Stuart O’Grady. Angry Freckle?

//Stuart O’Grady. Angry Freckle?

Stuart O’Grady. Angry Freckle?

The feisty freckle.

Now you know why they call Stuart O’Grady the Fighting Freckle. The popular Aussie rider was accused of assault on his chauffeur driver. Yeah, you don’t mess with a classics hardman who once won Paris-Roubaix.

Twisted Spoke notes that the altercation occurred after the driver picked O’Grady up from a winery. Immediately, we recalled O’Grady’s thrilling mis-adventure with teammate Andy Schleck at the 2010 Vuelta a Espana, otherwise known as their last ride with Saxo Bank.

Team manager Bjarne Riis kicked Shleck and O’Grady out of the race for staying out late drinking. It was a bit of public humiliation by Riis who was furious with the Brothers Schleck for stealing half his team — including O’Grady –and taking it to Luxembourg.

We suspect that while O’Grady is a true professional, he’s also a good mate and not adverse to having an extra drink or two — whether that’s a bar in Spain or a winery in Australia.

GreenEdge jumped quickly to his defense. “Stuey is the victim here,” a GreenEdge source told the newspaper. “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.”

We don’t know what being a family man has to do with assault or how being a proud local factors into the situation. It could also be the case that the driver was a jerk and looking to get some attention. Either way, it’s not a good reflection on O’Grady and the last thing GreenEdge wants just days from their first race and home country launch at the Tour Down Under.

This sure sounds like the Fighting Freckle was in a fighting mood.

By |2019-02-03T16:11:27-08:00January 15th, 2012|Uncategorized|3 Comments

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3 Comments

  1. mmre January 16, 2012 at 5:52 am - Reply

    “Stuey is the victim here,” Out of the gate GreenEdge trips. Why would they comment unless they back up their claims? Saying he is a family man and a proud local only makes the denial more painful. GreenEdge is showing just how green it is.

    • TwistedSpoke January 16, 2012 at 11:37 am - Reply

      It was a stupid move by O'Grady. Im sure GreenEdge is mortified. Matt

    • TwistedSpoke January 17, 2012 at 9:21 am - Reply

      Agreed. That statement of blind knee-jerk support by Bannan was stupid and anyone with a brain can see the story is far more complicated than that. No matter what happens, most people would agree that O’Grady was probably drunk and acting like a jerk. Given GreenEdge’s first race was days away on home soil. that was incredibly stupid of him. Matt

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