Lotus pursuit bike (Lotus 108)
The bike that transformed British cycling at all levels
Chris Boardman piloted this iconic carbon speed machine to victory in the 4000m individual pursuit at the 1992 Olympics
YEAR LAUNCHED !""#
It’s fitting that our list of the top-30 bikes is topped and tailed by bikes designed by Mike Burrows – the selfproclaimed “best bike designer in the world”! Okay, that’s a contentious statement, but few could argue that Burrows has been the most influential bike designer during the lifetime of Cycling Plus.
Before Burrows created our number-one bike, Giant’s mould-breaking compactframed TCR, the Norfolk-based engineer teamed up with the motorsport company Lotus to create a bike that looks futuristic even today. Chris Boardman piloted this iconic – an overused word but apt here – carbon speed machine to victory in the 4000m individual pursuit at the 1992 Olympics, even catching his German opponent in the final. Its design influence may be lost today thanks to the UCI’s restrictive regulations, which is a shame, as the strikinglooking Burrows-designed Giant MCR, a road bike heavily influenced by the Lotus 108 track machine, proved a real head-turner when we tested it all those years ago.
But the Lotus/Boardman partnership and Boardman’s Barcelona ride is arguably the most important four-anda-bit minutes in the history of modern British cycling.
Directly and indirectly from that race came the all-conquering British track team and the Tour de France-winning Sky set-up, while Boardman has gone on to become Britain’s most prominent cycling campaigner.