CAROL BOARDMAN, THE mother of former Olympic cycling champion Chris Boardman, has died after being involved in a collision with a vehicle when riding her bike.

Mrs Boardman was taken to hospital on Saturday afternoon having sustained serious injuries in an accident in Connah’s Quay, North Wales. She subsequently passed away on Sunday morning, North Wales Police confirmed.

Forty-seven-year-old Chris, an individual pursuit gold medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Games who broke the world hour record on three occasions, posted a tribute to his mother on Twitter.

“In the early hours of Sunday morning, our mum, Carol Boardman died from injuries sustained in collision with a car while out riding her bike in North Wales,” he wrote.

“A racing cyclist of some standing in her day, she gave up competitive riding when Lisa [his sister] and I came along but she never lost her love of the bike or 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.

“Our mum was the most positive outgoing person you could ever hope to meet and her generosity of spirit inspired everyone she met. Wanting to share her passion for cycling, even well into her seventies, she often took groups of young novices out on their first forays into North Wales.

“She leaves behind Keith, her partner for more than half a century, Lisa and I, and a large, loving family. We cannot yet conceive of a world without her in it.

We love you Carol, may the wind be ever at your back.