Lure of family and friends brings Stuart O'Grady home

STUART O'Grady is moving his family back to Adelaide after 20 years of living abroad to begin life after cycling.

SA cyclist Stuart O'Grady with children Seth, 10, Tayla, 4, and Keira, 6.

STUART O'Grady is moving his family back to Adelaide after 20 years of living abroad to begin life after cycling.

Still coming to terms with the sudden end of his career in July when he confessed to doping in 1998, O'Grady admits he has some way to go to regain public trust and respect after his 15-year lie was revealed.

While he does not have a job in cycling lined up, he hopes to use his experiences to educate others and help them make the right decisions in all walks of life.

But for now he says his immediate priority is his young family which includes wife Anne-Marie and children Seth, 10, Keira, 6, and Tayla, 4.

The 40-year-old Olympic gold medallist plans to return to Adelaide and live in Unley in January or February when arrangements are made for his current house in Luxembourg to be sold.

"There's nothing left over here for us anymore, we need to be around family and friends," O'Grady told The Advertiser from Europe.

"This is the time to be around those people who have been our backbone, particularly in the last few months, and keeping me in a good place.

"The number one goal is to settle the kids into school - Seth has been to four schools in his life and he turns 10 this week so we want to make this the last major change for him.

"Adelaide is one of the best cities in the world and I can't wait to spend time with my parents, my nieces and nephews and extended family.

"Anne-Marie has been in Europe for 14 years and I've been there for 20 so the longest we've ever had in Australia is two months.

"I've been saying goodbye to people for 20 years and it doesn't get any easier so this move is completely family-oriented."

O'Grady said he had no plans for his future and did not have an off-the-bike role with his former team Orica-GreenEDGE to go to.

"There is no job waiting for me when I get back to Adelaide," the 2007 Paris-Roubaix winner said.

"I've spoken to (manager) Max (Stevens) and a few people in cycling because I want to do anything I can to help.

"I'd like to help guide people and do whatever it takes to assist young people - and that doesn't have to just be about sport.

"It's about making the right decisions but also having a goal and working hard to achieve it because I think I have a lot more to offer than just talking about a mistake that I made."

O'Grady has been in contact with the Australian Olympic Committee which dumped him from its athletes commission in the wake of his confession that he used banned blood booster EPO before the 1998 Tour de France, in which he won a stage and wore the yellow jersey.

In October, AOC boss John Coates and chair of the athletes' commission Kim Crow, said the door was open for O'Grady to possibly return to the Olympic movement in an adviser role.

"It's not about me any more, it's about my family and helping others," O'Grady said.

"I look forward to sitting down with them (AOC) and talking about how I can help in any way.

"Sport and cycling is in a much better place than back then (late 1990s) because we can talk about these things, it's out on the table, where as back then it was in a very dark place."