Christopher Miles Boardman, CBE (born 26 August 1968) is an English former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, broke the world hour record three times, and won three prologue stages (and consequently wore the yellow jersey on three occasions) at the Tour de France.
Boardman used the Lotus 108 time trial bicycle designed by Mike Burrows and built by the sports car manufacturer Lotus. Later he worked with the UK carbon fibre bike specialist Hotta, to produce other time-trial frame designs, which he raced in various events including world championships, and Olympic games. He is now involved in producing commercial and competition bikes with the Boardman Bikes and Boardman Elite ventures.
Boardman has also worked to promote walking and cycling across the UK, becoming Greater Manchester's walking and cycling commissioner in 2017, Greater Manchester's Transport Commissioner in 2021 and most recently, Commissioner of Active Travel England.
In 1992, he was awarded an MBE for services to cycling. Boardman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2024 Birthday Honours for services to active travel.[3]
Early life and amateur career
editBoardman was educated at Hilbre High School in Wirral, Merseyside, and rode in his first bike race at the age of 13. He was on the national cycling team by the age of 16.[4]
Boardman won his first national time trial title in the 1984 "George Herbert Stancer" schoolboy 10-mile championship and subsequently won the 1986 junior 25-mile championship. He also broke the junior 25-mile national record in 1984.[citation needed]
As a senior he won four consecutive hill climb championships (from 1988 to 1991), five consecutive 25-mile championships (from 1989 to 1993), the 50-mile championship in 1991 and 1992, and the men's British time trial championship in 2000. He broke the record for 25 miles in 1992 and 1993 with 45 minutes 57 seconds (which he held until 2009)[5] on a course based on the A34 near Oxford. He was also a member of the winning North Wirral Velo team in the 1993 100 km team time trial championship (in a record time of 2:00:07), having previously won the event three times with Manchester Wheelers' Club, in 1988, 1989 and 1991.
At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Boardman rode a Lotus 108 in the 4 km individual pursuit. Lotus Engineering's 'uni-axle' design incorporated several new features. Boardman caught Germany's Jens Lehmann, the 1991 World Champion, in the Olympic final on his way to winning the gold medal.
Professional career
editHaving started his cycling career as a time trial specialist, Boardman turned professional with the GAN team, later renamed the Crédit Agricole team, of manager Roger Legeay. His first race as a professional was the 1993 Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, a 66 km time trial which he won. He further won several stages of the Midi Libre and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré stage races, including the final road stage. In 1993 Boardman established the fastest time for a bicycle around the 37.73 mile Snaefell Mountain Course, the course used for the Isle of Man TT Races. Riding a specially modified bicycle, Boardman recorded a time of 1hr 23min 54secs. The time recorded would prove to be the longest standing cycling record on the Isle of Man, until it was beaten by Peter Kennaugh in 2015. Kennaugh, riding a standard racing bicycle, beat the record by six seconds.[6]
Boardman competed with Graeme Obree for the hour record using radically modified time-trial bikes, beating each other's records in turn; in one eight-month period in 1994 the record fell four times.[7] Boardman won the prologue of the 1994 Tour de France with what was then the fastest time ever recorded.[8] In the process he caught Luc Leblanc, who had previously been dismissive about Boardman's 1993 hour record, claiming that it could probably be beaten by half the professional peloton.[9] However, he subsequently lost the yellow jersey in a team time trial. He was hailed as the UK's future Tour de France winner, despite his own insistence that it was a long shot. After retirement he said he was not able to recover from the rigours of stage racing due to a low hormone profile. "I've always had it, it's probably been that way since I was born, but because of the type of racing that I did in the past, it was not a problem."
In the 1995 Tour de France, Boardman crashed in the prologue and withdrew due to his injuries. The 1996 Tour de France saw him return in the wet and rainy prologue where he was beaten by Alex Zülle and finished in second place. Boardman won bronze in the 52 km road time trial at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He did not defend his track individual pursuit title.
Boardman made a comeback at the 1997 Tour de France, winning the prologue of the Tour once more, although a crash forced him to quit the tour on stage 13.
