Kelly, O'Grady make Australian cycling history
Thursday, 7 August, 2008
Stuart O'Grady drinks as he rides in the pack during the 12th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Lavelanet and Narbonne, southern France. (AAP)
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Well before Shane Kelly and Stuart O'Grady made their Olympic debuts in 1992, their then-head coach Charlie Walsh knew they were outstanding.
PROFILES: Shane Kelly and Stuart O'Grady
Four Games later, Kelly and O'Grady are legends.
In Beijing, the pair will break Australian cycling's record for the most Olympic Games when they compete for the fifth time.
O'Grady will ride on day one in the men's road race and Kelly is in the track sprint group.
Between them, they have experienced the full spectrum of what their hard, intense sport offers - stunning triumphs, unprecedented successes, the cruellest disasters and gut-churning physical injuries.
VIDEO: Olympics wrap up
RELATED: All your essential Beijing links and info
BLOG: Beijing road race set for twists and turns
O'Grady shrugs off broken bones the way most of the population shrug off colds, while Kelly overcame one of the most spectacular disasters in Olympic history.
They are all-time giants of international cycling.
Walsh ran the national track program for two decades until the Sydney Olympics and worked with many greats.
Ranking 'right up there'
Asked where Kelly and O'Grady would rate among the cyclists he coached, Walsh replied: "Their history says they must rank right up there - if you looked at their performance history over the years, then you'd have to say they were the two best.
"I'm a bit reluctant to talk about people as being exceptionally good or anything else unless they have that complete package, which involves your humility, your respect for other people, your respect for the sport and the way you actually go about your job.
"With both those two, you know they are going to consistently perform.
"As a coach, you could put them in the competition without any fear (of) 'I wonder what I'm going to get' - you knew that you were going to get the best of whatever they had."
Walsh himself was a polarising figure in Australian cycling, a maverick who battled to keep the sport heading into the future.
His detractors will always want to downplay Walsh's achievements, but no-one can deny that Kelly and O'Grady were jewels of his program.
Walsh emphasises their upbringing and development, well before they joined the national program as teenagers.
Born to ride
Kelly and O'Grady come from famous Australian cycling families and were born to ride.
In discussing Kelly's spectacular Olympics failure, when he pulled a foot from its pedal at the Atlanta Olympics to forfeit a near-certain gold medal, Walsh immediately refers to the Kelly
family.
Walsh argues it was the influence of Kelly's family, especially "old Col", his Dad, that played a massive role in his recovery.
"Once again, where does that come from? - good values, the way he was brought up," Walsh said.
He also noted that Brian O'Grady gave his son specialised coaching - Walsh calls it "very specific, high-frequency pedalling work" - that helped build the younger O'Grady's powerful aerobic
engine.
"The ferocity of his work ethic was really impressive, he was a young kid who wanted to learn and learn fast - to be as good as he could as quick as he could," Walsh said of O'Grady.
"He was always listening and the unique thing about him is you only had to tell him anything once.
"Once he understood what you were talking about, it was done and that's a little bit special."
Great gifts
Walsh says Kelly's great gift is his near-perfect riding style and a capacity to wring every drip of talent out of himself.
"In terms of efficiency of delivery, Shane Kelly is probably one of the very best ever," Walsh said.
"Shane has a very strong capability to just totally hone in on what he has to do and exclude anything else.
"Once again, they're learnt behaviours, learnt when you're very young."
The attribute in Kelly and O'Grady that Walsh continually emphasises is character.
"You just look at the quality of those two people in particular, I think that's what makes you a little bit proud of them, is the way they've gone about their sporting life and managed themselves," he said.
"That also gives longevity, too.
"Five Olympics - that's an extraordinarily difficult achievement."
Kelly is 36 and O'Grady turned 35 on August 6, meaning the two kids of Barcelona 1992 are now elders of the Australian cycling team in Beijing.
O'Grady won his Olympic gold medal four years ago in Athens when he combined with Graeme Brown to win the madison.
Kelly, of course, is yet to reach the top step of the Olympic podium and the lure was enough to bring him out of near-retirement for one last shot.
It will come as no surprise that Walsh, who loves the word "ferocity", is not a big one for reflection or wistful dreaming.
