Graeme Obree, former world pursuit champion and hour record holder, reveals he is homosexual - Telegraph Cycling Graeme Obree, former world pursuit champion and hour record holder, reveals he is homosexual Graeme Obree, the former world pursuit champion and twice holder of the hour record, has revealed that he is homosexual and that the anguish over his suppressed sexuality has contributed to mental health issues and suicide attempts during his turbulent career. Image 1 of 2 Record breaker: Graeme Obree on his way to breaking Francesco Moser's hour record at the Vikingskipet velodrome in Hamar, Norway, in July 1993 Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 2 Enduring rivalry: Obree (left) and Chris Boardman duelled for superiority on the track during the mid-nineties Photo: GETTY IMAGES Follow “I was brought up thinking you’d be better dead than gay. I must have known I was gay and it was so unacceptable,” Obree said. “I was brought up by a war generation – they grew up when gay people were put in jail. Being homosexual was so unthinkable that you just wouldn’t be gay. I’d no inkling about anything, I just closed down.

“People say, ‘How can you be gay and be married and have kids and not know it?’ But when I went to my psychologist she reckoned I had the emotional age of about 13 because I’d just closed down.” Obree, who was speaking to the Scottish Sun, began to talk about his sexuality to a psychologist in 2005 before breaking the news to his wife – from whom he is now divorced – his children and his parents. “It did create a bit of tension. My parents had to come to terms with the whole gay thing. It’s been a journey for them. It was difficult and there were lots of tears. It wasn’t easy. But the relationship with my parents has been improved by it. We talked about it and discussed things and we’re a lot happier.” Obree was diagnosed as bipolar and has twice attempted to take his life. Related Articles Revelation brings Graeme Obree release from torment | Sport | The Guardian Cycling Revelation brings Graeme Obree release from torment Former world champion cyclist dubbed The Flying Scotsman has finally come to terms with his sexuality after five-year battle Graeme Obree says Gareth Thomas's decision to come out in 2009 gave him the reassurance he needed to do likewise.

Photograph: Murdo Macleod/- Wednesday 2 February 2011 14.03 EST First published on Wednesday 2 February 2011 14.03 EST Close This article is 5 years old "I feel like I've got to the middle of my onion now," says Graeme Obree with evident relief. The 45-year-old Scot is referring to the long process of "peeling away my layers" to arrive, eventually, at the essence of who he is – which, as he realised five years ago and announced publicly at the start of this week, is gay. The retired cyclist, acclaimed as a maverick genius on his way to world hour records and world pursuit titles, has always been a complex, tortured soul, with a history of mental illness and two suicide attempts. But Obree has also become the latest in a very short line of high-profile sportsmen to come out, joining the rugby player Gareth Thomas – whose decision to reveal his sexuality in late 2009 gave Obree the reassurance he needed – and the basketball player John Amaechi.

On Sunday evening Obree admitted to "trepidation and fear" on the eve of his announcement in a Scottish tabloid. By Monday lunchtime, when he emerged from under his duvet and turned on his phone, he was overwhelmed by the messages of support, including one on Twitter from his old rival Chris Boardman. Describing Obree as "the man who revolutionised a sport twice, amazing", Boardman said: "I hope to see you around this year. Good luck and best wishes." "All those fears for all those years," says Obree, who found talking publicly about his mental illness difficult but a breeze compared to admitting his sexuality. That was part down to his family – he was married and has sons aged 16 and 18, though it was they who persuaded him to go public – but more to his fear of others' reactions. It is a recurring theme. "Five years ago I told my psychiatrist that there was this awful thing, this thing that would mean she wouldn't want to work with me again," Obree says. "I was that disgusted by it. I couldn't even use the G-word.

That was five years ago; it's taken that long in therapy for me to be OK with myself." The "disgust", says Obree, owed to "my homophobic upbringing. In the west of Scotland, you couldn't contemplate it,you couldn't allow it to enter your world." Obree, the son of a local policeman, was bullied at school. "But it wasn't just school," he says, "it was that whole generation. The prevailing attitude was, you'd be better off being dead than gay. So you had to bury it." The Obree that emerges in his harrowing memoir, Flying Scotsman, and to a lesser extent in the film of the same name, is of a teenage loner, encouraged to flee by the bullies, attracted to cycling by its promise of escape. It might be tempting now to rewrite this part of his story, to suggest his sexuality could explain his sense of alienation but Obree rejects that. "I didn't know I was gay," he says. "From the age of 13 I didn't develop, I just buried everything.

My psychologist told me that I had an emotional age of 13 when I started seeing her in 1999 [when he was 33]. But it's from the age of 13 that you discover who you are." Instead of discovering who he was, Obree says he channeled everything into cycling; an obsession that in 1993 took him to Norway and an astonishing attempt at the fabled world hour record, held by the Italian legend Francesco Moser, which he claimed 24 hours after a first, failed bid. He went on to win two world pursuit titles and reclaim the hour record from Boardman but throughout his racing career his life was all about the next achievement. "I would never sit down and watch a film because I couldn't justify it. I couldn't justify doing anything unless it was about self-improvement and proving my worth as a human being – which I did through cycling. I couldn't relax. My psychologist had to teach me how to relax." Obree has spoken of his resentment of cycling's doping culture, which he feels denied him a ride in the Tour de France.

And although it is rare for him to pause, he does as he considers whether he also "blames" cycling for stealing those years from him; for being the means by which he sought escape from himself. "Actually, I don't," he eventually says. "I did spend years resenting cycling. I resented it because of the doping but also the fame that came with it. I was subjugated by fear of myself, because I couldn't dare be myself." But as of now that fear has gone, Obree says. It is perhaps no coincidence that the resentment has gone, too. "Now I can appreciate what I did. Appreciate that I've done a great thing." Cycling: Obree back in the saddle | The Independent Cycling: Obree back in the saddle Wednesday 13 August 1997 23:02 BST Click to follow The Independent Online Three months after retiring from competitive cycling, the twice world champion Graeme Obree is heading for Australia and the World Track Championships, writes Robin Nicholl. The Scot has been persuaded to race again after quitting the sport he rocked in 1993 by setting a world hour record on a home-made bike. "My retirement was genuine," Obree said.

