From my knowledge, it's not actually pulling up, rather it's back and up. Sometime, for convenience, I ride my bike with clipless pedals with my sneakers resting on top of the pedal. I know I've got the stroke right because I tend to lift my foot off the pedal platform as it comes up.
In 1982 (1981?) I went to Florida with several members of the New York Cycle Club for a week of training with non other than Francisco Moser. It was late winter and Europe was still griped in ice, while Florida offered warmth and sunshine. We rode twice a day. The session after lunch was always longer than the morning ride and each day added about five more miles and more speed to each ride. It was the first time I had ever done pace-line riding in a large group. That technique has become the standard in for fast groups in the NYCC.
But the most interesting technique I learned was to "through the knees over the bars." I wish I could say that with an Italian accent, because that's what Moser kept shouting. Of course, what he was trying to teach us was to bring the pedal all the way around the circle. By charging the knee forward as it came up from the bottom of the stroke, I was able to get the energized spin that many riders generally refer to pulling up in the stroke.
Michael Allison
New York, NY