But when he sits in front of the television in Adelaide this month, he will take a keen interest in how the two five-time Olympians perform.
"You're really hoping that they do as well as what they want to do - no good me hoping for something," Walsh says.
Source: AAP/SBS
PROFILES: Shane Kelly and Stuart O'Grady
Four Games later, Kelly and O'Grady are legends.
In Beijing, the pair will break Australian cycling's record for the most Olympic Games when they compete for the fifth time.
O'Grady will ride on day one in the men's road race and Kelly is in the track sprint group.
Between them, they have experienced the full spectrum of what their hard, intense sport offers - stunning triumphs, unprecedented successes, the cruellest disasters and gut-churning physical injuries.
VIDEO: Olympics wrap up
RELATED: All your essential Beijing links and info
BLOG: Beijing road race set for twists and turns
O'Grady shrugs off broken bones the way most of the population shrug off colds, while Kelly overcame one of the most spectacular disasters in Olympic history.
They are all-time giants of international cycling.
Walsh ran the national track program for two decades until the Sydney Olympics and worked with many greats.
Ranking 'right up there'
Asked where Kelly and O'Grady would rate among the cyclists he coached, Walsh replied: "Their history says they must rank right up there - if you looked at their performance history over the years, then you'd have to say they were the two best.
"I'm a bit reluctant to talk about people as being exceptionally good or anything else unless they have that complete package, which involves your humility, your respect for other people, your respect for the sport and the way you actually go about your job.
"With both those two, you know they are going to consistently perform.
"As a coach, you could put them in the competition without any fear (of) 'I wonder what I'm going to get' - you knew that you were going to get the best of whatever they had."
Walsh himself was a polarising figure in Australian cycling, a maverick who battled to keep the sport heading into the future.
His detractors will always want to downplay Walsh's achievements, but no-one can deny that Kelly and O'Grady were jewels of his program.
Walsh emphasises their upbringing and development, well before they joined the national program as teenagers.
Born to ride
Kelly and O'Grady come from famous Australian cycling families and were born to ride.
In discussing Kelly's spectacular Olympics failure, when he pulled a foot from its pedal at the Atlanta Olympics to forfeit a near-certain gold medal, Walsh immediately refers to the Kelly
family.
Walsh argues it was the influence of Kelly's family, especially "old Col", his Dad, that played a massive role in his recovery.
"Once again, where does that come from? - good values, the way he was brought up," Walsh said.
He also noted that Brian O'Grady gave his son specialised coaching - Walsh calls it "very specific, high-frequency pedalling work" - that helped build the younger O'Grady's powerful aerobic
engine.
"The ferocity of his work ethic was really impressive, he was a young kid who wanted to learn and learn fast - to be as good as he could as quick as he could," Walsh said of O'Grady.
"He was always listening and the unique thing about him is you only had to tell him anything once.
"Once he understood what you were talking about, it was done and that's a little bit special."
Great gifts
Walsh says Kelly's great gift is his near-perfect riding style and a capacity to wring every drip of talent out of himself.
"In terms of efficiency of delivery, Shane Kelly is probably one of the very best ever," Walsh said.
"Shane has a very strong capability to just totally hone in on what he has to do and exclude anything else.
"Once again, they're learnt behaviours, learnt when you're very young."
The attribute in Kelly and O'Grady that Walsh continually emphasises is character.
"You just look at the quality of those two people in particular, I think that's what makes you a little bit proud of them, is the way they've gone about their sporting life and managed themselves," he said.
"That also gives longevity, too.
"Five Olympics - that's an extraordinarily difficult achievement."
Kelly is 36 and O'Grady turned 35 on August 6, meaning the two kids of Barcelona 1992 are now elders of the Australian cycling team in Beijing.
O'Grady won his Olympic gold medal four years ago in Athens when he combined with Graeme Brown to win the madison.
Kelly, of course, is yet to reach the top step of the Olympic podium and the lure was enough to bring him out of near-retirement for one last shot.
It will come as no surprise that Walsh, who loves the word "ferocity", is not a big one for reflection or wistful dreaming.
But when he sits in front of the television in Adelaide this month, he will take a keen interest in how the two five-time Olympians perform.
"You're really hoping that they do as well as what they want to do - no good me hoping for something," Walsh says.
Source: AAP/SBS