"I was told that I should not have retired so soon, and when the World Championships were mentioned I was keen. "I actually stopped in May, and I did nothing until 15 July when I was persuaded to start training again. My form came back so quickly I was surprised. I am getting stronger week by week." Obree gained his title reputation in the individual world 4,000 metres pursuit championships of 1993 and 1995, but at the 27-31 August championships he is named for the team pursuit, contested by groups of four. A virus wrecked his 1996 season. He failed to qualify at the Atlanta Olympics. Later Obree withdrew from the defence of his world title at Manchester, three years after taking the sport by storm. His influence on bike design had the Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's governing body, rewriting technical regulations as riders adopted his ideas to win Olympic and world golds. Twice his innovations were outlawed in the UCI's quest to get back to basics.

Yvonne McGregor, like Obree a former world hour record holder, goes for the women's 3,000 metres pursuit with high hopes of success after her recent World Cup victory over Antonella Bellutti, Italy's Olympic champion. GREAT BRITAIN (World Track Championships, Perth, W Australia, 27-31 August) Men: 4,000m pursuit R Hayles; 4,000m team pursuit B Steel, J Clay, M Illingworth, G Obree, Hayles; Madison Steel, Clay; Kilometre time trial C Maclean; Keirin P Jacques; Olympic sprint C Hoy, C Percival, and MacLean. Women: Sprint and 500 metre time trial W Everson; 3,000m pursuit Y McGregor; Points race S Boyden. More about: Graeme Obree defied drug pushers and became an outcast as a result - exclusive | Daily Mail Online comments It was the offer of cow hormones that put him off. Well, that and the cocaine. Not to mention the EPO and steroids.

You see, despite his reputation as being more than a little bit ‘out there’, Graeme Obree never steered anything other than the straightest of paths when it came to doping. Or, rather, not doping. Laughing as he recalls the incredible package of performance enhancers thrust towards him in his ‘record-breaking’ one-day stint at French professional team Le Groupement back in 1995, the famously flamboyant Flying Scotsman - currently finalising a documentary on his successful shattering of yet another record - admits he did not always find it so easy to discuss a taboo subject. Taboo subject: Champion cyclist Graeme Obree admits he's not always found it easy to talk about doping ‘It’s only 18 years later that I can talk honestly about this, without thinking I’m going to get sued,’ he admits, actually looking over his shoulder as he continues: ‘Because we all saw what happened with Lance Armstrong and the whole road scene. I was told everybody was doing it. And, at that stage, people knew they would not get caught. There was no proper testing. ‘But I thought: “I’ll train harder than you. If you think doping will get one over on me, I’ll show you”.

At that stage, I’m still thinking they’re using amphetamines, a stimulant to make them reach deeper into themselves. I was reaching into myself to that level anyway, because of my obsessive behaviour. ‘But they had gone way beyond that. And I was not willing to believe there could be a physical advantage from what they were doing. Champion: Obree takes the Union Jack for a victory lap (right) after his victory in the 4km individual pursuit final at the World Cycling Championships in Colombia in 1995 ‘What you are really talking about, though, is growth hormone. Bovine growth hormone. On top of that, there were stimulants like cocaine, blood-boosting agents like EPO and steroids. ‘It was explained to me that this was £8,000 worth of stuff but I would get it for £2,000 off my contract, for medical back-up. They were saying to me: “It’s a bargain, a no-brainer. What are you thinking turning this down, Graeme?”. ‘I wasn’t going to play along, so they decided I was a loose cannon and it was basically goodbye.

I hold the world record for the shortest ever professional contract - 11 hours with Le Groupement on January 1, 1995. ‘I had agreed to join at the end of 1994, as a short-distance specialist to help the other riders get into the yellow jersey position. I was a speed merchant, so I would be great in the prologues, a 4k world champion doing 4k laps around the streets against the clock - any team would want that. ‘So I had the hour record, the world pursuit title as a track cyclist, then get attached to the road time and help the riders out. That was my remit, as well as trying to get the hour record back. 'Loose cannon': Obree refused to play along when he was offered the chance to take performance-enhancing stimulants ‘It was the start of a tough time. My brother had died, I lost the hour record, I wasn’t world champion because they banned my riding position, I had no sponsor, I couldn’t ride that bike any more - and I was fired from my French team because I wouldn’t take drugs. ‘This all happened in January 1995.

I thought I would go downhill or turn around, get back uphill. That’s how I came up with the Superman position.’ Woah, woah. The Superman position? How did we get on to that? Spend any time with Obree and you quickly learn that conversation is not necessarily a lateral concept; he flits from subject to subject, only eventually returning to the original course. The Superman position was a revolutionary new riding style, with his arms stretched way out front on handlebar extensions, forming a massively powerful arch with his body. The second major innovation by Obree, who had already infuriated officialdom by rewriting all logic to create that famous hunched position, seemed obvious to a guy who does not see the world as others do. After getting lapped by a competitor on his first outing, he stuck with it - and ended up regaining the world title for individual pursuit. Yet still the pro teams shied away, knowing Obree would not juice up - and probably suspecting he might just blow the whistle on the whole doped-up circus.

Sitting in a wee café in his home town of Kilmarnock, our conversation turns towards the aforementioned Mr Armstrong - now exposed as one of the biggest cheats in sport - and a certain day when the multiple Tour de France winner brought the streets of Paisley to a standstill. Superman: Obree in action before setting a new world record for the one-hour cycling mark by covering 52.713km, breaking the previous record set by Chris Boardman in July 1993 Obree was there among the adoring fans as Armstrong took the accolades on a massed ride in 2009; the American was still the good guy, still revered, still capable of impressing even a former world beater. Looking back, does Obree not feel great anger and bitterness towards a man who has come to symbolise all that was wrong with road cycling? ‘I remember that - that was some day,’ he said. ‘I could have done what Lance did, you’re right. I could have had the bling or the honour - that was the choice. But I can see both sides. ‘I was winning bike races without it.

