In the early '90's The Hour was swapped between two Britons - Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman. Echoing the middle-distance battles of Coe and Ovett on the running track, Obree and Boardman were easy to caricature. Both innovators, Obree was the maverick thinker who built his own bikes, Boardman the scientist backed by a crack laboratory team.
In 1993 Obree shocked the cycling world by smashing the hour record on a home-made bike, using a revolutionary tucked riding position. Boardman swiftly broke the record, on a 'standard' low-profile bike. But then, in 1994, Obree returned, setting a new record. The UCI, cycling's governing body, swiftly intervened, and Obree's new position was banned, and his record relegated to a footnote in history. Not to be beaten, Obree designed a new, stretched out 'superman' position - but it was Boardman who would use this latest innovation to set the greatest Hour Record of them all.