With his participation in the 2013 Tour de France, he tied George Hincapie's record of 17 participations in the Tour de France. However, Hincapie was removed from three of his 17 starts for his part in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, and O'Grady himself admitted having been assisted by illicit erythropoietin (EPO) use at least on the 1998 Tour de France (the Dutchman Joop Zoetemelk holds the absolute records of completed Tours de France, with 16 from 1970 – 1986). He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal. O'Grady is the current Race Director of the Tour Down Under.