The Flying Scotsman by Graeme Obree

Author:Graeme Obree
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Birlinn
Published: 2011-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

eleven: the power of the rainbow

Coming home with a gold medal was a special feeling. I felt like a prince who had slain a dragon and come back triumphant, which was brought on by my gradual emotional acceptance of my achievement and by the response of others. When I thought back three or four years, to when I had spotted Colin Sturgess in his champions jersey cycling the other way at Leicester, and how I had politely waved at him with a sense of reverence, I realised how people must think of me now. Wearing my rainbow jersey certainly gave me a feeling of warmth because it was like King Arthur and the sword in the stone, as only I in the whole world had the right to wear it. Anticipation was another feeling that added to the emotional minestrone that was cooking at the time. After all, I was World Champion and hour-record breaker, and I had just arrived home, less than 24 hours since I had stood tall for the British anthem, and it was inevitable that things were going to happen in any of many different ways, and I could not wait to grasp my opportunities.

As I expected, the phone rang an awful lot during those first days of my reign as World Champion, and a lot of those calls were congratulations, press or invitations to events abroad. Martin was dealing with foreign organisers, but neither he nor I knew very much about what the going rate for a professional cyclist like me should be, with my latest pulling power. He would always come back to me to find out what I thought about the deal, and it did not take long to find out what the parameters of a reasonable deal were. We knew already what was on the table for my track meetings in Italy, and that gave us a template to work from, but the truth of the matter was that organisers did not have an exact idea of my professional worth either, as I was regarded as a one-off in most respects, although a world champion would have a certain market value that could be a starting point.

Life was hectic at this time, but mainly in a good way, with TV and newspaper interviews and sponsorship opportunities. I wanted to be wanted, and now I was, but the most hectic time as World Champion had not yet begun. I had dealt with all the press demands and a lot of phone calls, as well as having been received by the Council in Ayr. I walked into a surprise party organised by Martin and his wife, Miriam, and I was also trying to keep myself in shape as best I could. Training had become difficult, because my cough had not improved at all in the three weeks since the Worlds, except that the taste of blood had disappeared, so Martin suggested that I see a doctor friend of his who specialised in this field.

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