Graeme Obree is one of the most unique cyclists. He has had a colourful cycling history which includes breaking the prestigious world hour record twice. Obree made his first attempt in Norway, 1993. At the time he was relatively unknown outside of Great Britain and few gave him any realistic chance of beating Francesco Moser’s world hour record of 51.151 KM which had stood since 1984.
At the first attempt Obree failed missing the mark by nearly 1 KM. However Obree was determined to try again the next day. Most journalists left and Obree had to beg the officials to let him have another go. This time to many people’s surprise he was successful setting a new hour record of 51.596 KM. This record would later be surpassed by Chris Boardman just one week later. However Obree went on to break the record a second time in April 1994.
Graeme Obree is also famous for building innovative bike designs using various spare parts. After his first world hour record there was a lot of media interest in his home made bike. Obree’s bike apparently was made with bits of an old BMX and parts from a washing machine. I think some of this got exaggerated however Obree was definitely an innovator and continues to make his own bikes. For a while Obree was feted by the European press who were intrigued with this eccentric Scottish man who had built his own bike. Perhaps unfairly this overshadowed his athletic ability and great determination. For his first record he used a position known as the tuck position this has also been labelled the “Obree” position.
This position was later banned by the UCI but Graeme Obree went on to develop another position, popularly called the Superman Position”.
After his record breaking attempt Obree went onto become World Pursuit Champion in 1993. He beat Chris Boardman in the Semi Final (also setting a new world record) In the final he beat Frenchman Phillipe Ermanault. To become World Champion was in many ways unexpected for Obree but it enabled him to attract many lucrative offers to travel around Europe racing in prestigious time trials and track meetings. Graham was victim to an unfortunate experience in the 1994 World Championships. Obree was the defending champion and had modified his bike to bring him into line with the new rules. However on the evening of the Championships the UCI bought in a new law effectively banning his unique tuck position. The rule was so new that it hadn’t even been written down. Obree had no chance to get used to a new design and was thus disqualified after his first qualifying attempt. Obree briefly signed a contract with a French based professional team. However unfortunately this didn’t work out. Obree said he never felt comfortable in the set up and was also unwilling to pay the “supplementary medicine ” costs (this was in the Pre Festina) days. It was after this time that Obree began to increasingly suffer from depression.
Recently Obree’s fascinating life has been made into a feature film
Obree’s autobiography is a compelling account of his experiences as a bike rider and his private battle with the problems of depression and low self esteem. The overriding theme in his book is his desire to prove himself by winning. If he lost a race he would feel awful. The book is written with great honesty and is a fascinating insight into the mind of a great athlete.
View: Bikes of Graeme Obree