| The biggest Spanish sportsman, Miguel Indurain, | | | | always said that his style was boring but the sports |
| entered the cycling world like a tornado in the early | | | | lovers remember the struggle between the titans |
| 90's, having a record 5 consecutive wins in the Tour | | | | Indurain and Lemond in 1991, or the extraordinary |
| de France. Born in Villava in 1964, the Spaniard was a | | | | battles with Marco Pantani. |
| sensation of the Tour de France. Between 1991 and | | | | Indurain's body was a natural wonder: his resting |
| 1995 Indurain was the king of this competition, being | | | | heart rate was of 28 beats per minute, less than half |
| the first person to win the Tour 5 times in a row. | | | | that of a normal healthy person of the same age. |
| Indurain turned pro in 1985, competing for 11 years in | | | | Doctors were amazed to find out that his heart was |
| a row. Although he didn't finish the race in 1985 and | | | | 50% bigger than a normal person's and his lungs had |
| 1986, he did manage to get himself noticed as a | | | | an 8 litre capacity. The psyche is also important in |
| good and trustworthy of the Banesto team and | | | | races - many of his rivals said that there was |
| played an important role in the 1988 race when, with | | | | something "inhuman" about Indurain. |
| his help, Pedro Delgado won the Tour de France. | | | | Other than the Tour de France, he also won many |
| Many have said that he could have been in the Top 3 | | | | other races. He won the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) 2 |
| in 1990 (he took the 10th place), but he instead | | | | times, in 1992 and 1993. In 1994 he set the one hour |
| listened to the team orders and didn't pull ahead of | | | | record by covering 53.01 kilometers in 60 minutes. At |
| team captain Delgado. | | | | the Atlanta Olympics he won a gold medal for his |
| Finally, in 1991, Banesto built a team around Indurain | | | | country on the individual time trial. |
| and then the domination began. The next few years, | | | | Respected by his collegues, Indurain was humble and |
| the sight of Indurain in the yellow tshirt became | | | | a true gentleman. He never had bad comments about |
| normal. | | | | his critics or the press. English cyclist Chris Boardman |
| His forte was the individual time trial, the big bike | | | | declared at one time: "Indurain makes me angry |
| frame and stature giving him the nickname "Big Mig". | | | | because he's just such a nice guy. When you sit |
| In 1992 he won a time trial in Luxembourg with the | | | | beside him you see that there isn't a bit of malice in |
| huge difference of 3 minutes ahead of the next rider. | | | | him. He really is a great man and champion". After |
| This type of race gave Indurain the advantage. Then | | | | retiring Indurain tried to keep active in the cycling |
| came the big mountain climbs where the spanish | | | | world. He is a member of UCI Professional Cycling |
| cyclist turned defensive, needing the help of his | | | | Council and a member of the Olympic Committe in |
| strong team to counter any attacks. His critics | | | | Spain. |