meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Desert Island Discs

Chris Boardman, cyclist

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.413.7K Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2020

⏱️ 35 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Chris Boardman is an Olympic cyclist, businessman and the Cycling and Walking Commissioner for Greater Manchester. Both his parents were keen competitive amateur cyclists and they backed Chris as he gradually became interested in the sport as a teenager. He left school at 16, and trained as a carpenter to fund his cycling, and his love of making things has never left him. He met his wife Sally when they were teenagers and she supported him when he took time off work to train and compete. He became a household name in 1992 at the Olympics in Barcelona, as the first British cyclist to win a gold medal in 72 years. He moved on to road racing and wore the yellow jersey in the Tour de France on three occasions. After retiring from racing, he was instrumental in the success of Team GB cycling at subsequent Olympics, with his focus on how improvements could be made in all aspects of design. He also launched his own range of bicycles catering for elite and everyday cyclists, and as Greater Manchester's Cycling and Walking commissioner, he is finding ways to help people leave their cars at home. DISC ONE: Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra DISC TWO: Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) by Baz Luhrmann DISC THREE: Hurt Feelings by Flight of the Conchords DISC FOUR: The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Simon and Garfunkel DISC FIVE: Barcelona by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé DISC SIX: Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones DISC SEVEN: Embrace Me, You Child by Carly Simon DISC EIGHT: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John BOOK CHOICE: Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks LUXURY ITEM: Butter CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) by Simon and Garfunkel Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts

0:04.8

Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Desert Island Disks Podcast.

0:08.4

Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take

0:13.2

with them if they were cast away to a desert island.

0:16.3

And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.

0:21.0

I hope you enjoy listening.

0:30.0

Music

0:44.0

My cast away this week is Olympic cyclist and businessman Chris Bordman.

0:48.2

British cycling is currently booming and he's arguably the man who lit the fuse.

0:53.4

Born on the world to keen amateur cyclist parents, he was still in his teens when he joined

0:58.4

the British squad. He earned the nickname the Professor for his love of scientific innovation

1:03.5

and it became the hallmark of his career. In 1992, he achieved the seemingly impossible,

1:09.5

taking home the first British Olympic gold medal in cycling for 72 years on a revolutionary

1:15.8

carbon frame bike. He became the first Brit to win the prologue in the Tour de France two years

1:20.6

later, then set the UCI absolute hour record in the now famous Superman position with his arms

1:27.2

stretched out to minimise drag. Many more successes including two more spells and the yellow jersey

1:33.0

and two more hour records followed, but hanging up his racing shoes didn't mean slowing down.

1:38.8

He simply took his research based approach to cycling and applied it to the rest of us.

1:43.2

In 2007, he launched his own range of bikes and more recently became the cycling and walking

1:48.7

commissioner for Greater Manchester. He says, I just want people to use bicycles to get around

1:54.2

and I came more about that than gold medals by a million miles. My definition of success

1:59.1

isn't winning, it's the guy using his bike to go to the shops. Chris Bordman, welcome to

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.