Stuart O'Grady retires from professional cycling
Australian Stuart O'Grady has announced his immediate retirement from professional cycling. The 39-year-old Orica-GreenEdge rider has just completed his 17th Tour de France, and has decided that the time is right to hang up his cycling shoes.
"I've always wanted my career to end with something truly special and this year's Tour de France has given me that," said O'Grady via a team statement issued on Monday afternoon.
"We've had a great race, and I'm really proud of what we accomplished. Winning a stage and standing on the podium with all my teammates after the team time trial in Nice was a dream come true for me this late in my career, and to be able to defend the yellow jersey for Simon [Gerrans] and Daryl [Impey] was special. I'm extremely happy to have had a chance to do that one more time before I retired."
O'Grady says that he wishes to spend more time with his family after 23 years as a pro cyclist.
"Originally, I wanted to keep going, but I've kept thinking that this is the year. We reached big goals as a team at the Tour, and I'm proud to finish my career after an amazing experience with an incredible team. I'm turning 40 very soon, and I've realized there are things in my life that I want to prioritise," he said.
O'Grady's victories since turning professional with Gan in 1995 include two Tour de France stages, Paris-Roubaix and two overall wins in the Tour Down Under. He was also a gold medallist in the Madison at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and has won four Commonwealth Games gold medals on the road and track.
O'Grady has competed in every Tour de France since his debut in the race in 1997.
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Stuart O'Grady winning Paris-Roubaix in 2007
Riding with CSC
Leading the break in the 2011 Tour Down Under
O'Grady in the London 2012 men's road race
Third from left: O'Grady was part of Orica-GreenEdge's 2013 Tour de France stage winning team time trial squad
Stuart O'Grady: Career highlights
2008
Herald Sun Tour; overall classification
Herald Sun Tour; stage five
Herald Sun Tour; stage two
2007
Paris-Roubaix
2006
Vuelta a España; stage one (TTT)
Eindhoven Team Time Trial
2005
Tour de France; second, points classification
2004
Olympic Games; gold, men's madison
Tour of Denmark; stage four
Tour de France; stage five
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré; points classification
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré; stage seven
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré; stage five
GP de Viller-Cotterêts
2003
Tour de Langkawi; stage eight
Tour de Langkawi; stage six
Australian National Championships; road race
2002
Commonwealth Games; road race
2001
Tour de France; second, points classification
Tour de France; leader, stages three to nine
Tour de France; stage five (TTT)
Tour Down Under; overall classification
2000
GP du Midi Libre; stage three
Melbourne to Sorrento
1999
Tour de France; second, points classification
Pru Tour (Tour of Britain); stage five
Classic Haribo
Tour Méditerranéen; stage 3b (TTT)
Tour Down Under; overall classification
Tour Down Under; stage five
Tour Down Under; stage three
1998
Tour de France; second, points classification
Tour de France; stage 14
Tour de France; leader, stages four to six
1996
Olympic Games; bronze, men's points race
Olympic Games; bronze, men's team pursuit
Related links
Stuart O'Grady: Rider profile
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Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
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