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O'Grady building back up

published 18 June 2008

By Shane Stokes in Caslano Less than a year ago, Stuart O'Grady was facing a possible end to his...

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Stuart O'Grady (Team CSC) is hopeful this summer will still be a success for him (Image credit: Sonja Csury)

By Shane Stokes in Caslano

Less than a year ago, Stuart O'Grady was facing a possible end to his cycling career when he had a very bad crash on the eighth stage of the Tour de France. The Australian fractured five ribs, his right shoulder blade, right collar bone, three vertebrae and punctured his right lung.

The Team CSC rider worked hard to regain full fitness and posted some encouraging results this spring, placing fifth in Paris-Roubaix and eighth in Gent-Wevelgem. More bad luck was in store, though, with the 34 year-old crashing out of the Giro d'Italia with a broken collarbone in May.

But O'Grady has shown his toughness once again, taking part in the Tour de Suisse and placing 11th on stage four. He told Cyclingnews at the end of Wednesday's fifth stage that he was satisfied with how things were progressing. "The race is going pretty well, although it is pretty hard. It was nice to see the sun today, that gives a bit of a boost. Everything has come along well."

When asked if he felt like things are on course prior to the Tour de France, he sounded positive. "Things are getting better every day. I am really starting to notice the form picking up in the last few days. There has been a lot of suffering but I am getting there," he responded.