Carol Boardman, mother to Olympian turned advocate Chris, killed while cycling

We are incredibly saddened to report that Carol Boardman, mother to Olympian turned UK voice of cycling, Chris Boardman MBE, has been killed by the driver of a pick-up truck in North Wales.

Announcing the tragedy yesterday, Chris Boardman posted a homage to his mother, who was clearly an inspiration to the decorated professional cyclist.

He wrote:

“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 the 10-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 70s, 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. We love you Carol, may the wind be ever at your back.”

In recent times, Chris has become one of the UK’s leading voices for the cycling community, representing British Cycling as policy advisor. During the recent inquiry into the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, Boardman called on the Department for Transport to give more than lip service to making cycling safe, placing emphasis on the need to fund cycling to the tune of at least £10 a head in the short term.

“In Germany they have a 2p fuel duty which trickles back into cycling, such a thing would go a long way to achieving our £10 a head minimum target,” said Boardman at the time.

CyclingIndustry.News extends our condolences to the Boardman family at this difficult time.