In 1998 Tour de France, when the Tour began in Dublin, Ireland, Boardman won the prologue, but this time crashed out of the race on stage 2.[10] In 1998 he was diagnosed with osteopenia due to low testosterone levels.[11] Treatment to prevent a worsening of his condition would have required him to take testosterone, which is banned under anti-doping rules. The UCI refused to allow Boardman an exemption on medical grounds. Faced with either retiring to allow treatment for his osteoporosis, or continuing to cycle without taking testosterone, Boardman chose to continue in cycling untreated for a further two years, hoping to finish his career on a high note at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[12]
In 1997 the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) had changed their regulations for the Hour Record, restricting competitors to roughly the same equipment that Eddy Merckx had used in the 1970s, banning time trial helmets, disc or tri-spoke wheels, aerodynamic bars and monocoque composite frames. Boardman made an attempt at the Hour Record using this new ruling in 2000 and rode 49.441 km, just 13 m further than Merckx's 28-year-old record.[7]
Boardman's preparation for the road time trial at the 2000 Olympics was affected by missing the 2000 Tour de France due to sinus problems;[13] he finished eleventh in the time trial.[2][14]
Boardman retired after the Olympics, at the age of 32.[15] In an interview Boardman said that the last two years of his professional career were the most difficult, especially because of his debilitating health condition and also marital issues. Boardman's osteoporosis was uncommon for someone as young as he was. He was criticised for not realising his potential, but in response he said that, "I never considered myself particularly gifted, but I managed to stretch and mould the ability that I have, and found a niche for myself."[citation needed]
Work after retirement
editSince retirement from professional cycling, Boardman has undertaken a range of roles including television punditry, advising the British cycling teams and working in walking and cycling advocacy roles.
Boardman was appointed a technical adviser to the British road and track cycling team in 2004, and was equipment and technical manager to the TeamGB cyclists at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.[16][17][18]
Boardman has a brand of cycles and accessories under the name Boardman Bikes.[19][20] He is also involved in producing competition cycles through Boardman Elite.[21]
Walking and cycling advocacy
editBoardman has worked in various walking and cycling advocacy roles. He first took up these roles after his young daughter asked to ride to the park with him, in the northern seaside town where they lived; Boardman refused, thinking it too dangerous. He said it felt very wrong that he, an ex-Olympic cyclist, did not feel he could keep his child safe on a one-minute 550m ride, so he decided to do something about it.[22]
He is an advocate of policies to greatly increase utility cycling in the United Kingdom, citing the potential to reduce the 35,000 annual deaths from obesity-related diseases, and urging that in road traffic accidents there be a presumption of guilt on the driver of the larger vehicle.[23] In July 2016, his mother Carol was killed by a motor vehicle while cycling;[24] the driver was jailed for causing death by dangerous driving.[25][26]
Boardman was appointed Greater Manchester's first Cycling and Walking Commissioner by Andy Burnham in July 2017.[27] He developed a plan to create 1,800 miles of protected walking and cycling routes.[28] In May 2021, he became Greater Manchester’s first Transport Commissioner.[citation needed]
Boardman was appointed as Interim Commissioner for the government's new cycling and walking body, Active Travel England, in January 2022,[29] and permanently as Commissioner from June 2022, leaving his role at Greater Manchester.[30]
Television pundit and commentator
editBoardman has worked as a contributor to cycling programmes on both BBC and ITV, including commentary at the Olympics Games and at the Tour de France.
Personal life
editBoardman lives with his wife and six children in his native Wirral. In 1992, he was awarded an MBE for services to cycling.[31] In 2009 Boardman took part in the London marathon, finishing in 3hrs 19min 27sec. He was also inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame.[32]
Career achievements
editMajor results
editRoad
edit- 1988
- 1st
National Hill Climb Championships - 1989
- 1st National Hill Climb Championships
- 1990
- 1st National Hill Climb Championships
- 1st Prologue Olympia's Tour
- 3rd
Team time trial, Commonwealth Games - 1991
- 1st National Hill Climb Championships
- 1993
- 1st Chrono des Herbiers
- 1st Duo Normand (with Laurent Bezault)
- 1st Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
- 2nd Firenze–Pistoia
- 4th Grand Prix des Nations
- 1994
- 1st
