Gold medallist Boardman’s mother killed after her bicycle hits pick-up vehicle

THE mother of Olympic cycling gold medallist Chris Boardman has died after a road accident involving her pedal bike and a pick-up vehicle.

Carol Boardman was taken to hospital with serious injuries following the collision in Connah’s Quay, North Wales, on Saturday afternoon. She later died in hospital.

Mr Boardman, 47, who won individual pursuit gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games, issued a heartfelt tribute on behalf of his family to Mrs Boardman, who was a keen cyclist in her 70s.

He said she was “the most positive outgoing person you could ever hope to meet and her generosity of spirit inspired everyone she met”.

Mr Boardman said: “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 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.

“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.”

Police said they were called to the scene at the roundabout in Mold Road with the junction of Ffordd Llanarth at 1.54pm.

The pick-up vehicle involved in the collision was a white Mitsubishi L200.