Stuart O'Grady revels in Power of 17

TOUR de France fans may have thought Stuart O'Grady was presented with a commemorative cycling jersey at the coastal town of La Baule on Tuesday.

Stuart O'Grady

TOUR de France fans may have thought Stuart O'Grady - the record-holding veteran of the grand tour - was presented with a commemorative cycling jersey at the coastal town of La Baule on Tuesday.

But in a country where cycling is the hot ticket, O'Grady was gifted a jersey he holds close to his heart.

SA tourism minister Leon Bignell gave O'Grady - a former Port Adelaide football club No. 1 ticket holder - the No. 17 shirt to honour the Olympic gold medallist's remarkable longevity at the grandest tour of cycling.

The shirt is currently worn by Port Adelaide rookie Tom Clurey after Robbie Gray traded the jersey for the No. 9 jersey last December.

O'Grady was also showered with more "Made in SA" treats before using Twitter to post his sheer delight when Bignell also presented the team with Coopers beer, Haigh's chocolates and D'Arenberg wine.

"Huge thanks to Leon Bignell, SA Govt for dropping into visit the team today and giving us a small taste of Oz," he tweeted.

"Coopers-D'Arenberg-Haighs chocs'n the Tour de France rest day."

Retired Orica-GreenEDGE sprint specialist Robbie McEwen also made the most of the rest day when he decided to take an Aussie Rules speccy while his ex racing team-mates enjoyed the show as O'Grady's 17th consecutive Tour de France put him in a class of his own.

O'Grady this year beat George Hincapie's French Tours record after the US rider was stripped of three starts for his part in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

And after making its debut at last year's Tour de France, Orica-GreenEDGE this year claimed two stage victories before last night's stage 10 was complete.

Simon Gerrans, 33, - two-time winner of the Tour Down Under - claimed a stage three win last week before the Australian team earned another stage victory when it won the team time trial.