O'Grady returned the favour for Cancellara's Paris-Roubaix sacrifice. (Image credit: Régis Garnier)
By Shane Stokes in Luzern
With Fabian Cancellara determined to hold onto the leader's jersey in the Tour de Suisse, Stuart O'Grady took control to deliver his captain to the front of the pack in the sprint on stage two. Surprisingly, the Swiss rider took third place in Luzern and retained a comfortable lead over second placed Daniele Bennati, while O'Grady cruised in right behind. Prior to the start of the stage O'Grady said that he was pleased with how things had been going.
"I am feeling pretty good. The last few weeks were hard, with Catalunya, then going straight from there to Bayern Rundfarht and then a team camp. It is has been a pretty solid build-up after the Classics but I am feeling pretty good."
O'Grady's already had a fairly heavy programme this year, building form for April and succeeding in Paris-Roubaix as a result. He stepped back from racing for a while after that.
"I have been going pretty hard since the Tour Down Under. By the end of the Classics, I was not only physically stuffed but also mentally tired as well. It was always planned that I would have a good, long break and get the mind and body ready for the next part of the season."
He said that CSC are setting a high target for the Swiss race. "We have got a very competitive team in Switzerland and we are here to win. We have got a few pretty good GC riders in the group. I will just see how it goes [in relation to his own aspirations], as my main priority is to help the GC guys. But obviously if an opportunity arises I will give it a crack."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
