Stuart O’Grady leaves Saxo Bank
Australian cyclist Stuart O’Grady has confirmed that he is leaving the Danish team Saxo Bank. The Bjarne Riis-led team hosted Andy Schleck in his two consecutive second-place finishes
in the Tour de France, both times runner-up to Alberto Contador.
“The contract's pretty much signed and completed but it's just up to that (new) team whether or not they release it or not,” said O’Grady.
With the Schleck brothers having left the team to help found a Luxembourg-based ProTour squad, Riis has attempted to confirm the team’s Grand Tour presence by signing Contador.
However, the champion has recently tested positive for banned substances, and if he cannot clear his name the future of the team will be in doubt.
Though he hasn’t featured at the front lines of the Grand Tours since 2004, O’Grady is a four-time runner-up for the Tour de France green jersey and served as a major supporter
for the Schleck brothers in recent years. He supported Andy in the Vuelta a Espana until Riis’ questionably removed them both from the race for drinking during the event this, though reports differ on how much they drank and whether or not Riis had other motivations.
Either, the issue is still clearly a sore one with O'Grady.
“It also means I've ridden my last race for Saxo Bank,” said O’Grady after the incident. “This is not the way I would have wanted my career racing for Bjarne Riis to end. I've ridden
my guts out on the front for the team for the last six seasons.”
Though the cyclist has not announced which team he has signed with, he has confirmed that the deal is done. O’Grady was included on a list of 15 riders likely to follow the Schleck
brothers to Luxembourg, released at the end of August, but very few signings by the new squad have been made official. So far the brothers have brought Jakob Fuglsang and Jens Voigt from their former team and are expected to announce more names.
“At the end of the day the team chose me as much as I chose the team,” said O’Grady, without naming names. “I'm really looking forward to the next year, getting on in age so it's a bit of a fresh change,
new challenges and a new set-up which is always pretty exciting.”
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