Stuart O'Grady Collapses on MotoGP Grid

Stuart o'Grady

Tour de France stage winner Stuart O'Grady had a quite unsuccessful encounter with the world of motorcycle racing. With the cycling season pretty much finished for the rest of 2009, the Australian cyclist decided to join ex-MotoGP rider and current Eurosport commentator Randy Mamola in a hot lap around the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Valencia, prior to the MotoGP season finale last weekend, as reported by Adelaidenow.com.au.

According to Cycling South Australia executive manager Max Stevens, it seems the hot lap around the Valencia track didn't sit well with the former Paris-Roubaix winner, as he collapsed minutes later.

When his fellow countryman Casey Stoner took O'Grady to introduce him to the rest of the MotoGP field – on the grid, prior to the start of the race – the Australian cyclist bit his tongue and collapsed right in front of the other riders.

“Casey Stoner started to interview Stuart and introducing him to these people. Stuart couldn't answer the questions and then he collapsed. They called the medical team and luckily he had the doctors on standby for the race,” said Stevens, according to the aforementioned source.

“We'll know more in the next couple of days. Ann-Marie, his wife, is at home in Monaco and we're getting all this information through third parties,” added the CSA manager, revealing that the doctors are yet to evaluate the causes of O'Grady's collapse.

What's interesting though is the fact that the famous Australian cyclist – one of most successful Aussie riders in the Tour de France over the past decade – has underwent a compulsory MotoGP medical test prior to his outing with Mamola.