Graeme Obree
Cycling
Graeme Obree is a Scottish former racing cyclist and cycling innovator. He twice broke the world hour record and twice won the world 4,000-metre individual pursuit championship, becoming known for unconventional aerodynamic riding positions and his self-built bicycle, Old Faithful. [1][4]
Last updated
Career and work
Obree emerged as an elite track cyclist in the early 1990s while also developing his own bicycles and riding positions. On 17 July 1993, he broke the world hour record in Hamar, Norway, covering 51.596 kilometres in one hour on his homemade bicycle, Old Faithful. He later regained the record after it had been broken by another rider. [1][2]
He also won the world individual pursuit championship twice, in 1993 and 1995. Obree became known for experimenting with aerodynamics, including the highly compact “tuck” position he used while riding Old Faithful. After the Tuck was banned, he developed another extended-arm position called the “Superman,” which was copied by other riders before it too was banned. [1][2]
Old Faithful is now held by National Museums Scotland, where Obree is described as both a record-breaking cyclist and a sporting innovator. [1]
What has been publicly discussed
“I want people to understand what it’s like, how it felt.”
— Graeme Obree [3]
