Tributes paid to Paul Sherwen
Legendary commentator will be mourned by all who grew up watching the Tour de France
Tributes poured in from throughout the cycling world after the shock announcement of Paul Sherwen’s death last week. Sherwen, a former pro rider, was best known as one of the voices of the Tour de France, having commentated on the race alongside Phil Liggett for the last 33 years.
The pair started commentary for Channel 4 in the late 1980s and soon became the chosen commentary duo for many international feeds. As such, their voices were the sound of cycling for fans who tuned in to the Tour each summer.
Sherwen was born in Widnes in 1956 but grew up in Kenya. Returning to the UK in his teenage years he first joined the Weaver Valley CC before racing with the Altrincham RC. He quickly became successful on two wheels, winning the Star Trophy in 1976 when he was just 20.
He moved to France in 1977 where he joined the Parisian ACBB club, a welltrodden route to a pro contract for many talented British riders. He started winning immediately and signed a professional contract for the Fiat team at the end of the year.
Sherwen finished the Tour on seven occasions, twice famously being reinstated after long, lone chases through the mountains saw him finish outside the time cut. He was British national road race champion in 1987.
His racing career ended back in the UK with Raleigh, and after retiring he managed the Raleigh Banana team before working briefly with Motorola.
But it was his commentary that made him so famous and his partnership with Liggett has become, for many, synonymous with the month of July.
“I chose Paul [to commentate alongside me] because we were alike in every way,” Liggett said. “We were born only 30 miles apart — me on the Wirral and Paul in Widnes. Our humour was from the North West and we were made for each other.
“Our commentating developed and we never tripped over each other when talking. We complemented each other.
“We both loved Africa and animals, we both fought to save the rhino, and we both bird-watched every day."
Liggett admitted to being taken aback by the amount of people who contacted him this week; thousands via Twitter and hundreds of letters.
“We liked to think we brought many people into cycling. Judging by this week he succeeded better then either of us imagined. His legacy will reveal itself in time, and there are plans for him to be remembered in Uganda. It was a country he loved along with the Karamoja people, who all rode to his funeral on bikes he had got them.”
Sherwen died in his sleep of heart failure on December 2. He is survived by his wife Katherine and his son and daughter.
“Sherwen finished the Tour on seven occasions”