Racers down under...

Just wondering, is there a big fan favorite amongst the Down Under racers? Somehow I sense that O'Grady would be better liked than McEwen but I could be wrong.

The French loved Virenque for years and overlooked the exploits of Jalabert (perhaps in part because he was with ONCE). Now as Jalabert has retired it seems that he has been embraced for the great rider that he was. Sometimes a country just seems to get behind a guy...

So who is THE MAN down under?

 

Well, you folks have yourselves a worthy national champion for the year then! And I love this quote:

"In past years I've always been on the back foot and haven't really been aggressive enough, but today I said 'stuff it - I'm gonna go for it'. It hurt like hell," said an exhausted but elated O'Grady after crossing the line.

"Stuff it!" That's great. The people gotta love a guy that says "stuff it."

He had a solid year in 2002 after some nasty injuries and showed true grit. I have a vivid memory of him going out on a mountain stage in the Tour in 2001 to try to grab a few points for the green jersey. He suffered mightily. Showed real character. Too bad he lost the jersey in the end but it showed a real "stuff it" attitude.

I hope that he has the kind of season in the national champ's jersey that McEwen did last year. Aussie fans must be thrilled by the current status of your top riders!

 

So McEwen edges Brown in the continuing battle of "try to hold your line please" sprinting and O'Grady questions the strength of team support that Sacchi can expect...

Sounds like you guys have yourselves a REAL CYCLING EVENT going on down there! Good races, controversy, riders lipping off... Sounds like a good time. I wish that the U.S. still tried to host a real world class event (Red Zinger/Coors Classic, Tour DuPont/Tour duTrump).

The Aussie sprinters are looking like they could be real contenders for Milan-San Remo and stage wins in the Giro. Cipollini can't win them all. Or can he?