For those of you who don’t follow professional road cycling his name probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but Paul Sherwen, former professional road cyclist and one of the most famous and beloved cycling commentators in the English-speaking world, who along with Phil Liggett, Bob Roll and a rotating cast of others has covered the Tour de France and other major cycling races on TV for decades, just passed away Sunday night of apparent heart failure in his home in Uganda.
To the millions of English-speaking followers of the Tour and professional road cycling, his voice, coverage and analysis were inseparable from the races that he was covering. He will be dearly missed, not only by his loved ones and friends, but by all members of the cycling community and fans of the sport.
Here is an excerpt from Cycling News:
By Cycling News December 04, 2018 9:30am Updated: December 04, 2018 9:30am
Phil Liggett: I've lost my right hand man, my wing man, my teammate
Heart failure ruled cause of Paul Sherwen's death
The cycling world has been reeling over the news that long-time television announcer Paul Sherwen died over the weekend. Initially, the cause of death was unknown, as the 62-year-old passed away in his sleep. His co-worker of over 30 years, Phil Liggett, wrote on Twitter that Sherwen's family "have now told me that the result of the post mortem was heart failure".
Liggett and Sherwen have been the voice of cycling for English-speaking audiences for decades, commenting on the Tour de France for NBC Sports. They also called the tours of California and Utah, the USA Pro Challenge, and numerous other events together over the years.
"It's hard to believe," Liggett told the Wall Street Journal. "When the day dawned, I'd lost my right hand man, my wing man, my teammate.
"We were joined together. We had the same temperament, the same sense of humor, and we walked the world together for over 30 years."
Sherwen, a retired professional who won the British national championships and finished the Tour de France five times, gave voice to the riders' suffering with catch phrases like "suitcase of courage", "riding in his own personal purgatory", "pendulum of pain", and "riding like a man possessed".
My condolences to his friends, family, colleagues and the entire cycling community. He will quite literally be missed as I can’t imagine watching the Tour without his commentary.
Here’s a brief example of why he was so respected as a cycling commentator, as he spoke his mind openly, kept the BS to a minimum and focused on the sport and event:
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