Watch the time a rider won the pro road worlds on a completely flat tire
Abraham Olano took the biggest win of his life on a punctured tubular
On paper, the 1995 UCI Road World Championships in Colombia was thought to be one of the hardest circuits ever, with a series of leg-breaking climbs. Spaniard Miguel Indurian, who had won the Tour earlier that year, was looking to cap off a tremendous year with a rainbow jersey. Just a few years earlier, Big Mig almost took the elusive triple crown, won only by the great Eddy Merckx and Stephen Roche, the Giro-Tour-Worlds combination. Either way, in 1995, it would be his teammate Abraham Olano who was victorious in Duitama, and he did it on a flat tire.
As the race progressed, more and more riders would be dropped, leaving an very elite group of riders to contest the finish. Cyclists would climb the very tough El Cogollo which took them up to 2,850 m altitude. By the end of the day, only 20 riders would finish.
As the final break of five watched Indurain, Olano took off from the who’s who of the peloton: Marco Pantani, Pascal Richard, and Mauro Gianetti.
Olano would build up a lead of forty seconds and it seemed like the victory was his. But with 1 km to go, disaster struck: Olano flatted. With the break chasing hard, the Spaniard had no time to risk a wheel change. Instead, he would ride the very flat tubular through the bends, being careful not to fall or roll the tire. He managed to stay up right and take the win. Half a minute later, Indurain would outsprint Pantani and Gianetti, setting up a Spanish one-two.
It’s the first–and perhaps last–time a world championship has ever been won on a flat tire.
Check out the nerve-wracking finale below.