I was lucky to come from a background where you go out to Hansel Village, get changed in a layby, ride up the dual carriageway, fastest against the clock and somebody hands you an envelope with 80 quid in it if you win. If you took an aspirin to try to go quicker, that would have been a scandal. That’s the background I came from. ‘But, if you were a road cyclist being groomed from the age of 15, going through the larger amateur clubs, it was very different. I could name five Scottish guys who were good enough to be professional riders - but they would not do the doping. I’m just the one who stands out. With those teams, there came a point where someone would just say: “Son, here’s the kit”. ‘It’s normalised. It doesn’t seem like cheating. But I didn’t come from that background, so it was a shock. ‘I was training to be a receptionist two weeks before breaking the world hour record. Getting changed in laybys, picking up 30 quid for a race because I was a bit tight for money, that was my life.

‘When I broke the world hour record, people offered thousands, so I was saying: “I’ll be there!”. Suddenly, I was riding all over the Continent. ‘When the top pros met me, we would be chatting and then someone would ask: “What did you use for your world hour record?”. When I said “nothing”, they looked at me not with surprise - but disgust. ‘One Italian rider just waved his hand at me, snorted “Amateur!” and turned to walk away in disgust. He never spoke to me again. You see, I’m doing the wrong thing in their eyes. I’m not taking my job seriously, I’m just playing at it. That’s how ingrained it was.’ Record breaker: Fellow cyclists would be shocked and label Obree an amateur for not doping It’s a very magnanimous attitude from a man who, but for riders like Armstrong, could have enjoyed a comfortable and lucrative lifestyle riding on the Grand Tours. He might even have had an Olympic medal, one of the few honours to elude him, to show his sons. Explaining his lack of fury towards the men who took the easier path to success, Obree says: ‘I’m resentful to road cycling.

When I became a road champion under my steam and my money, in Colombia in 1995, there was not a single inquiry from a road team. I was the fastest man in the world over a short distance, but nothing. ‘Before the ’96 Olympics, a competitor apologised to me in advance because he was going to have to take drugs. He said everybody else was, so he had no choice. He was truly torn up by it, so he apologised because he knew I was clean. Everybody knew who was and who wasn’t. I was the one who stood out, even refusing vitamin injections because of a needle phobia. ‘If I told you how he went, you would work out who it was. But he’s someone who I respect as an athlete and an individual to this day.’ Flying Scotsman: Obree (centre), pictured with Philippe Ermenault (left) and Chris Boardman (right), won gold at the 1993 World Cyling Championships Obree gives off the impression of always trying to see the best in people and situations, constantly checking himself whenever there’s a suspicion of falling back into the depression that led him to suicide attempts during the darkest days.

Writing two books helped - a life story later turned into a movie and a hugely respected training manual. He’s also working on what he calls a survivor’s guide to depression, spending entire days - from six in the morning ’til ten at night - rattling out chapters in longhand. Maybe he’s just filling the gap left by the conclusion of his latest project, breaking yet more records in a bike named - by Sir Chris Hoy, no less - The Beastie. Lying down, head first, on a home-made chassis surrounded by a high-tech shell, he broke the top speed set by a bike, then the overall record for a prone human-propelled vehicle, reaching over 56 miles an hour. ‘The bike was at the cutting edge of concept,’ he explains. ‘I could have just copied everyone else. But I was never going to do that. ‘I took my design to somebody in the cutting edge of car design, his grasp on aerodynamics was incredible. There are so many preconceptions about aerodynamics that I had accepted - but are totally wrong.

Cutting edge: Graeme Obree pictured with his home made bike which Sir Chris Hoy (right) calls 'The Beastie' ‘You can’t realise how little you actually know until you face a bigger body of knowledge. But you don’t realise what you don’t know until the shadow lifts from the mountain in front of you. And the aerodynamicists did that for me.’ The entire record bid, from conception and construction to execution, has been captured on film by Glasgow movie makers Journey Pictures, with a view to releasing a feature-length documentary. More than 200 hours of footage was shot and Obree says: ‘It was as if, every time I looked around, the camera was there. And the most stressful moments, when you would be thinking: “Just p*** off with that camera!”, they were the moments they wanted. Part of me dreads seeing the stress on film. ‘I’ve still not seen a snippet of footage. I hate watching myself back. Not for any deep reason, just because I’m a middle-aged bald guy. Everyone thinks they are 10 years younger looking than they are.’ Don’t worry about a bit of male pattern hair loss or the odd wrinkle, Graeme.

We happen to have some special cow hormones that’ll help you out with that … Graeme Obree Biography | Cycling Info Obree in the superman position (extra long stem) In April 1994, Obree made another attempt on the world hour record in Bordeaux, France and was successful in beating Chris Boardman's record. Obree set 52.270 KM World Pursuit 4KM Champion 1993 After his first world hour record breaking attempt, Obree went onto become World Pursuit Champion in 1993. He beat Chris Boardman in the Semi Final (also setting a new world record) In the final he beat the Frenchman Phillipe Ermanault. To become World Champion was in many ways unexpected for Obree; it enabled him to attract many lucrative offers to travel around Europe racing in prestigious time trials and track meetings. In the 1994 UCI World Championships, Obree was the defending champion and had modified his bike to bring him into line with the new rules. However on the evening of the Championships the UCI bought in a new law effectively banning his unique tuck position. The rule was so new that it hadnï¿½t even been written down.

