ContributedA bike designer who helped Great Britain win gold at the 1992 Olympics has died.
Mike Burrows, from Thorpe St Andrew, Norfolk, was best known for designing what became the Lotus Type 108 bike, ridden by Chris Boardman at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
The married father-of-one died on Monday, aged 79.
Boardman, who won the 4,000m individual pursuit in 1992, described Mr Burrows as the “godfather” of his craft.
He tweeted: “Very sad to hear Mike Burrows, the designer of the Lotus bike, passed away today.
“He was the godfather of modern bicycle design and my life would not have been the same without his influence.”
Boardman’s success in Spain was the first British medal in cycling for more than 70 years.
Mr Burrows came up with the original monocoque design for Boardman’s winning bike, and Lotus said it remained an “icon” three decades on and was “arguably one of the most recognisable two-wheelers ever made”.
Its design and shape incorporated a single rear stay, a fork with just one blade and an aerofoiled profile frame.
It also led to the Lotus 110, which Boardman rode to win on the first day of the Tour de France in Lille in 1994.
Lotus Cars, which is based at Hethel near Norwich, said: “Everyone at Lotus is saddened to hear of the death of Mike Burrows, the Norfolk-based bike designer best known for his pioneering work on what became the Lotus Type 108.
“To this day it remains the most recognisable bike ever built, an iconic design which rewrote the rule book on what was possible on two wheels.”
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13 August 1998
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