A biography of Graeme Obree ( A site written in August 2007 )
Graeme Obree (born 11 September 1965 in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, UK) is a Scottish racing cyclist.
In July 1993, he broke the world hour record, previously held for nine years by Francesco Moser, with a distance of 51.596 kilometres (32.06 miles). Obree's record lasted less than a week, being broken by Englishman Chris Boardman. Obree retook the record in April 1994.
He was also individual pursuit world champion in 1993 & 1995.
Obree is the subject of the 2006 film, The Flying Scotsman, based on his autobiography.
Innovative
riding position & bike layout
Obree's achievements were seen as remarkable
since his riding had been largely at amateur events, & he did not have major
sponsorship & development support. Instead, he developed a unique riding position
(the "crouch", or "tuck" position) & constructed a unique
bike frame to use.
His aim was to reduce wind resistance & instability, while increasing pedalling power. He reduced air resistance from the legs by designing a very narrow bottom bracket & dispensing with a top tube to prevent his knees from hitting the frame. The bike also had chainstays at 45 degrees rather than horizontal to allow for the cranks to pass with such a narrow bottom bracket. He placed the handlebars so that his shoulders were almost touching them, with his arms folded by his side as he cycled: this reduced air resistance on his head & torso. The seat was placed so that his legs exerted maximum force on the pedals. The front fork had only one blade (however, this was a Mike Burrows design added later to the bike), carefully shaped to be as narrow as possible. He called his bike "Old Faithful". Although he made his first (failed) hour record attempt on a similar carbon fibre frame, Obree used "Old Faithful" to break the hour record.
Personal achievements
His Hour record, achieved
on 17 July 1993 at the Hamar velodrome in Norway, was celebrated as a triumph
for the ordinary rider, for the outsider over the establishment. His was said
to be a triumph of art over science in cycling, & opened up new areas for
development in coming years.
In addition to the mechanical & aerodynamic advantages, he had tremendous commitment & stamina. For example, when his first attempt at the Hour record was unsuccessful, he wanted to try again immediately. Normally, weeks of recovery are needed after such a demanding effort, but he was allowed to try the next day, & was successful.
After Boardman had broken Obree's Hour record, Obree travelled to the Velodrome du Lac in Bordeaux, France & on 27 April 1994, exceeded Boardman's distance, riding 52.713 km. This world record lasted until the following September when it was broken by Miguel Indurain.
Domestically, he also broke the British 10-mile individual time trial record in 1993, won the RTTC 50-mile championship the same year (setting a new competition record of 1:39:01 in the process), & won the 25-mile championship in 1996. He had a come-back in 1997, clocking 18:36 for 10-miles the day before winning the BCF 25-mile time trial championship.
So, as well as being an innovator of new aerodynamic positions, Obree must also be remembered as an outstanding athlete in his own right.
Setbacks
His brother died suddenly in 1994, & Graeme slid
in & out of depression over the ensuing years. The Union Cycliste Internationale
(UCI, the world governing body for cycling), after his second Hour World record
in 1994, changed the rules for bike layout. His bike & riding position were
effectively banned: he did not find out about this unwritten rule change until
one hour before he began the World Championship pursuit race in Italy.
Nevertheless, Obree went on to develop another new riding position, the "superman" style, where his arms were fully extended in front as he rode, & he went on to win the World pursuit championship with this & his "Old Faithful" in 1995. However, this riding position was also later banned by the UCI, on grounds that human effort & skill are more significant than technological advance. The bike is now a permanent exhibit in the Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh.
Illness prevented Obree making much further progress in his sport. After several episodes of ill health he started a business manufacturing handlebars suitable for the "superman" riding position. This collapsed when the UCI banned the position.
He published his autobiography in 2003 entitled The Flying Scotsman. A film based on the book premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2006, starring Jonny Lee Miller & Billy Boyd. In November 2006 Metro-Goldwyn Mayer bought worldwide distribution rights & the film was released in the U.S on 29 December 2006; it was given a UK-wide release on 29 June 2007.
Present day
He
lives quietly with his wife & two children near Irvine, in Scotland. However,
he continues to race occasionally, competing in individual time trials for Ayrshire-based
Fullarton Wheelers cycling club. In May 2005, he crashed during a rainstorm in
the national 10-mile individual time trial championship near Nantwich in Cheshire.
He was a member of the winning three-man club squad that took the team title in
the Scottish 10-mile time trial championships in May 2006.
Graeme also is talking about another attempt at the hour record. However, it is as yet unclear if this will ever go ahead due to his family commitments, & if it does which record Obree will aim for — the "veterans" record set by Francesco Moser at the age of 42 on a non-UCI legal bike, or the current "athletes" record held by Ondrej Sosenka.
He is quite a reticent person at times.
He
also survived past bullying as a child, as some kids called him horrible names
in this case, as his father was a policeman. But he is a true story of overcfoming
the evil scoundrels.
A site written in August 2007
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