Miguel Indurain

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Lore & Background

Induráin's dominance of the Tour de France from 1991 to 1995 is built on time-trial supremacy and defensive climbing. In 1991, Greg LeMond led the race until the 12th stage, but on the 13th he broke down on the Tourmalet and lost more than seven minutes to Induráin, who became the leader and stayed leader to the end. In 1992, Induráin won the prologue at San Sebastián and seized the yellow jersey, only to lose it the next day. He finished the time trial in stage nine, over 65 km, three minutes ahead of number two on the stage, catching Laurent Fignon who had started six minutes before him. A long breakaway by Claudio Chiappucci on a stage to Sestriere that included six mountains saw Induráin finish third, enough to claim the yellow jersey once more. From here Induráin established his racing style: "crush rivals in the time trials and control them in the mountains." His defensive tactic brought criticism from his boyhood hero Bernard Hinault, who said: "Induráin is the best rider of his generation but he has won this Tour quietly, without great opposition. If the opposition continues to let him get away with it, his reign looks like lasting a long time." In 1993, he won the prologue at Puy-du-Fou and waited until the ninth stage, the 59 km time trial at Lac de Madine, to take control, winning by 2m 11s. He rode defensively, watching Tony Rominger. In 1994, he again won the first time trial, the ninth stage from Périgueux to Bergerac, beating Rominger by two minutes. He attacked in the Pyrenees, accelerating at the foot of the 10 km climb to the ski station at Hautacam, but lost the stage to Luc Leblanc while keeping the yellow jersey to the end. In 1995, the seventh stage linked Charleroi and Liège, taking in the rolling roads of Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Induráin attacked with Johan Bruyneel following and the rest were left 50 seconds behind. The following day Induráin won the first time trial on a demanding circuit at Seraing. Jean-Paul Ollivier wrote: "This last victory by the rider from Navarra was a model of strength, intelligence and authority, all well controlled. There wasn't a tactical error, never a scare, no moments of weakness."

In Their Own Story

The Pyrenees were quiet that afternoon. The peloton had already stretched into a long, thin ribbon of colour, and the wind off the ridge carried the smell of hot tarmac and diesel from the service vehicles trailing behind. Induráin sat at the front of the reduced group, his Banesto blue barely distinguishable from the grey sky. He did not look at the road. He did not look at the riders behind him. His eyes were fixed on the handlebars, on the slow rotation of his cranks, on the rhythm in his chest that had been steady since the first stage in the Netherlands. A young rider two back, still gasping from the climb, muttered to his teammate: 'He's not even breathing hard.' The teammate shrugged. 'He's not trying. He's just… going.' And that was the thing. That was always the thing. The mountain unspooled beneath them, switchback after switchback, and Induráin's shadow moved across the white road like a pendulum, patient and absolute, carrying the yellow jersey up into the thinning air as though gravity were merely a suggestion he had politely declined.

Reader's Guide

Induráin's relationship with the Tour de France is defined by five consecutive wins from 1991 to 1995, a record he holds alone for most consecutive wins and shares for most wins with Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Tadej Pogačar. He wore the yellow jersey for 60 days. His time-trial prowess was the engine of his dominance: he won only two Tour stages that were not individual time trials—mountain stages to Cauterets (1989) and Luz Ardiden (1990) in the Pyrenees. During his five consecutive Tour de France wins he never won a stage that was not a time trial. These superior abilities fit perfectly with the TT heavy Tours of the era, with many featuring between 150 and 200 km of time trialling vs the more common 50–80 km today. In 1992, he also won the Giro d'Italia, becoming one of seven people to achieve the Giro-Tour double in the same season. He repeated the double in 1993. In 1994, he set a world hour record of 53.040 kilometres (32.958 mi), beating Graeme Obree. In 1995, he won the world time trial championship. In 1996, aiming for a sixth Tour victory, he suffered from bronchitis in a cold and wet first week, lost time from stage seven, and finished 11th. He later said he would stop racing. He won the individual time trial in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where professionals competed for the first time, winning the title ahead of compatriot Abraham Olano and Boardman. Asked if he would trade his gold medal for a sixth Tour victory, he confirmed, saying: "For any professional cyclist, winning the Tour is the pinnacle of their career, whereas winning the Olympic title is purely symbolic."

Did You Know?

• Induráin was the youngest rider ever to win the Spanish amateur national road championship, when he was 18.
• At 20, he was the youngest rider to lead the Vuelta a España.
• In 1993, Induráin came close to cycling's 'Triple Crown' when, having already won the Giro and the Tour, he finished in second place just 19 seconds behind in the World Championship.
• In May 1994, Induráin tested positive for salbutamol following the Tour de L'Oise in France, but the IOC and UCI accepted it was from a nasal inhaler he had been using legitimately for asthma, and he was not punished.
• Induráin's first bicycle was a green secondhand Olmo given to him for his 10th birthday; it was stolen when he was 11 and he worked in the fields with his father to pay for a new one.