Chris Boardman has enjoyed a long career as a former Olympic Gold and World Champion racing cyclist, who now specialises in sharing his motivational story to inspire high performance. Having broken the Hour Record three times and won three prologue stages at the Tour de France, Chris has solidified his name in the cycling history books – a true role model for budding cycling superstars. Now hired as a keynote or motivational speaker for corporate events, Chris shares his wisdom on innovation culture, high-performance teams and personal excellence, empowering all members of his audiences to achieve their very best.
Riding in his first bike race at age 13, Chris soon established himself as a strong and successful cyclist. Throughout his professional cycling career, Chris has earned countless extraordinary titles. From achieving Gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games in the Individual Pursuit to being the Men’s Track Cycling World Champion in 1994 and 1996, Chris earned his position as an inductee of the British Cycling Hall of Fame. In addition to such titles, Chris was the Men’s Road Bicycle Racing World Champion in 1994 and a four-time Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist. Chris also earned the iconic yellow jersey at the Tour de France on three occasions and held the World Record for the 4km individual pursuit in 1992. In recognition of his glorious career as a cyclist, Chris was awarded both the Bidlake Memorial Prize and the Sports Journalists Association Pat Besford Award in 1992.
Retiring aged 32, Chris used the skills he honed as an elite sportsman to enrich the next chapter of his career. In addition to television punditry, Chris had the opportunity to work as the Technical Adviser of the British Road and Track Cycling teams and the Technical Manager of Team GB Cyclists at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He is also the dedicated Co-Founder of Boardman Bikes, a leading manufacturer of bicycles, and Boardman Elite, a manufacturer of competition cycles that have been used by such athletes as Sarah Storey. In 2017, Chris was appointed as the Greater Manchester Walking and Cycling Commissioner before being appointed as the Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner in 2021 and the Commissioner of Active Travel England in 2022. Aside from his cycling commitments, Chris has also authored Triumphs and Turbulence, along with passionately advocating for increased safety of cyclists on roads after his mother was killed by a dangerous driver whilst cycling.
Now hired as a motivational speaker, Chris Boardman uses his experiences as an elite sportsman to inform his speeches on personal excellence, high-performance teams and innovation cultures. While working with British Cycling, Chris built a team that changed the culture of sport – something he translates into business contexts for his clients, focussing on culture change. Also encouraging sustainable personal change, Chris is highly commended by top clients such as Mars. If you are looking for a former athlete turned motivational speaker who can empower your event audience to break through barriers and achieve personal excellence, hire Chris Boardman today.
Social Media
Books
Triumphs & Turbulence: My Autobiography
Reviews
Chris Boardman received a 5 star rating across 10 events in 2023
Agent Recommendation
"Chris Boardman MBE, a retired British cyclist and Olympic gold medallist, excels as a sports and peak performance speaker, bringing unparalleled insights from his illustrious career, including designing race-winning bikes and guiding future champions. His engaging storytelling captivates audiences, making him a standout choice for any event."
How to hire Chris Boardman
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Chris Boardman for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
Chris Boardman's official speaking topics are listed below:
- Innovation Culture - Whether in the world of sport or transport, innovation is an activity often desired but hard to deliver as the fear of change compels us to stick with what we know. Creating an environment where innovation is normal, requires a special set of circumstances and a different way to look at change. Whilst working with British Cycling, Chris was lucky enough to help create a team that changed the culture of a sport. The methods and principals have proven just as effective in the world of business and infrastructure delivery, because the biggest barrier to innovation remains constant, ourselves.
- High Performance Teams - Everyone wants their business to lead but few are willing to do what it takes to be at the front. Being first means doing things first and managing the inherent risks involved with pioneering. In the last 20 years, Chris has worked in sports, local and national politics, helping create some of the highest-performance teams in the world. This interactive talk contains stories about the individuals who made up those groups and examines how they consistently flourished in high-pressure environments.
- Personal Excellence - Personal excellence is something of a cliche; easy to say but hard to achieve. It requires us to be able to look in the mirror, see ourselves as we truly are and know how to improve sustainably. On his journey, Chris bumped into some amazing people who gave him simple tools that allowed an unemployed carpenter to become an Olympic Champion and eventually go on to lead multi-billion pound projects.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
"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 an ordinary 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, Director, PINNA Ltd
"I would like to say a huge thank you from everyone at Mars for such an inspiring and thought provoking session today." - Sally, European Management Team, Mars
"Excellent, very approachable, spent a long time talking with members of the audience and signing autographs." - Vicky, NE Worcester College, Graduation Evening
"Chris provided a very motivational session at our annual staff presentation and was not intimidated by speaking to over 350 people. The real differential to other external speakers we have used was the attention to detail - Chris spent some time analysing our business and understanding key issues which were then cleverly interwoven to his speech - something that our Managing Director fully appreciated to reinforce his key messages." - Prupim
"Chris was great to work with - he took the time to really get to grips with the brief and made sure his presentation not only met but exceeded the brief. We received great feedback from delegates who found Chris ‘especially insightful and inspiring." - EEDA
"Chris delivered an excellent presentation with some great messages which very clearly landed with the audience (they are still being repeated back to me!). Chris was engaged and personable the whole time - very down to earth and therefore credible." - Nutricia Advanced Medical Nutrition
"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." - Head of Marketing & Insight, Ebiquity
- 2024 - Cycled from Manchester to Paris for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
- 2023 - Keynote speaker at the Intellectual Forum, held at Jesus College Cambridge on "How Cycling Can Save the World"
- 2023 - Opened the new cycle training tack in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire
- 2022 - Commissioner of Active Travel Manchester
- 2021 - Appointed as the Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner
- 2017 - Appointed as the Greater Manchester Cycling & Walking Commissioner
- 2010 - Inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame
- 2008 - Equipment & Technical Manager of Team GB at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
- 2007 - Co-Founder of Boardman Bikes
- 2004 - Technical Adviser to the British Road & Track Cycling Team
- 1992 - Appointed MBE for Services to Cycling
- 1992 - Awarded the Sports Journalist Association Pat Besford Award
- 1992 - Recipient of the Bidlake Memorial Prize
- 1992- First GB track cyclist to win Olympic Gold in 72 years
- 1 x Olympic Gold medallist
- 1 x Olympic Bronze medallist
- 3 x Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist
- 2 x Men's Track Cycling World Championships Gold medallist
- 1 x Men's Track Cycling World Championships Bronze medallist
- 1 x Men's Road Bicycle Racing Gold medallist
- 1 x Men's Road Bicycle Racing Silver medallist
- 2 x Men's Road Bicycle Racing Bronze medallist
- Broke the Hour Record three times
- Winner of three prologue stages at the Tour de France
- First Briton in the Yellow Jersey since 1968
