Chris Boardman

'''Christopher "Chris" Boardman MBE''' (born 26 August 1968 in [[Hoylake]]) is a former [[England|English]] racing [[cyclist]] who won an [[individual pursuit]] [[gold medal]] at the [[1992 Summer Olympics]] and broke the world [[hour record]] three times, as well as winning three stages and wearing the [[yellow jersey]] on three separate occasions at the [[Tour de France]]. In 1992, he was awarded an [[MBE]] for services to British cycling. He was educated in [[Metropolitan Borough of Wirral|Wirral]] at [[Hilbre High School]] and rode in his first bike race at the age of 13. He was on the national cycling team by the age of 16. Boardman's nickname is ''the Professor'', for his meticulous attention to detail in preparation and training, and his technical know-how.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} He had an [[altitude tent]] built in his house to help him prepare for the [[Hour record]] attempt (see below), although in an interview he claimed that all it did was help him focus. Boardman focused on [[interval training]]. He was a keen user of [[Power (physics)|power]] measuring devices.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} 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]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} He denied this in an interview with ''CycleSport'', citing examples in the 1995 edition of the [[Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré]] stage race where he performed well in the mountains. He explained that his disappointing performances in the Tour de France were due to insufficient powers of recovery, which left him drained after a few days of racing.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}} Boardman is also famous for having used the [[carbon-fibre]] [[Lotus 108]] [[time trial bicycle]] designed by [[Mike Burrows]] and made by the sports car manufacturer [[Lotus Cars|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. ==UK time trial exploits== Boardman won his first national [[Cycling Time Trials|RTTC]] time trial title in the 1984 "[[George Herbert Stancer|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 won four consecutive [[Hill climbing (cycling)|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) 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 (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. ==Professional career and Tour de France== Having started his cycling career as a time trial specialist, he turned professional with the GAN team, later renamed the [[Crédit Agricole (cycling team)|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. He further won several stages of the Midi Libre and [[Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré]] stage races, including the final road stage. He won fame by winning the prologue of the 1994 [[Tour de France]] with the fastest time ever recorded, but 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]], he crashed 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 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 won the prologue but crashed on stage 2 while wearing the [[yellow jersey]]. In 1998 he was diagnosed with an illness like [[Osteoporosis]]. Treatment for this condition meant that Boardman needed hormone replacement therapy, necessitating that Boardman take [[Testosterone]]. As a professional cyclist, it was against the sport's doping rules for Boardman to take testosterone. Boardman chose to continue in cycling for a further two years and hoped to finish his career on a high note at the [[2000 Summer Olympics]]. His preparation was affected by missing the [[1999 Tour de France]] due to sinus problems. Boardman came eleventh in the time trial at the Olympics. ==The Hour Record== Boardman is famous for his [[Hour record]]. The 1990s saw him compete with [[Graeme Obree]] using radically modified time-trial bikes, beating each others' 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 riding just 10m further than Merckx's 28 year-old record. ==Olympics== At the 1992 [[1992 Summer Olympics|Barcelona Olympic Games]], Boardman rode a new "super bike" in the 4 km [[individual pursuit|pursuit]], the [[Lotus 108]]. This incorporated several new features. It was made by [[Lotus Cars|Lotus Engineering]] and called 'the uni-axle'. In the final, he caught his German opponent [[Jens Lehmann (cyclist)|Jens Lehmann]], World Champion from the previous year. He chose not to defend his title at the [[1996 Summer Olympics|1996 Atlanta Olympic Games]], but did win bronze in the Men's 52 km time trial. ==Support Team== Boardman tried many innovative things in an effort to improve his racing results. He worked with Peter Keen to try to maximise his physical performance, especially in events such as the Hour record attempts. He worked with the British sports nutrition company Science In Sport to develop new feeding techniques. He worked with [[Dolan Bikes|Terry Dolan]] to produce racing bicycles tailor made for particular races. The results of these experiments have benefited many other cyclists, including members of the British cycling squad. ==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. Boardman was diagnosed with [[osteoporosis]] by the time he was 30, a condition which is uncommon for someone as young as he was. He was criticized for not realizing 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." Boardman lives with his wife and six children in his native [[Wirral Peninsula|Wirral]]. Since retirement from professional cycling he has presented for [[ITV]]'s cycling coverage and currently has a brand of cycles and accessories under the name [[Boardman bikes]]. He is also involved in producing competition cycles through Boardman Elite. 