Stuart O’Grady believes the assault charges are just a publicity stunt
Two-time winner of the Tour Down Under, Stuart O’ Grady has been accused of assault after an argument with a chauffeur, Adelaide Advertiser reported earlier.
The chauffeur told the police that he was physically assaulted by the cyclist after a discussion about wearing the seatbelt. The incident is being treated as a “minor physical assault” by the police.
Grady is one of the main riders for the World Tour debutant, Team GreenEdge. The event was reported on the eve of Santos Tour Down Under which took everyone by surprise.
"Stuey is the victim here. We find the timing of this to be quite strange. He's a family man and a proud local. He had witnesses and he's here to race", were the first reactions from the Australian side.
The driver, Ralf Hadzic, told the police over the weekend that he picked O’Grady, his wife and two other passengers from The Lane Vineyard on January 10th.
He also claims that the cyclist threw a glass in the vehicle after physically attacking him.
The Australian cyclist who is busy training for the race in Adelaide, Australia, faced the media calmly.
Shayne Bannan of Team Green Edge briefed that the team will fully support O’Grady during the process.
Stuart shared his disappointment on the issue, “I think it's pretty outrageous. I think, you know, I was a guest speaker at a dinner, I had a fantastic night. I just find it very bizarre with the timing, if I'd done any of these accusations why it's taken
a week for it to come out?”
The 38-year-old also cited that the situation is nothing else but a publicity stunt and also understands that this is not the first time for the chauffeur to be involved in such an issue.
Stuart stated that if the allegations were true, then the police should have approached him when the incident occurred.
He believes that there is an obvious reason why the news is coming out now, just a day before GreenEdge’s world tour debut.
The Australian team is hopeful for a positive start to the season. Robbie McEwen, Stuart O’Grady, Simon Gerrans, Leigh Howard, Matt Goss and Luke Durbridge will represent the GreenEdge Squad at the Santos Tour Down Under 2012.
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