Chris Boardman
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men’s Cycling | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1992 Barcelona | 4000m Individual Pursuit | |
| Bronze | 1996 Atlanta | Individual Time Trial | |
Chris Boardman (born August 26, 1968 in Hoylake) is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times. He is also known as a specialist in the individual time trial.
Chris Boardman's nickname is the Professor, for his meticulous attention to detail in preparation and training, and his technical know-how. He had an altitude tent built in his house to help him prepare for the Hour record attempt (see below), although in a recent interview claimed that all it did was just help him focus, and not give any physical advantage at all.
Even though he was part of the GAN team which was regarded as a conservative French team at the time, Chris Boardman focused more on interval training which does not necessarily include long and hard rides most of the time. He was a keen user of power measuring devices.
For his winning ways in time trials and prologues of stage races, he was nicknamed Mr. Prologue. He has been criticized for being a time-trialist who can't climb for his lacklustre performance in the mountains of the Tour de France. He denied this in an interview with CycleSport, citing examples in the 1995 edition of the Dauphiné Libéré stage race where he performed very well in the mountain stages. He explained that his disappointing performances in Tour de France is due to his insufficient powers of recovery, which leaves him drained after a few days' worth of racing.
Boardman was also famous for using a specially-designed carbon-fibre time trial bicycle designed by Mike Burrows and made by Lotus, the sports car manufacturer.
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[edit] UK time trial exploits
Boardman won his first national RTTC time trial title in the 1984 "GHS" schoolboy 10-mile championship and subsequently won the 1986 junior 25-mile championship. He also broke the junior 25-mile national record in 1984.
As a senior, he then 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 - making a modest comeback - the men's British time trial championship on a 'sporting course' in 2000. He broke the competition record for 25-miles in 1992 and 1993; the record still stands as of 2005 (45 minutes 57 seconds).
He was also a member of the winning North Wirral Velo team in the 1993 100km team time trial championship (won in a championship record time of 2:00:07), having previously won the event three times with Manchester Wheelers' Club, in 1988, 1989 and 1991.
[edit] Professional career and Tour de France
Having started his cycling career as a time trial specialist, he turned professional with the GAN team, which later was renamed the Crédit Agricole team of manager Roger Legeay of France. His first race as a professional was the 1993 Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, a 66-km time trial which he won beating some of the best riders of the day. He further won several stages of the Midi Libré and Dauphiné Libéré stage races, including the final road stage.
He won instant fame by winning the prologue of the 1994 Tour de France with the fastest time ever recorded, but lost the Yellow jersey in a disastrous team time trial. He was immediately hailed as the UK's great hope as a future Tour de France winner, despite Boardman's own insistence that it was a long shot. After his retirement he said that he was not able to recover from the rigors of day-to-day 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, he crashed heavily at the prologue and was forced to quit. The 1996 Tour de France saw him make a timid return in the wet and rainy prologue where he was beaten by Alex Zülle into second place. However, he made a good comeback in the 1997 Tour de France by winning the prologue of the Tour again, although a crash forced him to quit in the 13th stage.
In 1998 Tour de France, when the Tour began in Dublin,Ireland, he again won the prologue, but crashed on stage 2 whilst wearing the yellow jersey. He retired in 1999.
[edit] The Hour Record
Boardman is also famous for his Hour record. The 1990s saw him compete with Graeme Obree using radically modified time-trial bikes, beating each others' previously established record. The Union Cycliste Internationale finally modified the regulations, making use of a traditional racing bicycle, similar to the one used by Eddy Merckx to establish the Hour Record in the 1970s, compulsory. Chris Boardman made his attempt at the Hour Record using this new ruling and succeeded in 2000.
[edit] Olympics
At the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games games, Boardman rode a revolutionary new "super bike", in the 4km pursuit. This incorporated several new features. In the final, he uniquely caught his German opponent.
He chose not to defend his title at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, but did win bronze in the Men's 52km time trial.
[edit] Retirement
In an interview Boardman admitted that the last two years of his professional career were the most difficult, especially because of his debilitating condition and marital issues. He was criticized for not realizing his true 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."
Chris continues to reside, with his wife & family, in his native Wirral. Since his retirement from professional cycling he has been a presenter for ITV's cycling coverage. Chris currently lives in the popular surroundings of Stanley Road, Hoylake, with his 5 children and wife.
[edit] Trivia
Being perhaps the only British cyclist since Tom Simpson to become a household name, Chris has made a number of appearances on television. Most notable was in Only Fools and Horses, Del Boy was trying to flog some dodgy cycling helmets at the market place. He said out loud to the punters "cycling helmets as worn by Chris Boardman, and by his brother Stan Boardman".
[edit] External links
- fansite
- International Olympic Committee - history page with video
- Chris Boardman
- Manchester Wheelers' Club
- LotusSport Pursuit Bicycle – used to win 1992 Olympic Gold and break the Hour record (1993).
[edit] Further reading
- "The Fastest Man on Two Wheels - In Pursuit of Chris Boardman" by Phil Liggett published by Boxtree, London, 1994
- "Boardman - A Cycling Career in Pictures" by Phil O'Connor and Graham Watson, published by O'Connor and Watson, 2000
| Preceded by N/A |
World Time Trial Champion 1994 |
Succeeded by Miguel Indurain |
