Chris Boardman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Chris Boardman

Boardman at the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire
Personal information
Full name	Christopher Miles Boardman
Nickname	The Professor
Born	(1968-08-26) 26 August 1968 (age 56) Hoylake, Merseyside, England
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb; 11 st 0 lb)
Team information
Discipline	Road and track
Rider type	Time trialist
Major wins
;Road Grand Tours Tour de France 3 individual stages (1994, 1997, 1998) Stage races Critérium International (1996) One-day races and Classics World Time Trial Championships (1994) Track Olympics Men's individual pursuit (1992) World Championships Men's individual pursuit (1994, 1996) Hour record holder (2000)

Christopher Miles Boardman, also known as Chris Boardman, is a famous English former racing cyclist. He was born on August 26, 1968. Chris was especially good at time trial races, where cyclists race against the clock. He won the first-ever men's World time trial championship in 1994. He also won a gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in the individual pursuit event. Boardman broke the world hour record three times and won three stages at the Tour de France, wearing the famous yellow jersey.

After his racing career, Chris Boardman became a big supporter of walking and cycling in the UK. He worked for Greater Manchester as a walking and cycling commissioner and later as Transport Commissioner. More recently, he became the Commissioner of Active Travel England, helping to make it easier and safer for people to walk and cycle.

In 1992, he received an MBE award for his contributions to cycling. In 2024, he was given the CBE award for his work promoting active travel.

Early Life and Amateur Cycling

Chris Boardman grew up in Wirral, England. He went to Hilbre High School. Chris started racing bikes when he was 13 years old. By the time he was 16, he was already part of the national cycling team.

He won his first national title in 1984 in a schoolboy 10-mile race. He also won the junior 25-mile championship in 1986. As an adult, he won many more national titles. These included four straight hill climb championships from 1988 to 1991. He also won five consecutive 25-mile championships from 1989 to 1993.

The Lotus 108 bicycle Chris Boardman used to win his Olympic gold medal in 1992.

At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Chris Boardman used a special bike called the Lotus 108. This bike was designed by Mike Burrows and built by Lotus Engineering. Its unique design helped Boardman win the gold medal in the 4 km individual pursuit. He even caught up to his opponent, Jens Lehmann, in the final race.

Professional Cycling Career

After his Olympic win, Chris Boardman became a professional cyclist in 1993. He joined the GAN team, which later became the Crédit Agricole team. His first professional race was the 1993 Grand Prix Eddy Merckx, a 66 km time trial, which he won.

Boardman became well-known for his battles with fellow cyclist Graeme Obree for the hour record. This record is for the longest distance cycled in one hour. They kept breaking each other's records. In 1994, the record was broken four times in just eight months!

In the 1994 Tour de France, Boardman won the opening stage, called the prologue. He set a new record for the fastest time ever in a Tour de France prologue. This win meant he got to wear the famous yellow jersey, which is given to the overall leader of the race. He wore it for a few days. He also won prologues in the 1997 Tour de France and 1998 Tour de France, wearing the yellow jersey each time.

Chris Boardman also won a bronze medal in the 52 km road time trial at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He retired from professional cycling after the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 32. He mentioned that the last two years were very tough due to health challenges that made it hard for him to recover from races.

Work After Retirement

Since retiring from racing, Chris Boardman has taken on many different roles. He has worked as a TV commentator for cycling events. He has also advised British cycling teams on technical matters.

Chris Boardman also has his own brand of bikes and accessories called Boardman Bikes. He is involved in making high-performance bikes through Boardman Elite.

Promoting Walking and Cycling

Chris Boardman is a strong supporter of making walking and cycling safer and easier for everyone. He started focusing on this after his young daughter wanted to ride her bike to the park. He felt it was too dangerous for her to cycle on the roads. He realized that if an Olympic cyclist felt unsafe, something needed to change.

He believes that more walking and cycling can help reduce health problems and make roads safer. In 2016, his mother, Carol, was sadly killed in a cycling accident involving a motor vehicle. This made him even more determined to improve road safety for cyclists.

In 2017, Chris Boardman was appointed as the first Cycling and Walking Commissioner for Greater Manchester. He helped create a plan for 1,800 miles of safe walking and cycling paths. In 2021, he became Greater Manchester’s first Transport Commissioner.

In 2022, he was appointed as the Commissioner for Active Travel England. This is a government body that works to make walking and cycling more popular and safer across England.

Television Pundit and Commentator

Chris Boardman has worked as a cycling expert and commentator for TV channels like BBC and ITV. He has provided commentary for five Summer Olympic Games since 2008 and four Commonwealth Games since 2010.

Personal Life

Chris Boardman lives in his home area of Wirral with his wife and six children. In 1992, he was awarded an MBE for his services to cycling. In 2009, he ran the London Marathon. He was also added to the British Cycling Hall of Fame. In 2024, he received the CBE award for his work in promoting active travel.

Career Achievements

Road

Grand Tour General Classification Results Timeline

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	—

Track

World Records

Awards and Honours

• Bidlake Memorial Prize: 1992
• Sports Journalists' Association Pat Besford Award: 1992
• Member of the Order of the British Empire: 1993
• British Cycling Hall of Fame: 2010

See also

In Spanish: Chris Boardman para niños

• List of British cyclists
• List of British cyclists who have led the Tour de France general classification
• List of Olympic medalists in cycling (men)
• World record progression track cycling – Men's individual pursuit
• Yellow jersey statistics