Time trial, UCI World Championships - Tour de France
- 1st Prologue
- Held
after Prologue–Stage 2 - Held
after Prologue
- Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1st Prologue & Stages 3 (ITT) & 7
- Vuelta a Murcia
- 1st Prologue & Stage 5 (ITT)
- 1st Stage 6 (ITT) Tour de Suisse
- 2nd Circuit de l'Aulne
- 3rd GP Karlsruhe (with Pascal Lance)
- 4th Overall Tour de l'Oise
- 6th Grand Prix des Nations
- 10th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
- 1995
- 1st Stage 4 (ITT) Four Days of Dunkirk
- 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1st Prologue
- 2nd Overall Tour de Picardie
- 1st Stage 3b (ITT)
- 6th Trophée des Grimpeurs
- 10th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
- 1st Stage 6 (ITT)
- 1996
- 1st Overall Critérium International
- 1st Chrono des Herbiers
- 1st Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
- 1st Grand Prix des Nations
- 1st Duo Normand (with Paul Manning)
- 1st LuK Challenge Chrono (with Uwe Peschel)
- 1st Stage 3 (ITT) Four Days of Dunkirk
- 1st Stage 2a Route du Sud
- 2nd
Time trial, UCI World Championships - 3rd
Time trial, Olympic Games - 3rd Overall Paris–Nice
- 1st Stage 8b (ITT)
- 3rd Overall Tour de l'Oise
- 4th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
- 5th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1st Prologue
- 7th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
- 1997
- Tour de France
- 1st Prologue
- Held after Prologue–Stage 2
- Held after Prologue
- Volta a Catalunya
- 1st Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1st Stage 5b (ITT) Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- 2nd Overall Tour de Romandie
- 1st Prologue & Stage 6 (ITT)
- 2nd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
- 3rd
Time trial, UCI World Championships - 3rd Grand Prix des Nations
- 5th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 10th Overall À travers Lausanne
- 1998
- Tour de France
- 1st Prologue
- Held after Prologue–Stage 1
- Held after Prologue
- Volta a Catalunya
- 1st Prologue & Stage 5 (ITT)
- Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 1st Prologue & Stage 4 (ITT)
- 1st Stage 5b Tour de l'Ain
- 2nd Overall Prutour
- 1st Prologue & Stage 1
- 4th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
- 8th Chrono des Herbiers
- 1999
- 1st GP Karlsruhe (with Jens Voigt)
- 1st Duo Normand (with Jens Voigt)
- 1st LuK Challenge Chrono (with Jens Voigt)
- 1st Prologue Paris–Nice
- 1st Stage 3 (ITT) Critérium International
- 1st Stage 2b (ITT) Prutour
- 2nd Grand Prix des Nations
- 3rd Time trial, UCI World Championships
- 3rd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (with Jens Voigt)
- 6th Chrono des Herbiers
- 8th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
- 2000
- 2nd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (with Jens Voigt)
- 4th Time trial, UCI World Championships
- 8th Overall Circuit de la Sarthe
- 8th Grand Prix des Nations
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
edit| Grand Tour | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tour de France
|
DNF | DNF | 39 | DNF | DNF | 119 |
/ Vuelta a España
|
— | — | — | DNF | DNF | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
Track
edit- 1986
- 3rd Team pursuit, Commonwealth Games
- 1989
- 1st Individual pursuit, National Amateur Championships
- 1990
- 3rd Team pursuit, Commonwealth Games
- 1991
- 1st Individual pursuit, National Amateur Championships
- 1992
- 1st
Individual pursuit, Olympic Games - 1st Individual pursuit, National Amateur Championships
- 1993
- Best human effort:
52.270 km - 3rd Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
- 1994
- 1st
Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships - 1996
- Best human effort: 56.375 km
- 1st Individual pursuit, UCI World Championships
- 2000
- Hour record: 49.441 km
World records
edit| Discipline | Record | Date | Event | Velodrome | Track | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 km individual pursuit | 4:27.357 | 27 July 1992 | Olympic Games | D'Horta (Barcelona) | Open air | [36] |
| 4:24.496 | 27 July 1992 | [36] | ||||
| Hour record | 52.270 km | 23 July 1993 | — | Bordeaux | Indoor | [37] |
| 4 km individual pursuit | 4:13.353 | 28 August 1996 | World Championships | Manchester | [36] | |
| 4:11.114 | 29 August 1996 | [36] | ||||
| Hour record | 56.375 km | 6 September 1996 | — | [37] | ||
| 49.441 km | 27 October 2000 | — | [37] |
Awards and honours
edit- Bidlake Memorial Prize: 1992[38]
- Sports Journalists' Association Pat Besford Award: 1992[39]
- Member of the Order of the British Empire: 1993
- British Cycling Hall of Fame: 2010[40]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "FAQ's". Boardman Bikes. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ a b c "Chris Boardman". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ^ "Awards for Birthday Honours List 2024" (PDF).
- ^ "What's so special about Chris Boardman". BBC Sport - Cycling. 13 December 2005.
