Boardman, the individual pursuit champion at the 1992 Olympics who went on to forge a formidable career on the road, is set to quit his role as British Cycling director of research and development in August following nine years with the national governing body.

Boardman's innovations contributed to Britain's haul of eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008 and will be key in the lead-up to London.

The 43-year-old told BBC Sport: "This job has been great but it demands your entire life to do it properly.

"This line of work has not stopped for me, from meetings straight off the plane to Skype conferences with people back home crammed into all hours of the day.

"That's what it takes, but after London 2012 they deserve somebody who will give it their heart and soul because I don't feel I will be able to do it justice.

"(British Cycling performance director) Dave Brailsford said to me, years ago, that you can't live your whole life on the front line and that's where I have been for many years now in this sport. It's time to step away.

"That decision is tinged with sadness because it's a big chunk of my life, but I'm convinced this is the right time. It's been great, but it is somebody else's turn now."