O’Grady to lead CSC at Tour Down Under

Two-time Tour Down Under winner Stuart O’Grady will lead Denmark’s Team CSC Saxo Bank in Australia’s premiere stage race next month, organizers announced Monday.

O’Grady, 35, who won the inaugural tour in 1999 and again in 2001, has ridden in the Tour de France since 1998 and won the gold medal in the Madison at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

“Stuart has won here twice before and I know he will hit the race hard, looking to add a third title to his crown,” race director Mike Turtur said in a statement.

O’Grady, who had a strong 2008 season after recovering from serious injury, will be joined by fellow Australian rider Matthew Goss and German Jens Voigt.

Dane Frank Hoj will also make his return to Team CSC Saxo Bank after previously being a member of the Danish team in 2004.

O’Grady and other hopefuls may be facing their most serious challenge with the involvement of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who will be making his return to the professional peloton as a member of the Astana team in the Tour Down Under, which will take place around Adelaide from January 18-25.

Team CSC Saxo Bank for the Tour Down Under
? Stuart O’Grady
? Jens Voigt
? Nicki Sorensen
? Kasper Klostergaard
? Matthew Goss
? Frank Hoj
? Anders Lund

FILED UNDER: Road TAGS: Tour Down Under