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| Stuart O'Grady won this years Paris-Roubaix (© Cyclingheroes) |
The winner of the 2007edition of Paris-Roubaix didn't have pain during the CSC training camp in Norway. Stuart O'Grady
told team-csc.com: "It has all mended up pretty well. I have no pain at all so it's really promising. I have been racing a
little bit, and that has been okay. I have been carrying around a big backpack in the snow in Norway for a few days without
pain. That's a good sign."
O' Grady kicks of the season at the Australian National Championships in January on the same day the rest of the
team going for Tour Down Under arrives.
"I can't say now, that I'll have the form to win, but obviously I'd like to
be in the top end of the results. We'll just have to see how it goes."
The main objectives in the first half of the
season for O'Grady is of course the spring classics.
"I'll be going for Milano-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders and
Paris-Roubaix as the main objectives. I'd like to say that I can repeat the victory in Roubaix, but you know, it's such a
special race. This year we had 27 degrees and a heat wave - next year it could be seven degrees and mud. That's the beauty
of Paris-Roubaix, that's what makes it so special. But we have a very strong team, so if it's not going to be me, then hopefully
one of my team mates."
The memory of the victory on the velodrome in Roubaix 2007 is still crystal clear to the 2004
Olympic Madison cycling event champion.
"I had a lot of good results, but I was focusing on winning one of the big
ones. Don't get me wrong - It would be really nice to win something like Het Volk, but I was concentrating on the big ones.
The wait was really worth while. It was just such a relief. You can't really explain it. The emotions were felt all around
the velodrome - it was just something, you never, ever, ever forget. It was just incredible."
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Special Coverage Tour of Flanders 2008
Stuart O' Grady
Born: August 6, 1973
Height: 1.76 mtr
Weight: 73 Kg
Turned Pro: 1995
Teams:
2006 - CSC
2004 - 2005 Cofidis
1995 - 2003 GAN (now Credit Agricole)
Palmares:
1993: World Record Team Pursuit
1994: Commonwealth Games: Team Pursuit, 10 miles scratch
1995: UCI Track Cycling World Championships: Team Pursuit
1998: Stage 14 Tour de France
1998: Overall PruTour Tour of Britain
2001: Stage 4 Team Time Trial Tour de France
2002: Commonwealth Games: Road Race
2003: Autralian National Road Race Championships
2003: Centenaire Classification Tour de France
2004: Stage 5 Tour de France
2004: HEW Cyclassics
2004: GP de Villers-Cotterets
2006: Points Classification Tour of Denmark
2007: Paris-Roubaix
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