Obree had no chance to get used to a new design and was thus disqualified after his first qualifying attempt. The media were sympathetic to Obree's plight, as it seemed he had been unfairly penalised by UCI bureaucracy. However, in 1995, he was able to regain his world pursuit title. Obree briefly signed a contract with a French based professional team. However, unfortunately this didn'tï¿½t work out. Obree said he never felt comfortable in the set up and was also unwilling to pay the ï¿½supplementary medicine ï¿½ costs (i.e. doping in an era of widespread drug taking in the pro-cycling world. Obree later revealed how resentful he felt that his professional career was made impractical because at the time, 99% of riders were taking EPO to stay competitive. He mentions that he never took performance enhancing drugs during his career. "AND by the way, I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time as has been happening in the sport for a long time." Obree Way - Review The Obree Way is a training manual based on Graeme Obree's own training methods over the past 30 years.

I wrote a review of the Obree Way . Personal Issues Obreeï¿½s autobiography is a compelling account of his experiences as a bike rider and his private battle with the problems of depression, bipolar disorder and low self esteem. The overriding theme in his book is his desire to prove himself by winning. If he lost a race he would feel awful. The book is written with great honesty and is a fascinating insight into the mind of a great athlete. He later revealed on Jan 31st 2011 that he was gay, but had great difficulty in dealing with it. "I was brought up by a war generation; they grew up when gay people were put in jail. Being homosexual was so unthinkable that you just wouldn't be gay. I'd no inkling about anything, I just closed down," - Graeme Obree (Scottish Sun, 31/01/2011) Graeme said the difficulties in coming to terms with his sexuality was a factor in contributing to his two suicide attempts. He said, though it was difficult coming to terms with his homosexuality has been a relief and led to improved relations with his parents. He has since divorced his wife.

Graeme Obree Major Achievements World Hour Record 1993 (51.596km), 1994 (52.713km) World Champion (4000m Pursuit) 1993, 1995 Domestic Time Trial Success Obree broke the British 10-mile individual time trial record in 1993 (18.27) on course Q10/30 Woolwich 1st place RTTC 50-mile championship 1993 (a record 1h 39m 01s). Also competition record. This ride was set on a fixed bike. 2He won5-mile championship in 1996. BCF 25-mile championship 1997 Since retiring from racing, Obree has promoted a cyclo sportive event in Ayrshire, Scotland. Related Pages I recommend this documentary about Obree.

A personal note: I admire Obree because: He was a great cyclist, The hour record is the ultimate cycling record, very few professionals even dare try to attempt it The list of Hour Record Holders reads like a Who’s Who of professional cycling Obree was an individual outside the cycling hierarchy (The UCI treated him quite unfairly at one point, banning his position without giving any forewarning) He built his own bikes on a limited budget. For a number of years I believe he lived off unemployment benefits. He was always a clean rider, at a time when not many professionals were. Obree Film – The Flying Scotsman Released In 2007. The flying Scotsman partially tells of the struggles that Obree went through in becoming a successful cyclist. It mainly concentrates on the bike racing and only touches upon the personal aspect. The Flying Scotsman – DVD Ex-world cycling champion Graeme Obree: I attempted suicide twice because I am gay | Daily Mail Online Ex-world cycling champion Graeme Obree: I attempted suicide twice because I am gay Former world individual pursuit champion Graeme Obree has revealed how his struggles to come to terms with his sexuality led him to attempt to commit suicide twice.

Battle with his sexuality: Graeme Obree was gay and twice attempted suicide The 45-year-old from Ayrshire broke the world hour record in 1993 on his bike 'Old Faithful', made from recycled washing machine parts, before going on to world championship success in the individual pursuit. However, Obree has now revealed the difficulties he encountered in his private life as he struggled to accept he was gay, which included two attempts to take his own life. He told the Scottish Sun: 'I was brought up thinking you'd be better dead than gay. I must have known I was gay and it was so unacceptable. 'I was brought up by a war generation - they grew up when gay people were put in jail. Being homosexual was so unthinkable that you just wouldn't be gay. I'd no inkling about anything, I just closed down.

'People say, "How can you be gay and be married and have kids and not know it?" 'But when I went to my psychologist she reckoned I had the emotional age of about 13 because I'd just closed down.' Obree began to talk about his sexuality to a psychologist in 2005 and then had to break the news to his wife - from whom he is now divorced - his children and his parents. He said: 'It did create a bit of tension. My parents had to come to terms with the whole gay thing, it's been a journey for them. 'It was difficult and there were lots of tears. It wasn't easy. But the relationship with my parents has been improved by it. 'We talked about it and discussed things and we're a lot happier.' BBC - A Sporting Nation - Graeme Obree: Homegrown Hero Graeme Obree: Homegrown Hero © Gordon Cairns The career of Scotland's two-time world hour record holder Graeme Obree has become inextricably linked with a certain household appliance, which deflects from his incredible achievements.

Only a handful of cyclists have ever broken the hour record but Obree's public image has been reduced to that of an eccentric sportsman rather than as a man who battled against the odds to reach the pinnacle of his sport. For a talented amateur from a cycling backwater to break the world hour record in 1994 is simply incredible. Eddy Merckx, probably the best cyclist the world has ever seen, broke the record in 1972 and promptly said "Never again", such was the pain he endured. For Obree to break the record on a bike he built himself beggars belief. Obree himself said: "My biggest regret of my career is mentioning to a journalist that there was a bit from a washing machine in my bike. "Now forever I will be remembered as the washing machine guy." Obree admits that the washing machine connection also affected his chances of earning a big sponsorship deal. He added: "A good sponsor was not going to go with an athlete associated with a bike built from bric-a-brac." However, with the distance of ten years, Obree's career is being re-assessed.

His very candid best- selling autobiography starkly outlined his external battles against authority and his internal battles to reach the top. Now Obree's career has become an inspiration for Scotland's new track cycling stars Craig McLean and Chris Hoy. Chris Hoy said: "I found Graeme Obree to be an inspirational figure when I was just starting out. "His life is like a Hollywood film, but one that you would find unbelievable if you watched it in the cinema." Obree is gratified by the respect he has earned from the Olympic champion. Obree said: "For someone who has achieved what Chris has, to consider me an inspiration is a real accolade." Graeme Obree in his controversial racing position Ironically, there have been ongoing attempts to make a film about Obree's exploits, which would allow Obree to follow that other unconventional Scottish champion Eric Liddell onto celluloid. Obree's early career was marked by his rivalry with Englishman Chris Boardman in the mid-1990s. But for Obree to reach that position to challenge the Olympic gold medal winner was a victory of determination over adversity.

