Boyer rode the Tour de France five times and finished 12th in 1983 (French Jean de Gribaldy Sem team with Sean Kelly). He was unusual in refusing to eat meat and became well known for the large quantities of nuts and fruit that he brought to the race. The French team manager, Cyrille Guimard, described Boyer as "un marginal", a description hard to translate but which suggests an outsider, almost a hippie.
Boyer also competed in and won the 1980 Coors Classic in the USA, and the 1985 Race Across America completing the 3,120 miles in nine days, two hours, and six minutes. His career included 87 amateur victories and 49 professional ones