Chris Boardman’s mother has been killed after being knocked off her bicycle by a car in Connah’s Quay, North Wales on Sunday morning.
The Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist released an emotional statement on Twitter.
It reads: “In the early hours of Sunday morning our mum, Carol Boardman, died from injuries sustained in 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 her bike or 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 doesn’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 know what it looked like to people just 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 Llandlega Moor in North Wales. Wanting to share her passion for cycling, even 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.
“We love you Carol, may the wind forever be at your back.”
Chris Boardman was one of the most successful British cyclists of all time during his career.
He won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times,
During numerous Tour de France competitions, he won three stages and wore the yellow jersey on three occasions.
He was awarded an MBE for services to cycling in 1992.