Miguel Indurain

Miguel Indurain

Personal information
Full name	Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya
Nickname	Miguelón, Big Mig (English)
Date of birth	16 July 1964 (1964-07-16) (age 46)
Country	Spain
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Professional team(s)
1985–1989 1990–1996	Reynolds Banesto
Major wins
Tour de France Overall classification (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) 12 individual stages (1989-1995) Giro d'Italia Overall classification (1992, 1993) 4 individual stages Olympic Time-Trial Champion (1996) World Time-Trial Champion (1995)
Medal record Competitor for  Spain Road bicycle racing Olympic Games Gold 1996 Atlanta Men's Time Trial World Championships Gold 1995 Duitama Elite Men's Time Trial Silver 1993 Oslo Elite Men's Road Race Silver 1995 Duitama Elite Men's Road Race Bronze 1991 Stuttgart Elite Men's Road Race
Infobox last updated on 16 January 2007

Miguel Indurain 1993 Tour de France.

Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya (Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɣel induˈɾain]; born 16 July 1964, Villava, Navarre) is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He is best known for winning the Tour de France from 1991 to 1995, becoming only the fourth person to win the event five times, and the first to win five in a row. Indurain's ability and physical size—1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) and 80 kg (176 lbs)—earned him the nickname "Miguelón" or "Big Mig".

Biography

Indurain turned professional in 1985 and entered the Tour de France for the first time the same year, ultimately entering it in each of the next eleven years. Although he dropped out of the Tour in 1985 and 1986, his standing improved steadily until his first win in 1991. He rode in support of his team captain Pedro Delgado in the 1990 Tour, even though he might have been strong enough to win it himself. He won the event from 1991 to 1995, becoming the first to win five consecutive times (Jacques Anquetil was the first to win the event five times non-consecutively).

Indurain is often said to have been the best time trialist in the Grand Tours, putting in large gains against his rivals on the time-trial stages and riding defensively in the climbing stages. In the 1992 Tour he finished a 65 km time trial an astonishing three minutes ahead of the second-place rider. On the morning of the time trial Big Mig had ridden the course and declared he "liked it" so had a 55-tooth chain ring fitted. He did not disappoint. A picture of sublime power and grace combined with the trademark grin, he demolished the field. Such was his dominance that approaching the finish line he caught the rider who started 6 minutes in front: a certain Laurent Fignon, second in the Tour three years previously. Despite his five Tour victories, he won only two Tour stages that were not individual time trials: mountain stages to Cauterets (1989) and Luz Ardiden (1990) in the Pyrenees. He was often accused of not fighting hard enough for wins in mountain stages in which he arrived in the lead group, while others respected this as a sign of a gentleness and gratefulness to his rivals.

In 1992 and 1993, years in which he won the Tour, Indurain also won the Giro d'Italia. In 1994 he set a world Hour record of 53.040 kilometres (circa 32.96 miles), breaking the previous record set by Scotland's Graeme Obree. During the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where professional cyclists were allowed to compete for the first time, Indurain won the gold medal in the individual time trial. He also won the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 1995 and 1996.

1996 seemed to be going smoothly as Indurain prepared to defend his Tour crown. The usual indicator of Indurain's form was the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. After giving a master class in attacking and race control during difficult conditions, it was clear Indurain was ready. None doubted the usual result during July.

Suddenly all bets were off. In the 1996 Tour, Indurain was aiming for a sixth victory, but he suffered right from the beginning. The dominant display in the Prologue was replaced by a 7th place and a rather labored performance. Usually Indurain would have a smooth, fast cadence and finish first. Many had said he was using a higher gear and rolling it round. Reports surfaced later that Indurain had been in rather a "state" after the ride and had to be helped into the team bus. After developing bronchitis after an extremely cold and wet first week of the race, Indurain started to lose time from stage 7 and never recovered. In the years that have passed, extensive drug use by Indurain's rivals, the Telecom and Festina teams, showed that only a fully fit Indurain may have won for a record 6th time. The eventual winner Bjarne Riis later admitted having used EPO to win, gaining the nickname "Mr 60%", but is still considered by the Tour organisers as the overall winner, albeit with reservations.

Indurain finished 11th and, in a stage passing through his hometown and ending in Pamplona, he finished 19th, eight minutes behind the stage winner. Later that year he abandoned the Vuelta a España, which his Banesto team had insisted he enter, saying that his legs felt like wood and that he could not breathe. He later announced his retirement from racing.

Even during the five years when he dominated the Tour, Indurain resisted comparison to great Tour champions of the past and once said that he had "never felt superior to anyone". On the bike, he seemed rarely to struggle or lose his composure. That, along with his quiet nature, led some to compare him to an extraterrestrial or a robot. He was also known to be exceedingly generous with his teammates. In 1992, fans reported overhearing him say "Mi baño es tu baño" (My bath is your bath) after big stages concluded especially to fellow countryman and domestique extraordinaire, Pedro Delgado.

In retirement he is a member of the Spanish Olympic Committee and of UCI's Professional Cycling Council. He is also Honorary President of the Miguel Indurain Foundation. He often attends cyclotourist events such as L'Etape du Tour and the Cape Argus Pick & Pay Cycle Tour in Cape Town, South Africa.