It was Boardman's gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics of 1992 that not only raised Boardman's profile but also made Obree realise that he too was a serious contender on the world cycling stage as he had enjoyed close tussles with the English rider in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "After Chris won the Olympic gold it made me realise we were both cycling at a very high level because we rode against each other many times and sometimes I would beat him." And while Obree was working out of his garage piecing together parts of bikes to make his customised model, while pursuing dead-end jobs and could not afford a telephone, a team of sports scientists, psychologists and bike builders backed Boardman. But Obree expresses no resentment that the odds of him beating Boardman were stacked against him. "The thing about Chris was that he was organised. His approach was totally structured which allowed him to build that team about him. He built on his successes and then put himself forward as an ideal employee so that he could compete in the Tour de France. "On the other hand I just thought about getting the hour record. Once I got that I didn't know what I was going to do.

I had no career path at all. "Chris Boardman was the author of his own destiny, so there has never been any resentment on my part." © BBC And by extension Obree too was the author of his own destiny. He battled against external circumstance to join only a handful of men ever to have broken the world hour record on a bike. And yet it seems he took little pleasure in his incredible achievements. Obree admits that his fear of failing, rather than a desire to succeed, was the biggest motivating factor for him when he competed. Since retiring he has been diagnosed as having bi-polar disorder, a condition that affects the sufferer's mental state. "When I broke the hour record it was my attempt to meet the expectation to feel worthy as a human being. I felt total relief when I heard the gun go off, meaning I had passed Moser's distance.

"It was the sound of a glass ceiling shattering - no matter what happened after this, I would still be the person who broke the hour and no-one could take that from me." Obree lists his victory in the pursuit at the World Championships in Colombia in 1995 as the one that brought him greatest pleasure in his career, not simply for winning the coveted rainbow jersey in itself but as a settling of scores with the president of the UCI, cycling's governing body, Hein Verbruggen who had unjustly disqualified him in the previous year's competition with a rule change passed the night before Obree rode. Verbruggen was trackside at the race in Bogota. "My happiest moment was probably winning the world's in Colombia. It was an added incentive to win that Verbruggen was there to present the medals." Yet more than the frustration of having his riding position banned not once but twice, Obree regrets that he never followed Boardman into the professional peloton and so missed a chance to ride the Tour de France prologue. He was hired by French team Le Groupement in late 1994 but was fired two days later in mysterious circumstances with Obree not having ridden one race for the team.

"The thing that frustrates me most looking back on my career was not being able to ride the Tour de France. I would have loved to have ridden the prologue and I think I would have had a good chance of winning it." Obree is at present keeping himself busy by writing a training manual and getting himself in condition to play the part of his legs in the close-ups in the film of his remarkable life. Written by: Gordon Cairns The 100mph bike – designed in the bath and made from an old saucepan - Telegraph How about that? The 100mph bike – designed in the bath and made from an old saucepan Graeme Obree, the Scottish cyclist, is building a bike on which he hopes to smash the world speed record and reach 100mph. Graeme Obree plans to break the land speed record for pedal power on a home-made bicycle that he is building from recycled parts Photo: CHRIS WATT By Jeremy Wilson JonnyLeeMiller.co.uk Jonny Lee Miller in The Flying Scotsman JONNY LEE MILLER IN THE FLYING SCOTSMAN IMAGES SYNOPSIS The inspiring real-life story of one of Scotland's greatest sporting heroes.

In 1992, Briton Chris Boardman shocked the cycling world when he won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics. It was well known that Britain simply wasn’t capable of producing first-class cyclists, yet Boardman wiped the floor with the competition. Unemployed Scot, Graeme Obree (Jonny Lee Miller) was just as amazed at Boardman’s success. After all, he had occasionally beaten Boardman. With no prospect of a job, a young baby to feed and a mortgage dragging him ever deeper into debt, Obree - at 27, an old man in cycling terms – decided to have one last attempt to make a living from the sport, spurred on by his friend Malky McGovern (Billy Boyd) and wife Anne (Laura Fraser). With no money, no sponsor and no backer, Obree decided to build his own bike. Using the boatshed of his friend and confidante, Rev. Douglas Baxter (Brian Cox), Graeme used metal he found in the gutter, bits of an old lock, tubing from a kid’s BMX bike and a cannibalised washing machine.

Despite having no technical training, he invented a revolutionary riding position which looked like a downhill skier – by reversing and minimizing the size of the handle bars. He was laughed at wherever he went but had significantly improved the rider’s aerodynamics. The laughter grew louder when Obree announced that he would make an attempt on cycling’s equivalent of the four-minute mile - The One Hour Record. Unbroken for 10 years, nobody else in the cycling world even dared try it. Whereas Boardman trained with computer-control-led isometric equipment and a support team of bike-builders, pacers, coaches and sponsors, financially-strapped Obree had nobody to help him. He couldn’t even afford a phone... LINKS GRAEME OBREE TALKS ABOUT THE FLYING SCOTSMAN JONNY'S NO.1 IN RACY ROLE JONNY LEE MILLER is so fit after playing ex-cycling champ Graeme Obree that he could compete for real - says the man who knows. Obree's rise to fame and subsequent health problems are told in new film The Flying Scotsman. At its premiere at the Edinburgh Film Festival yesterday, Obree said: "Jonny is an exceptional athlete.

