O’Grady, McCarthy round out Australian team for Sun Tour

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Stuart O'Grady (Orica GreenEdge) will make his return to racing at the 2013 Jayco Herald Sun Tour next month after his 2012 season ended prematurely in a crash at the Vattenfall Cyclassics in August. O'Grady, along with Saxo -Tinkoff neo pro Jay McCarthy complete the Australian National Team line-up for the four-stage event which begins on January 3.

The inclusion of Nathan Haas, Simon Gerrans, Matt Goss and Simon Clarke has previously been announced.

O'Grady, winner of the 2008 edition of the Sun Tour, broke his collarbone resulting in a 15cm plate and eight screws being inserted to stabilise the joint. The 39-year-old said that despite the early start to the season, it should lay a solid foundation for the rest of the season.

"At the moment I'm spending every hour on the bike I can, which isn't easy at this time of the year when you've been away for 10 months and everyone wants to see you and you want to see them," he explained. "So it's a fine balance."

"The head is saying one thing and the body the other. I've still got a funky feeling in my shoulder with the plate but you get used to it."

Meantime, McCarthy who is the youngest member of the Australian team at age 20, said he is looking forward to riding in such esteemed company.

"Once I saw the team I would be riding with it was a little bit nerve racking, but also exciting at the same time to be able to ride with some of the biggest Australian names we have," McCarthy said.

"There is a lot of experience in the team and plenty of guys to look at, see how they read the race and get some good tips off."