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 In 2009 Boardman returned to competition. In the Flora London Marathon, he clocked a very creditable 3hrs 19min 27sec. He was also inducted into the [[British Cycling Hall of Fame]]. ==Celebrity Status== Chris Boardman's success in the 1992 Olympics put him on the front page of almost every national paper in the UK which made him a household name. He has made numerous television appearances including [[Noel's House Party]] and the breadth of his fame was indicated by a mention on [[Only Fools and Horses]] when Del Boy was trying to flog some dodgy cycle helmets. Boardman has also appeared in several documentaries about cycle racing including a documentary made by [[ITV]] about his world hour record attempt. ==Palmarès== {{palmares start}} [[1986 Commonwealth Games]] : [[Image:bronze medal blank.svg|15px]] Bronze, 4000m Team Pursuit : 8th [[Commonwealth Games]], 4000m Individual Pursuit 1987 :{{GBR}} 2nd [[British National Hill Climb Championships]] 1988 :{{GBR}} [[British National Hill Climb Championships]] 1989 :{{GBR}} [[British National Hill Climb Championships]] :{{GBR}} [[British National Track Championships|National Amateur Track Pursuit Championship]] 1990 :{{GBR}} [[British National Hill Climb Championships]] [[1990 Commonwealth Games]] : [[Image:bronze medal blank.svg|15px]] Bronze, 4000m Team Pursuit (with Simon Lillistone, Bryan Steel and Glen Sword) : [[Image:bronze medal blank.svg|15px]] Bronze, Team Time Trial (100km) (with Peter Longbottom, Ben Luckwell and Wayne Randle) 1991 :{{GBR}} [[British National Hill Climb Championships]] :{{GBR}} [[British National Track Championships|National Amateur Track Pursuit Championship]] 1992 :{{GBR}} [[British National Track Championships|National Amateur Track Pursuit Championship]] :{{goca}} [[1992 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]], [[Cycling at the 1992 Summer Olympics|Track Pursuit]] 1993 :[[Chrono des Herbiers]] :[[Duo Normand]] (with [[Laurent Bezault]]) :[[Grand Prix Eddy Merckx]] 1994 :{{flagiconUCI}} World Track Pursuit Championship :{{flagiconUCI}} [[UCI Road World Championships – Men's time trial|World Time Trial Championship]] :[[1994 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: ::Winner prologue 1995 :[[Critérium du Dauphiné Liberé]] - 2nd ::Winner Prologue 1996 :{{Brca}} [[1996 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]], [[Cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympics|Individual Time Trial]] :[[Chrono des Herbiers]] :[[Duo Normand]] (with [[Paul Manning (cyclist)|Paul Manning]]) :[[Grand Prix Eddy Merckx]] :Josef Voegeli Memorial :{{flagiconUCI}} World Track Pursuit Championship :[[Critérium International]] :[[Grand Prix des Nations]] :[[LuK Challenge Chrono]] (with [[Uwe Peschel]]) 1997 :[[1997 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: ::Winner prologue 1998 :[[1998 Tour de France|Tour de France]]: ::Winner prologue 1999 :[[GP Breitling]] (with [[Jens Voigt]]) :[[Josef Voegeli Memorial]] :[[Duo Normand]] (with [[Jens Voigt]]) :[[LuK Challenge Chrono]] (with [[Jens Voigt]]) {{palmares end}} ==British Records== : 25 Miles road time-trial (Junior), 1984 : 25 Miles road time-trial (Senior), 1992 : 25 Miles road time-trial (Senior), 1993, 45:57, min/sec :100 Km road time-trial (Team), 1993, 2:00:07, hr/min/sec (North Wirral Velo team) ==World records== :1 Hour track time-trial, 23 July 1993, Bordeaux, 52.270 Km :1 Hour track time-trial, 7 Sept 1996, Manchester, 56.375 Km :1 Hour track time-trial, 27 Oct 2000, Manchester, 49.441 Km ("Athlete" rules) ==External links== *[http://www.chrisboardman.com/ Chris Boardman's official home page] *[http://twitter.com/chris_boardman Chris Boardman on Twitter] *[http://www.boardmanbikes.com/ Boardman Bikes official site] *[http://www.boardmanelite.com/ Boardman Elite official site] *[http://www.lunt.demon.co.uk/boardman.htm fansite] *[http://www.olympic.org/uk/passion/museum/permanent/summer/bike_uk.asp International Olympic Committee - history page with video] *[http://cyclinginfo.co.uk/blog/cyclists/chris-boardman/ Chris Boardman ] *[http://www.wheelers.org/ Manchester Wheelers' Club] *[http://www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/LotusModels/LotusSportBike.html LotusSport Pursuit Bicycle] – used to win 1992 Olympic Gold. *[http://www.letour.fr/HISTO/TDF/riders/us/781.html Official Tour de France results for Chris Boardman] *[http://www.Halfords.com/boardmanbikes Official Boardman bikes information page and Nicole Cooke video] {{S-start}} {{S-ach|rec}} {{S-bef|before=[[Eddy Merckx]]}} {{S-ttl|title=[[Hour record|UCI hour record]] (49.441 km) |years=27 October 2000-19 July 2005}} {{S-aft|after=[[Ondřej Sosenka]]}} {{S-end}} {{UCI Road World Champions – Men's time trial}} {{Persondata | NAME = Boardman, Chris | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = English racing cyclist | DATE OF BIRTH = 26 August 1968 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Hoylake, United Kingdom | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Boardman, Chris}}