"He's more of a runner than a cyclist but I'm sure he'd give me a good run for my money in a biathlon." Graeme also appears in the biopic - as Miller's body double. Eagle-eyed viewers will spot him as his legs are skinnier than the actor's. Miller, BAFTA members and a posse of Scots media buffs headed to the capital's Cargo bar for the after-premiere party - but it wasn't to everyone's taste. VIPs had to queue on the terrace for "burgers like the type you get from a van". One showbiz luvvie was heard to moan: "You wouldn't get this in Hollywood." Read this here Obree film goes ahead after unions lift boycott THE Flying Scotsman, the film about the troubles and triumphs of the Scots cycling champion Graeme Obree, opened the Edinburgh International Film Festival last night, after union leaders cancelled a planned boycott. The broadcasting union BECTU had threatened to picket the film's red-carpet premiere in a show of anger over £80,000 in unpaid wages to members. Receivers were called in on the film after it hit a series of financial crises.

Mr Obree attended the film's opening, but actor Jonny Lee Miller, who plays him, was not present after becoming a casualty of the air travel security clampdown. Read more here Flying Scotsman - A review The good news, given this film's troubled production, is The Flying Scotsman is a winner. Just as the protagonist of this sports biopic, Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, had to overcome personal and professional obstacles in order to win the World Cycling Championships twice, so too the film's debuting director Douglas Mackinnon had to wrangle with various financing problems in order to finish his film. It's to Mackinnon and his cast and crew's credit that they managed that, and moreover that the result is a solid piece of film-making and a genuine crowd-pleaser. Obree, for those who don't know, was an amateur enthusiast who in 1993 broke the world one-hour cycling record. Incredible enough as that athletic feat was, Obree, who ran a failing bike shop in Prestwick and subsequently paid the bills and supported his family working as a cycle courier in Glasgow, achieved it riding a race bike that he designed and built himself – with parts cannibalised from his washing machine.

Old Faithful, as Obree called the bike, allowed the cyclist to adopt a new, more aerodynamic riding posture and thus shave off those few crucial seconds from each lap around the velodrome. But Old Faithful brought its designer into conflict with the World Cycling Federation, whose board members didn't appreciate the lack of commercial opportunities it presented (i.e. it couldn't be mass-produced and sold to the public) and went to great lengths to ban Obree from participating in championships. Mackinnon's film dramatises this underdog story, but it also brings an involving personal dimension. Obree overcame the physical challenges of this gruelling sport and the obstacles placed in his way. But what proved to be his undoing were his personal demons. Haunted by bullying he suffered as a child at school, as an adult Obree suffered from crippling bouts of depression (there's a nicely realised scene in which Obree hallucinates that the bullies' full-grown ringleader pays him a deeply creepy home visit). It's these details that lift the film above the ranks of pedestrian biopic. Otherwise, The Flying Scotsman is rousing and often very funny.

As Obree's eccentric associate Baxter, Brian Cox generates the lion's share of the laughs. Billy Boyd and Laura Fraser, playing Obree's pal/manager and his wife, provide sterling support, and Jonny Lee Miller brings grit (and a fine pair of legs) to the role, crossing the finishing line a winning leading man. 'Flying Scotsman' defies gravity By ADAM DAWTREY WHEN THE EDINBURGH INTL. FILM FESTIVAL opens Aug. 14 with the world premiere of Douglas Mackinnon's debut movie "The Flying Scotsman," it will mark the climax of an extraordinary odyssey for the filmmakers. What makes "The Flying Scotsman" unusual is not the 12 years it took to get made, nor the number of times the project collapsed and was resurrected before the cameras finally rolled last year. No, what's remarkable is that the film, with a paper budget of $11 million, seems to have been made out of thin air, with no visible financing in place and no obvious producer (despite the 10 named in the credits).

This is a movie that never got greenlit, never had a completion bond, never closed its finance, went into administration (the U.K. equivalent of Chapter 11) during post-production and still hasn't paid half its bills. "It was a blooding beyond bloody for me," says Mackinnon. "Everyone tells me it's the worst scenario in terms of the politics and the money that they've ever come across." "In hindsight, everyone was completely bonkers," says one industry veteran who was centrally involved in the project, but requests anonymity to spare his professional blushes. Yet the word from those who have had a sneak preview is that the movie might, just might, deliver on the crowd-pleasing, heart-warming promise that led one participant to pitch it as " 'Shine' on a bike." Certainly, Edinburgh topper Shane Danielsen has made a big statement of faith by opening his festival with the film. "The Flying Scotsman" is the true story of Graham Obree, the amateur Scottish cyclist who built his own bike out of washing machine parts and rode it to gold at the world championships, despite battling mental illness and hostility from the sport's authorities.

This classic triumph-from-adversity story attracted screenwriter Simon Rose in 1994. He hooked up with "Rob Roy" producer Peter Broughan, with Mackinnon eventually coming aboard to direct and Jonny Lee Miller to play Obree. In 2002, the death of a key American investor caused the project to collapse just days before it was due to start shooting. It took three years to pull it back together again. By then, Broughan had been joined by Damita Nikapota, a mysterious trans-Atlantic producer who sometimes used the pseudonym Sean Murphy. While negotiating with financiers, Nikapota secured pre-production cash flow from specialist outfit Freewheel, headed by Sara Giles. Broughan fell out spectacularly with Mackinnon and tried to fire him, but Mackinnon refused to walk and cameras rolled last July. It's not unusual for indie pics to start lensing before all the paperwork is finished. But in this case, although there seemed to be financing proposals on the table, the sums never quite added up. "It was only during editing that it became blatantly obvious the producers couldn't close the financing," Giles says.

Everyone involved, from Obree himself to Strathclyde Police, was owed money, but there was nothing in the pot. Giles decided the only way the creditors, including herself, would stand any chance of being repaid was to finish the film. That meant taking the production company into administration, and putting up more of her own money. Her eventual cash outlay topped $4 million. "I inadvertently became the adoptive mother of the film," Giles says. "I want people to understand that I was not the financier who had let everyone down. I'm the single largest creditor. Everyone is owed something, but the only person who has not been paid a penny is me." "It's only because of Sarah's faith in the film and her risk-taking that we're here today," testifies Mackinnon, who edited at night while shooting a TV show by day to pay his bills. All hopes now rest on how the film plays at its world premiere. A new sales agent will be announced imminently, and any distribution deals will be used to repay the debts. Now that really would be a triumph from adversity to rival Obree's own remarkable story. BIG OR SMALL..