Miguel Indurain during the XXI Criterium Ciutat de L'Hospitalet, in 1996

Physical advantages

At the top of his career, Miguel Indurain had a physiology that was not only superior when compared to average people, but also when compared to his fellow athletes. His blood circulation had the ability to circulate 7 litres of oxygen around his body per minute,^[1] compared to the average amount of 3-4 litres for an ordinary person and the 5-6 litres for his fellow riders. His cardiac output is 50 litres a minute; a fit amateur cyclist's is about 25 litres a minute. Also, Indurain's lung capacity was 8 litres, compared to an average of 6 litres. In addition, Indurain's resting pulse was as low as 29 BPM, compared to an average human's 60-72 bpm, which meant his heart would be less strained in the tough mountain stages.^[2] His VO₂ max was 88 ml/kg/min; in comparison, Lance Armstrong's was 83.8 ml/kg/min and Greg LeMond's was over 92 ml/kg/min.^[3]

Career highlights

References

Winners of the general classification in the Giro d'Italia 1909 Luigi Ganna • 1910–11 Carlo Galetti • 1912* Team Atala • 1913 Carlo Oriani • 1914 Alfonso Calzolari 1915–18 World War I 1919 Costante Girardengo • 1920 Gaetano Belloni • 1921–22 Giovanni Brunero • 1923 Costante Girardengo • 1924 Giuseppe Enrici • 1925 Alfredo Binda 1926 Giovanni Brunero • 1927–29 Alfredo Binda • 1930 Luigi Marchisio • 1931 Francesco Camusso • 1932 Antonio Pesenti • 1933 Alfredo Binda • 1934 Learco Guerra 1935 Vasco Bergamaschi • 1936–37 Gino Bartali • 1938–39 Giovanni Valetti • 1940 Fausto Coppi 1941–45 World War II 1946 Gino Bartali • 1947 Fausto Coppi • 1948 Fiorenzo Magni • 1949 Fausto Coppi • 1950 Hugo Koblet • 1951 Fiorenzo Magni • 1952–53 Fausto Coppi 1954 Carlo Clerici • 1955 Fiorenzo Magni • 1956 Charly Gaul • 1957 Gastone Nencini • 1958 Ercole Baldini • 1959 Charly Gaul • 1960 Jacques Anquetil 1961 Arnaldo Pambianco • 1962–63 Franco Balmamion • 1964 Jacques Anquetil • 1965 Vittorio Adorni • 1966 Gianni Motta • 1967 Felice Gimondi • 1968 Eddy Merckx 1969 Felice Gimondi • 1970 Eddy Merckx • 1971 Gösta Pettersson • 1972–74 Eddy Merckx • 1975 Fausto Bertoglio • 1976 Felice Gimondi • 1977 Michel Pollentier 1978 Johan de Muynck • 1979 Giuseppe Saronni • 1980 Bernard Hinault • 1981 Giovanni Battaglin • 1982 Bernard Hinault • 1983 Giuseppe Saronni 1984 Francesco Moser • 1985 Bernard Hinault • 1986 Roberto Visentini • 1987 Stephen Roche • 1988 Andy Hampsten • 1989 Laurent Fignon • 1990 Gianni Bugno 1991 Franco Chioccioli • 1992–93 Miguel Indurain • 1994 Evgeni Berzin • 1995 Tony Rominger • 1996 Pavel Tonkov • 1997 Ivan Gotti • 1998 Marco Pantani 1999 Ivan Gotti • 2000 Stefano Garzelli • 2001 Gilberto Simoni • 2002 Paolo Savoldelli • 2003 Gilberto Simoni • 2004 Damiano Cunego • 2005 Paolo Savoldelli 2006 Ivan Basso • 2007 Danilo Di Luca • 2008 Alberto Contador • 2009 Denis Menchov • 2010 Ivan Basso *This Giro was contested solely by teams, with no individual classification

Winners of the general classification in the Tour de France 1903 Maurice Garin • 1904 Henri Cornet • 1905 Louis Trousselier • 1906 René Pottier • 1907–1908 Lucien Petit-Breton • 1909 François Faber • 1910 Octave Lapize • 1911 Gustave Garrigou • 1912 Odile Defraye • 1913–14 Philippe Thys • 1915–18 World War I • 1919 Firmin Lambot • 1920 Philippe Thys • 1921 Léon Scieur • 1922 Firmin Lambot • 1923 Henri Pélissier • 1924–25 Ottavio Bottecchia • 1926 Lucien Buysse • 1927–28 Nicolas Frantz • 1929 Maurice De Waele • 1930 André Leducq • 1931 Antonin Magne • 1932 André Leducq • 1933 Georges Speicher • 1934 Antonin Magne • 1935 Romain Maes • 1936 Sylvère Maes • 1937 Roger Lapébie • 1938 Gino Bartali • 1939 Sylvère Maes • 1940–46 World War II • 1947 Jean Robic • 1948 Gino Bartali • 1949 Fausto Coppi • 1950 Ferdinand Kübler • 1951 Hugo Koblet • 1952 Fausto Coppi • 1953–55 Louison Bobet • 1956 Roger Walkowiak • 1957 Jacques Anquetil • 1958 Charly Gaul • 1959 Federico Bahamontes • 1960 Gastone Nencini • 1961–64 Jacques Anquetil • 1965 Felice Gimondi • 1966 Lucien Aimar • 1967 Roger Pingeon • 1968 Jan Janssen • 1969–72 Eddy Merckx • 1973 Luis Ocaña • 1974 Eddy Merckx • 1975 Bernard Thévenet • 1976 Lucien Van Impe • 1977 Bernard Thévenet • 1978–79 Bernard Hinault • 1980 Joop Zoetemelk • 1981–82 Bernard Hinault • 1983–84 Laurent Fignon • 1985 Bernard Hinault • 1986 Greg LeMond • 1987 Stephen Roche • 1988 Pedro Delgado • 1989–90 Greg LeMond • 1991–95 Miguel Indurain • 1996 Bjarne Riis • 1997 Jan Ullrich • 1998 Marco Pantani • 1999–2005 Lance Armstrong • 2006 Óscar Pereiro • 2007 Alberto Contador • 2008 Carlos Sastre • 2009–10 Alberto Contador