The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale)

Then Boardman beat his time. Obree had another go and beat Boardman, then Indurain and Rominger (both fuelled by Dr Ferrari's magic potions) had their turn and beat both before Boardman put the record on the shelf.

Chapeau all round, no-one was 'humiliated'.

Not really but I'm sure Boardman (and the rest of them) were a bit put back but this random bloke with home-built parts turning up to race and winning. Why else would he have received such shit from the UCI? He wasn't one of the established racers who 'deserved' the Hour.

Obree was truly one of the great cyclists of recent times

^^^ still is isn't he wasn't there a pic of him time trialling on 112 GI's recently

two wheels two legs
them should be the rulez
leave the designers and mechanics and frame builders to bring us some wild and wonderful new frames / bikes / designs
where's the harm in that

ahh some harm can be found ^^^^ here

This was never amazing IMO

come on that'd get some looks and turn some heads at next years smithfield nocturne skid competition

Good luck skidding that gear ratio!

Then Boardman beat his time. Obree had another go and beat Boardman, then Indurain and Rominger (both fuelled by Dr Ferrari's magic potions) had their turn and beat both before Boardman put the record on the shelf.

Chapeau all round, no-one was 'humiliated'.

wasn't meaning to slag Boardman-the man broke the record and deserves the credit (chapeau on record!) but like Hippy said, at the time Obree was a bit of a no-where man on a homemade bike, no team support and no major sponsors, CB had some million quid Lotus designed carbon bike and every scientific advance possible behind his training too.

Their rivalry is well documented and it must've been pretty gutting when Obree beat him at the World Championships. Hence why the UCI intervened and royally fucked Obree over... That's what I was referring to with 'humiliated'-but Boardman was a gent and lent Obree his fancy aero helmet so gets kudos for that too.

If it wasn't for the UCI we'd all be riding recumbents!

(or maybe I'm just buying into recumbent propaganda)

^ not a judgement, just trying to make a historical point.

UCI=
Useless Cunting Idiots

(joking, of course..)

Not really but I'm sure Boardman (and the rest of them) were a bit put back but this random bloke with home-built parts turning up to race and winning. Why else would he have received such shit from the UCI? He wasn't one of the established racers who 'deserved' the Hour.

He wasn't unknown to Boardman, who'd been racing against him domestically, and losing from time to time, for some time.

Obree was truly one of the great cyclists of recent times

Agreed.

wasn't meaning to slag Boardman-the man broke the record and deserves the credit (chapeau on record!) but like Hippy said, at the time Obree was a bit of a no-where man on a homemade bike, no team support and no major sponsors, CB had some million quid Lotus designed carbon bike and every scientific advance possible behind his training too.

Their rivalry is well documented and it must've been pretty gutting when Obree beat him at the World Championships. Hence why the UCI intervened and royally fucked Obree over... That's what I was referring to with 'humiliated'-but Boardman was a gent and lent Obree his fancy aero helmet so gets kudos for that too.

I'm not sure Obree beating Boardman at the world track championships precipitated the UCI's hounding of Obree. I don''t think either of them were particularly popular in the corridors of power (don't forget that Boardman was still an amateur when he beat the hour the first time in 1993). Whichever way you look at it though, the UCI's treatment of Obree was shameful.

I think the press played up the differences between Obree and Boardman, both were committed athletes, but the supposed marked differences between their approaches, one a man of science, the other an artist, didn't really exist.

I think you're understating the differences between them actually, although it's been quite a few years since reading Obree's story.

Would Obree have gone faster given Boardman's equipment and training facilities? Boardman built his own hypoxic chamber (not sure if this was before or after he took the record).. Obree built his own bike.. Obree's first record was set the day after his first attempt!

Whatever, it makes for a fantastic story even if the right word isn't 'humiliated'.

Boardman was, and still is, a bike obsessive who'd never stops looking for a competitive edge. He may not have built bikes himself, that was Terry Dolan's job, but he was forever trying out new frame ideas. Obree was similar in that respect but did the work himself, mainly because he had to as he'd very little money.

The state of this;

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/06/the-uci-just-gave-its-highest-award-to-a-dictator/

This is an excellent article.

It seems to me that 'Sportwashing' is a major problem, and it is something that everyone should be aware of. Cycling seems to be among the leading victims of this curse: HSBC and Ineos to mention just a couple we are all familiar with.

Do we want to see our sport loaded with dodgy money, or should we aim to be poor but honest?