Cycling at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games:

The men’s road race had been conducted as an individual time trial from 1912 thru 1932, when it was switched to a mass start race. But in 1994, the World Championships added an individual road time trial, based on the popularity of the individual time trial stages held at the major Tours, such as the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia. The Olympic Program in 1996 also added this race, dropping the team time trial. The favorite was Spain’s Miguel Induráin. Induráin had competed in the Olympic road race in 1984, but failed to finish. He turned professional in 1985, but struggled at his first few attempts in the Tour de France. Finally, in 1991 he won the Tour, and he would then win it from 1991-95, only the fourth five-time winner of the Tour, and the first to do it five times consecutively. Induráin’s specialty was the individual time trial, the contre la montre to the French, but also known as the “Race of Truth,” because it so often determined the champion in major stage races.

In 1996, Induráin finally was defeated at the Tour de France, placing 11th behind Denmark’s Bjarne Riis. He was going to skip the Olympics, citing fatigue, until a special appeal from IOC President [Juan Antonio Samaranch]. The early leader in the race was Chris Boardman, gold medalist in 1992 in the individual pursuit. The next-to-last to start was Abraham Olano, World Champion in 1995 on the road. He surpassed Boardman’s time and took the lead. Induráin went off last and was ahead of Boardman’s leading splits at all the early marks and won, besting Olano’s time by 12 seconds, with Boardman winning the bronze.