Bayern Rundfahrt

1st   Points classification Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme

7th Gent–Wevelgem

1998

1st   Overall PruTour

1st Stages 2 & 7

Tour de France^{Assisted by illicit erythropoeitin use [4]}

1st Stage 14

Held   after Stages 4–6

1st Stage 2 Tour de Luxembourg

1st Stage 5 Tour du Poitou-Charentes

2nd   Time trial, Commonwealth Games

2nd GP Haribo

1999

1st   Overall Tour Down Under

1st Stages 3 & 5

1st Haribo Classic

1st Stage 5 PruTour

2000

1st Stage 3 GP du Midi-Libre

2001

1st   Overall Tour Down Under

1st Gouden Pijl Emmen

Tour de France

1st Stage 5 (TTT)

Held   after Stages 3–6 & 8–9

2002

Commonwealth Games

1st   Road race

2003

1st   Road race, National Road Championships

Tour de Langkawi

1st Stages 6 & 8

1st Centenaire classification Tour de France

3rd Tour of Flanders

3rd Paris–Tours

2004

1st   Madison, Olympic Games

Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

1st Stages 5 & 7

1st HEW Cyclassics

1st Grand Prix de Villers-Cotterêts

1st Stage 5 Tour de France

3rd Overall Danmark Rundt

1st   Points classification

1st Stage 1

1st Wiener Radfest

3rd Milan–San Remo

2005

2nd Overall Volta ao Algarve

3rd Overall Tour Down Under

4th Milan–San Remo

6th Rund um Köln

10th Gent–Wevelgem

2006

1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España

2nd Overall Tour of Denmark

1st   Points classification

2nd Züri-Metzgete

3rd Paris–Tours

2007

1st Paris–Roubaix

3rd Dwars door Vlaanderen

4th Milano–Torino

5th Milan–San Remo

5th Overall Tour of California

5th Omloop Het Volk

9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

10th Tour of Flanders

2008

1st   Overall Herald Sun Tour

1st Stages 2 & 5

5th Paris–Roubaix

8th Gent–Wevelgem

2009

2nd Overall Tour Down Under

2010

7th Mumbai Cyclothon

10th Overall Tour of Qatar

2011

1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España

8th Paris–Tours

9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

10th Milan–San Remo

2012

1st Stage 1 (TTT) Tirreno–Adriatico

6th Road race, Olympic Games

2013

1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	DNF	—	—	DNF	—	—	—	—	—
Tour de France	109	54	94	DNF	54	77	90	61	77	89	DNF	106	124	149	78	97	161
/ /  Vuelta a España	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	DNF	—	65	—	—	DNF	DNF	93	—	—

Legend

—	Did not compete
DNF	Did not finish

See also

• List of Australians who have led the Tour de France general classification
• List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games

References

1. Aubrey, Jane (8 August 2011). "GreenEdge confirms O'Grady recruitment". Cycling News. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
2. Wynn, Nigel (22 July 2013). "Stuart O'Grady retires from professional cycling". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
4. Homfray, Reece (25 July 2013). "I doped for 1998 Tour de France, confesses Australian cycling star Stuart O'Grady". The Advertiser. Adelaide. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
5. Kogoy, Peter (29 June 2013). "Stuart O'Grady enters Tour de France record books as big names fall". The Australian. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
6. (PDF). gg.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
7. "Stuart O'Grady OAM". Cycling Australia. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
8. . sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
9. "Roll of honour – AIS Roll of Honour for the Olympics". Australian Institute of Sport. Australian Sports Commission. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
10. [1] 4 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
11. Val Migliaccio (30 July 2007). "I'll be back: O'Grady". The Advertiser. Adelaide.
12. "O'Grady recovering after surgery". Cycling Central. 24 March 2009.
13. "O'Grady joins GreenEDGE cycling team". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 2011.
14. "Stuart O'Grady Announces Retirement" (Press release). Orica–GreenEDGE. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
15. "French Senate releases positive EPO cases from 1998 Tour de France". Cycling News. 24 July 2013.
16. Homfray, Reece. "Stuart O'Grady says until now he had refused to believe doping claims against Lance Armstrong". News.com.au.
17. Aubrey, Jane (19 December 2012). "O'Grady: Doping Was Never an Option". Cycling News.
18. . Australian Sports Commission News, 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
19. . Champions for Peace. Peace and Sport. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
20. Beveridge, Riley (29 January 2016). "Your AFL club's most famous supporters, from Barack Obama to Cam Newton". Fox Sports. Retrieved 29 January 2016.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stuart O'Grady.

• Official website
• Stuart O'Grady at UCI 
• Stuart O'Grady at Cycling Archives 
• Stuart O'Grady at ProCyclingStats 
• Stuart O'Grady at Cycling Quotient 
• Stuart O'Grady at CycleBase 
• Stuart O'Grady at Olympedia 
• Stuart O'Grady at the Australian Olympic Committee