I'LL DO 'EM ALL Brian Cox on why he's as happy filming a low-budget Scots movie as a blockbuster By Brian Mclver BRIAN COX has played a serial killer, | an evil general and the leader of the most ruthless army in the ancient world. But Hollywood's favourite Scot admits that he fights his hardest battles with accountants desperate to curtail his film-making fun. The award-winning actor is f oneofthebest-knownfaceson the big screen with a host of blockbusters on his CV. But he's just as at home in a tiny independent shoot in the back streets of a Scottish city, much to the despair of his money-men. "I keep getting raps on the knuckles from my accountants who say I can't do these sort of films because I need to go out and make some money," admitted Brian. The 59-year-old Dundonian made time to chat to the Record on the Edinburgh set of A Woman in Winter, directed by fellow Scot Richard Jobson. He's particularly keen to support Scottish talent and AWoman in Winter is the first of a run of three Scots productions for Brian, who's now based in LA.

He'll appear in a film set in Glasgow about Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, and is also in The Flying Scotsman, a biopic of cyclist Graeme Obree, which ran into some financial difficulties earlier this year and had to be rescued by administrators. Source Obree film makers go into Administration December 08, 2005 Mel Films, the production company behind the £3m Hollywood bio-pic on Graeme Obree, has been placed into administration. 'The Flying Scotsman', starring 'Trainspotting' star Jonny Lee Miller, had finished filming and should make it to the big screen despite the latest setback. In 2002, the film was scuppered when the US financier keeled over and died. The film's production company may have been placed in administration but there are a raft of funding partners and the film should not die this time around. The financing partners include NRW, BBC Scotland, Bank of Ireland, Glasgow Film Office, Pictorion Das Werk, IFC, and Scottish Screen. Administrators Tenon Recovery say the film will go ahead.

Kenny Craig, of Tenon Recovery, said: "Our priority is to make sure The Flying Scotsman is released." Source MILLER DOESN'T HAVE THE LEGS FOR ACTING ROLE JONNY LEE MILLER's intensive training regime failed to prepare him for his role as cycling legend GRAEME OBREE in biopic THE FLYING SCOTSMAN, and the real life Obree was eventually brought in as a stunt double. MILLER was thrilled to play the hero who rode a bike made out of washing machine parts to break the world hour-record in the 1990s, but was left embarrassed when his leg muscles didn't make the grade. Obree says, "I'm the legs in the movie but Jonny did well. Source MILLER'S 'EXTREME APPROACH' TO LATEST ROLE JONNY LEE MILLER shocked co-star BRIAN COX with the gruelling fitness regime he has imposed on himself to take on the role of a cycling legend.

The veteran British actor believes the 32-year-old need to play cycling legend GRAEME OBREE in THE FLYING SCOTSMAN as authentically as possible has seen him adopt a training regime usually only seen in sports professionals. Cox says, "I often see him out of the car window when I'm driving to the set, and cheer him on. He's started riding Graeme Obree's bicycle too, which is partly made out of old washing machine parts. That Jonny's a strange lad. No one's making him do it - he just seems to be very enthusiastic." Graeme Obree: why we need to talk about depression in sport - Cycling Weekly Cycling Weekly 0shares 0shares Depression in sport is often overlooked, except for when someone is brave enough to speak out. Here we look back at our conversation from last Autumn with Graeme Obree, who opened up about his own battle with depression Depression in sport is an often under-reported phenomenon as mental illness does not sit well in a world where competitiveness, bravado and strength are seen as the norm. The condition often only hits the headlines when a high profile sportsperson talks about the condition.

Before speaking to Graeme Obree, I watched a BBC documentary that looked at depression in sport. The programme was presented by ex-England cricket captain Andrew Flintoff, who jetted off around the world speaking to some of the world’s leading sport stars on how they coped with battling depression. The programme, despite being very powerful and moving, lacked something. While it gave a fascinating insight into the lives of these icons, it never really touched on the extremes, and the thoughts of people who had hit the bottom where they felt there was no way out, and how they managed to overcome this. It was this frustration with the programme’s lack of ‘bite’ that prompted me to get in touch with Obree, the former Hour Record holder and world individual pursuit champion cyclist. >>> Icons of cycling: Graeme Obree’s Old Faithful As many readers will know, Obree has battled depression for a huge portion of his life, and while he has, thankfully, come through the other side, he twice tried to take his own life. His latest suicide attempt was in 2001, a year after he fell back into a bout of depression following the death of his brother Gordon, who was killed in a car crash.

Obree has scaled the highest of highs and plumbed the lowest of lows more than almost any other sports star, and has become extremely knowledgeable on the subject of depression. “I’m surprised the BBC never asked me to get involved with it,” says Obree about the documentary. He’s rightly mystified, and such is the extent of his knowledge, he is already embarking on another writing project, a survivor’s guide to depression, which has been inspired by the many letters and emails he has received from other sufferers of the illness. When sportspeople like Obree speak out, it can help lift the taboo CW‘s Robert Hicks spoke to the living legend at length about depression in sport and society: what causes it, what it thrives on, and most importantly, how to cope with it. Widespread problem A staggering one in four Brits will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year, with depression affecting one in five. Men are reportedly three times more likely than women to commit suicide, with those aged between 25-44 years most at risk, a statistic published by the Mental Health Foundation.

Professional athletes, especially those who have retired from competition, are believed to be a group with a higher than average exposure to the risk of suicide. In the BBC documentary, it was stated that one in 11 sport stars will suffer or have suffered from a form of depression. This is a statistic that many will have trouble understanding, and a question frequently heard is: How does someone who has it all develop feelings of depression? “The problem with depression is that people who have never been to that level can’t understand what it is,” says Obree. “People can’t understand somebody whose life seems so good – wealthy, successful with a beautiful wife and children – feeling like they can’t go on living anymore. That’s what fascinates people more than anything. “I’ve spoken to top athletes who have achieved everything, and they have told me that the hardest part was after they had retired from sport. These people end up parachuting down to a new level, and they’re like, ‘Well, what are we going to do now?’ “They have all this spare time with no distractions or need for obsessive behaviour, which used to distract them from analysing their own life.

