SERAING, Belgium -- Australia's Stuart
O'Grady should now be able to get a decent night's sleep after
taking the yellow jersey at the second attempt in this year's
Tour de France on Tuesday.
|  | | Stuart O'Grady celebrates on the podium after claiming the overall leader's yellow jersey Tuesday. |
The Credit Agricole rider missed a glorious chance to claim
the overall lead in the race on Monday, as he allowed the
Belgian Marc Wauters in to claim the spoils in Antwerp.
O'Grady made certain there would be no such mistake 24 hours
later, as he held on in the main bunch to take advantage after
Wauters was dropped on one of the three third category climbs
towards the finish of a 198.5-kilometer run from Antwerp to
Seraing.
"Yesterday was probably the most disappointing day of my
life," said O'Grady, who last wore yellow at the Tour back in
1998. "I was very disappointed at missing out after all the hard
work put in by my team.
"I felt like I'd missed a penalty in the World Cup final and
I didn't get much sleep. I just tried to keep my focus today, though, and think
positive.
"It was a surprise that Wauters didn't manage to hold on. I
thought he'd be strong enough to finish in the group but when I
heard he'd been dropped I kept on going for the lead.
"It's amazing to get another chance at the yellow jersey."
O'Grady last held the Tour de France lead three years ago in
Cholet but that triumph was overshadowed as Bruno Roussel, the
manager of the Festina team at the centre of the doping scandal,
was held by police for questioning.
This time the 27-year-old from Adelaide has his girlfriend
and his parents over to watch the Tour and he is clearly
enjoying the moment a lot more.
"Of course it was still a great moment for me in 1998," he
said. "This time is even better, though." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |
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