Chris Boardman
Gold Medallist Cyclist and Motivational Speaker
Chris Boardman is a gold medal-winning cyclist and co-founder of Boardman Bikes and a respected speaker on building a high-performance team and developing innovation culture.
Before the recent successes of British Cycling, there had been very few outstanding talents that achieved gold. Chris Boardman broke that mold and in 1992 won gold at the Barcelona Olympics astride the infamous Lotus bike. It was their first cycling gold medal for 72 years.
Part of Chris’s success was the time he invested in cutting edge technology that would give him the most significant advantage over his competitors. The iconic image of the Lotus machine and pointy helmet became the benchmark for all cycling teams move forward. Chris would later lead the research and development team for Team GB at the Beijing Games.
Besides his achievements on the track, Chris has also competed in Tour de France, winning in three stages.
After retiring, Chris set up Boardman Bikes, the most respected and fastest growing British Bike Brand in decades, and went on to establish a name in journalism writing for various publications, including Diver magazine and Pro Cycling. He has also worked as a commentator for ITV and the BBC covering major cycling events
SPEAKING TOPICS
Chris Boardman is a popular choice of motivational speaker, and speaking topics include-
• Surviving Success – Recognising the challenges that even small successes bring and how to manage them.
• Motivation – Through personal stories and experiences, understand the barriers we put in our way and how to remove them.
• High-Performance teams – The essential ingredients, how to recognise and make the most of them.
• Innovation Culture – Recognising the value of exploration and how to maximise your return.
• Managing Risk – Recognising where the real risk lies, sometimes the real risk is in trying to avoid it!
Over the years, I have heard many talks and Keynote speeches from many sportspeople. If I'm being honest, whilst they were invariably very enjoyable, none have made a difference to my life and to my business but Chris's story is nothing less than inspirational; he shares an ordinary story from a regular guy achieving extraordinary results - consistently achieving personal goals and leading a team to achieve team goals. And anyone can apply these 'ordinary' things to their business. I know because it's happening for us and for our clients. If you get a chance to listen to Chris; be there.
— Jack Rowlands - Director, PINNA Ltd
Chris proved a superb choice of keynote speaker at our seminar. We delivered on the brief in an engaging, inspirational and entertaining fashion which really helped us set the tone for the rest of the session.
— Richard Hemming - Head of Marketing & Insight, Ebiquity
Excellent, very approachable, spent a long time talking with members of the audience and signing autographs.
— Vicky Jackman, NE Worcester College Graduation Evening
Chris Boardman spoke before an audience of 300 at our event in November 2008. He was a true professional and worked hard to tailor his speech to suit the theme of the event and the audience on the day. The result was an engaging, insightful, and informative presentation that delighted the audience and delighted us as clients as his feedback scores were some of the highest we've ever seen!
— Jenny Coburn - Events Marketing Team, ?What If! Innovation
