There is one elderly Paris-Roubaix winner the Heroes believe can win the World Championships: Stuart O’Grady. We would be surprised if he did not have a few fast twitches left in his legs in the inevitable event of a sprint finish. We realize many, including some Heroes, will be putting their money on someone like the great and powerful Philip Gilbert, particularly this year. But Jonathan Hero is not a betting man. So, with nothing to lose, his Monopoly money is safely invested in Stuart. Some of the worst photographs of great cyclists he has ever taken are of Stuart O’Grady. He is embarrassed to say it but he was star struck at the time. He was giggling like a schoolgirl. He was shaking like a leaf. He pointed his camera, seemingly at random, and this was the result:
And this:
And this (They are getting better):
Stuart O’Grady, born in 1973 — making him old in cycling terms, and cricket terms, and Scrabble terms — comes from a cycling family. Both his father and uncle were racers. Stuart has won lots of races, medals, jerseys, etc, etc. More interesting though is that Stuey is a personal friend or acquaintance of these people:
And Stuey’s former sprint rival, Robbie McEwen, is their neighbor. And I am a close, personal friend of the above people. But I cannot remember their names (Matt I think is the young man: if you are reading this please get in touch, I have more pictures for you.).