Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman has paid an emotional tribute to his mother after she was killed in a cycling accident.
Carol Boardman, who was in her 70s, collided with a white Mitsubishi L200 pick-up in Connah’s Quay, North Wales, on Sunday. She sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital by ambulance but sadly died.
North Wales Police were called to a roundabout on Mold Road at the junction of Ffordd Llanarth shortly before 2pm. They have appealed for witnesses to contact them.
Chris Boardman, 47, won gold in the 4km individual pursuit at the 1992 Olympics. He was a three-time world record holder and wore the Tour de France yellow jersey three times.
Nicknamed “The Professor” because of his meticulous attention to detail, he lives with his wife and six children in the Wirral, where he was born.
He put out the following statement on his Twitter account…
“In the early hours of Sunday morning, our mum, Carol Boardman, died from injuries sustained in a collision with a car whilst out riding her bike in North Wales.
“A racing cyclist of some standing in her day, she gave up competitive riding when Lisa and I came along but she never lost her love of the bike or of competing. A stealth combatant and full of energy; mum was one of those individuals who could quietly turn anything into a contest.
“On the10-minute walk to my Nan’s she would often force us to skip – it didn’t feel as strange then as it sounds now – which inevitably turned into a dog-eat-dog contest, a woman and two children frantically speed-skipping along a suburban pavement with a blue garden gate as the winning post. God knows what it looked like to people driving past.
“Our mum was the most positive, outgoing person you could ever hope to meet and her generosity of spirit inspired everyone she met. Many of our childhood memories involve my mother and the outdoors, walking out over Hoylake sandbank, swimming in the deep gullies, or hunting for fossils on Llandegla Moor in North Wales. Wanting to share her passion for cycling, even well into her seventies, she often took groups of young novices out on their first forays into North Wales.
“She leaves behind Keith, her partner for more than half a century, Lisa and I, and a large, loving family. We cannot yet conceive of a world without her in it.”
In recent years Chris Boardman has campaigned on cycling issues, including giving evidence at the Get Britain Cycling enquiry set up by the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group.
He told the group he wanted cycling to return to the levels of participation it reached in 1948, when 15% of all journeys were by bike. Today’s figure is fewer than less than 2%.
He has also called a presumption of guilt on the driver of the larger vehicle in road accidents.
Leading figures from the cycling world have expressed their condolences after the sad news.
“All my and the Cycling UK team’s thoughts and condolences are with Chris at what is a terribly difficult time for him and the Boardman family,” said Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Cycling UK.
“I’ve worked with Chris over the past two years to make cycling better and safer, and this very personal tragedy only highlights the work the country needs to do to make our roads safe for everyone.”
British Cycling president Bob Howden added: “This is awful news and my thoughts, and those of everyone at British Cycling, are with Carol’s family.”