O'Grady forced to change plans

Saxo Bank team management sent O'Grady and Tour de France runner-up Andy Schleck home from the three-week race because they had a night out before stage 10.

“The decision has cost me two weeks of hard racing preparing for the worlds in Geelong,” O’Grady told The Australian newspaper. “But I guess it means that I can bring the family home a little earlier than expected.”

“It also means I've ridden my last race for Saxo Bank. This is not the way I would have wanted my career racing for Bjarne Riis to end. I've ridden my guts out on the front for the team for the last six seasons."

The Vuelta was supposed to be a key part of O'Grady's preparations for the October 3 men's elite road race at the world road championships in Melbourne and Geelong.

"I've exchanged SMS's with him (O'Grady) yesterday and I will be having a chat with him today," Bannan told AAP on Wednesday.

"What's written in the media and what's factual can be sometimes two completely different things - I will be talking to him about it.

"But more importantly, I will be talking to him about the steps from here to make sure he's in the best condition possible for Melbourne."

Team boss Bjarne Riis claims O'Grady and Schleck were out until 5am.

"They haven't respected the rules of the team," Riis told the cyclingnews website.

"Whether it's one glass or 10, at 5am, it's inexcusable. "I've done what I had to do, the rules of the team are the same for everyone.

"We are professionals and we have to act professionally, I had to take this decision, it's up to them to assume the consequences of what they've done."

O'Grady's Australian team-mate Simon Gerrans also pulled out of the Vuelta on the weekend.

Gerrans and his Sky team-mates left the race following the death of a team soigneur.

Bannan remains optimistic about Australian chances at the worlds, despite Gerrans and O'Grady having to change their preparations.

"Obviously, in the ideal world, it would have been good for them to complete the Vuelta," Bannan said of the pair.

"But at the same time, they have to change tack and really focus on their training preparation.

"Any preparation has its hiccups, but in general, we're still pretty pleased with the way things are progressing."

Gerrans said on Tuesday that his withdrawal from the Vuelta meant he would have to reassess his goal of winning this year's world title.

"Forgetting the circumstances, if you look at both the guys, they are experienced and know how to prepare for important events," Bannan said.

"It's just a matter of changing the focus on their preparation, making it more training-based as opposed to competition-based.

"That has negative and positive results, I think - for one, it's probably more in your control, to do a preparation without doing the Vuelta.

"Obviously there's a lot more sacrifice and commitment, because you have get out there and do it yourself, or with a (pacing) motorbike.

"But it certainly can be done and both those guys have had the experience of doing that type of preparation before."