- ^ "Cycling Time Trials: 2009 - Two 25 Mile Records go!". The National Governing Body for Cycling Time Trials in England & Wales. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011.
- ^ Clarke, Stuart (29 September 2015). "Peter Kennaugh beats Chris Boardman's 22-year-old Isle of Man record". Cycling Weekly.
- ^ a b Clemitson, Suze (19 September 2014). "Why Jens Voigt and a new group of cyclists want to break the Hour record". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
- ^ "Le Tour en chiffres Les autres records" (PDF) (in French). LeTour.fr. 20 October 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009.
- ^ "50 most thrilling performances by British riders in international races Part two". Cycling Weekly. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Boardman crashes out". BBC Sport. 13 July 1998. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ Pickering, Edward (2013). The race against time. London: Bantam. p. 268. ISBN 978-0-593-07026-0. OCLC 816157423.
- ^ Boardman quitting to take drugs – The Guardian, 12 October 2000
- ^ "Boardman to miss Tour". BBC Sport. 22 June 2000. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ "Ekimov upstages the rest". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
- ^ "Boardman: Illness forcing me to quit". BBC.co.uk. 25 September 2000. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
- ^ Mark Appleton. "Boardman's technical quest for Beijing gold". Bike Radar.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
- ^ Patrick Sawyer (6 August 2008). "Revolutionary skinsuit helps UK cyclists go for Olympic gold". Telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009.
- ^ Jeremy Whittle (12 August 2008). "Chris Boardman frets over final preparations". London: The Times.[dead link]
- ^ "Boardman Bikes : Chris Boardman".
- ^ "Boardman Bikes at Halfords". 11 January 2020.
- ^ "Future bike revealed". Sky Sports. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
- ^ Boardman, Chris (22 January 2022). "Walking and cycling must be made safe in England. Here's our plan to do just that". The Guardian.
- ^ BBC interview, 7 September 2012
- ^ "Cyclist Chris Boardman's mother dies after cycling collision". BBC. 17 July 2016.
- ^ "Man pleads guilty over road death of Chris Boardman's mother". The Guardian. Press Association. 17 December 2018.
- ^ "Liam Rosney (driver who killed Carol Boardman)". road.cc. 2018–2019.
- ^ "Chris Boardman". Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "Cycle plan is biggest step in a lifetime, says Boardman". Place North West. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
- ^ "Chris Boardman to lead new walking and cycling body in England". The Guardian. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ "Chris Boardman named permanent National Active Travel Commissioner alongside other senior Active Travel England appointments". GOV.UK. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ "New Year Honours: Prime Minister's List". The Independent. 31 December 1992.
- ^ "50 Cycling Heroes Named in British Cycling's Hall of Fame". British Cycling. 17 December 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2009.
- ^ "Chris Boardman (Great Britain)". The-Sports.org. Québec, Canada: Info Média Conseil. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Chris Boardman". Cycling Archives. de Wielersite. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Chris Boardman MBE Cycling Career CV" (PDF). Boardman Bikes. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Men's World Records" (PDF). Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ a b c Hutchinson 2010, p. 280.
- ^ "Award Winners". The F. T. Bidlake Memorial Trust. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Past winners of the SJA British Sports Awards". Sports Journalists' Association. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "British Cycling Hall of Fame – 2010 Inductees". British Cycling Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
Sources
edit- Hutchinson, Michael (2010) [1st. pub. 2006]. The Hour. London: Yellow Jersey Press. ISBN 978-1-4464-1874-1.
Further reading
edit- Boardman, Chris (2016). Triumphs and Turbulence: My Autobiography. London: Random House. ISBN 978-1-4481-7563-5.
- Liggett, Phil (1994). The Fastest Man on Two Wheels: In Pursuit of Chris Boardman. London: Boxtree. ISBN 978-0-7522-1015-5.
- O'Connor, Phil; Watson, Graham (2000). Boardman: A Cycling Career in Pictures. O'Connor and Watson. ASIN B0010XFARE.
- Pickering, Edward (2013). The Race Against Time. London: Random House. ISBN 978-0-593-07026-0.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Chris Boardman at Cycling Archives (archived)
- Chris Boardman at ProCyclingStats
- Chris Boardman at CycleBase
- Chris Boardman at Olympedia
- Chris Boardman at Team GB
- Chris Boardman compares cycling in Holland and Britain - video on YouTube, published 17 July 2015, by itv4realfans.
