O’Grady planning Suisse return

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Australia’s Stuart O’Grady expects a broken collarbone for the Amgen Tour of California to only have a minor impact on his season plans. The Saxo Bank rider believes the injury, sustained when the rider was caught in a mass pile-up that included Lance Armstrong and Heinrich Haussler, was a clean break which should allow a speedy return.

“We were going at high speed and suddenly a rider crashed in front me and although I nearly made it around him, I fell down on my shoulder,” said O’Grady. “I knew immediately that something was broken.

“Luckily, it was a clean break which means I will be back on the home trainer within a week and I will be participating in the Tour de Suisse,” he said.

The Tour de Suisse starts on June 12 in Switzerland. If the Paris-Roubaix winner is able to make it back as quickly as expected, it should mean the injury has little impact on his inclusion in his squad’s Tour de France roster.