Individual Pursuit (4,000 metres), Men

The 1991 World Champion had been East German Jens Lehmann, who was now representing Germany. In qualifying he broke the world record with 4:30.054, but was overwhelmed by the qualifying leader, Chris Boardman of Great Britain, whose time of 4:27.357 stunned the competitors, officials, and spectators. Boardman did this on a revolutionary bike that was made of a carbon-composite frame all molded from a single piece. It did not have the standard central triangular frame, but had special disc wheels and the by-now standard triathlon-type handlbars. On the bike, Boardman proved exceptionally fast. In the first round, Boardman dispatched even his qualifying world record, breaking the timer in 4:24.496 after overtaking Denmark’s Jan Bo Petersen. In the final, Lehmann had his chance against Boardman, but the Brit proved his superiority. For the first time in Olympic history, the final was ended by a capture, as Boardman overtook Lehmann with a lap to go, an unheard of dominance at this level of competition. Boardman turned professional and won the prologue at the 1994 Tour de France. He was also professional pursuit World Champion in 1994 and 1996. He and his countryman, Graeme Obree, who had designed an even more revolutionary bike, spent the early 90s trading the world hour record back and forth. Eventually, the Union Cycliste International (UCI) stepped in and decreed that such records had to be set on more traditional bikes, and the record reverted to the 1972 mark set by Belgium’s Eddy Merckx. Lehmann would also turn professional and compete as a top sprinter in the pro peleton, and won the 2000 professonal pursuit World Championship.