For many sport stars, depression could be residing in them their whole life, but it’s been repressed due to training and competing.” >>> How can osteopathy help cyclists? But does this answer why a sportsperson experiences this more than someone without an accolade to their name, without the mansion, fast cars and a career to look back on with pride? Surely the troubles of normal life contribute more to bringing on a bout of depression than simply having spare time to fill? “Well, let me put it this way: a normal, happy-go-lucky person will be happy reading the Sunday paper rather than getting up and riding 50 miles up and down the dual carriageway.” “Now, a happy-go-lucky person isn’t going to reach the extreme heights of success in a sporting context because they aren’t that driven. These people are least likely to be depressed but least likely to be successful.” “The most driven achieve the most amount of significance. But whatever it is, the nuclear reaction that drives them on is also the thing that leaves them susceptible to being depressed. It’s not that sport makes people depressed.

A lot of people who suffer from depression have a tendency to have obsessive behaviour – that’s why more of them exist in the top end of sport. The sport is actually a self-medicating process of survival.” Off the bike training can be very beneficial to your cycing Feeding the furnace “Most people who are driven to be the absolute best in anything… when you think about it, it’s quite abnormal behaviour and there must be a driving force behind that other than the absolute want of glory.” But doesn’t money, fame and fortune help alleviate the pain in some way? “No, it works the opposite way. I actually think society and the need for materialistic things contributes to depression. From childhood onwards, we are brainwashed into thinking that ownership of goods equates to happiness.” “We now live in a society where a heck of a lot of us are wealthier than ever before, and that is supposed to make us happy and contented. We’re now suffering from anti-climactic syndrome, which leads to depression.

Personally, I’ve no want for a car; I live in a single-bedroom flat; I’ve no want of a garden; my world is my garden.” “There are these people with a big house, career, cars and money, and they can’t deal with living anymore. It proves that materialistic things aren’t the source of happiness. People have got to shift thoughts from what can I buy next to make me happy, to who can I interact with next to make me happy.” Identifying depression One of the biggest issues surrounding depression is how to go about identifying it. Is feeling down the first step on the spiralling staircase to depression? I studied sports psychology at university, and it was a topic that was discussed at length. If I’m honest, for me personally, it’s a subject that’s still clouded in an air of confusion. The World Health Organisation defines depression as: “a common mental disorder that presents with depressed moods, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration.” >>> Top tips to sleep better and ride faster (video) Obree, however, describes depression somewhat differently, in a way only he could.

“Imagine you’re in a hotel and there are loads of rooms. There is a fire in one of the rooms. Now the sprinklers go off in every room. That’s the human mind, and there’s a whole range of emotions and functions of the brain. Now, if you’ve got a repressed memory, it’s unbearable to deal with, and the only way of repressing that memory is by having the sprinklers go off in every room. “Or, if I have some other emotions, like fear, anxiety, resentment, anger or a combination of emotions, then the only way to suppress that is by putting the sprinklers on in all of the brain. “So what you find is, people who are depressed haven’t lost any intelligence, but they have lost the ability to think and make decisions as clearly as you could. It affects the whole function of your mind. You have to pick away to find out the real root of it. It’s very complex, but for most people, there is usually some underlying issue. It needs to be dealt with. Deal with that fire in the room before you can move on. Treating depression itself is treating the symptoms.” What are the symptoms?

“Personally speaking, if everything seems fine but slightly pointless, that’s an element of depression. A lot of people mix up being depressed and being pissed off. “If you’re just pissed off because of such and such – ‘my bike broke in two’ – and you’re saying you’re really depressed, no, you’re just pissed off. That’s something completely different. “And if you’re in touch with emotions such as anger and frustration, and you can identify them and feel them, then you’re probably not depressed. “If you’re not in touch with emotion and you just feel flat, and you don’t feel anything and you can’t put a finger on the reason as to why you feel flat, then that’s a sign of depression.” Cycling has played a huge part in your entire life. Did it help with your battle? “Absolutely. Getting out and riding will help. If you have no desire to get out and ride, then you’re in a bad position. Without cycling, I don’t know where I would be. I have a love-hate relationship with cycling, not the bike, but the racing side of it and the pressure that comes along with it.

“I use my bike as a mode of transport – I’ve no want to own a car – to go and see my boys over the hills and come back, and it feels great when you’re out in the open air and you come back feeling refreshed and awake. “For this reason I recommend cycling to help people feel better, but not to deal with the underlying causes, which could be a repressed memory, resentment from childhood, relationships. These need to be dealt with.” If you think you’re suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts, speak to someone openly about it or contact the Samaritans anonymously on 08457 909090 hailpantani Superstar! graham cooper I agree with Julian. So much good being done because of the openness of Graeme and others. To me the excellent article throws up parallels with another area where depression is in the news – our servicemen and women returning from active duty, many suffering from PTSD. Whilst the ultimate stakes are different both groups go through similar levels of physical and mental training to enable them to perform to their best. Sadly we hear of depression and suicides amongst the forces after demob. The ones that hit the news appear to be amongst those suffering the mental trauma.

We don’t hear about suicide amongst those badly wounded where you might expect it most. It may be that their recovery still provides that physical focus or outlet as a balance to or distraction from the mental side. It would be interesting to see if there were lessons to learn & support to be had by either group to help anyone affected. Julian Ormandy Wow! Every time I read anything from Graeme I am really impressed. I have suffered from depression for the last 20 years starting at the age of 16. The description of just feeling flat is something I recognise 1:1. Graeme is a great example that depression can be beaten with self awareness and hard work. I would only add that the dark clouds never completely go away. Inspirational. Thank you Graeme and CW

Question: In which sport did Scot Graeme Obree twice become World Champion?
Answer: Cycling