Ex-Tour rider struck gold with the mic
PAUL Sherwen probably achieved greater fame as the voice of cycling alongside his friend and co-presenter, Phil Liggett, than he did through his years of racing.
Sherwen’s popularity was underlined by Liggett’s Twitter feed when he announced his friend’s death on Sunday.
After browsing comments for 45 minutes, Liggett returned to the top to find 600 new messages of dismay and condolence.
Sherwen competed in the Tour de France seven times with his best finish, 70th, recorded in his first outing in 1978.
He also won two UK national cycling events, the Circuit Race Championship of 1986 and the Road Race Championship of 1987.
He would go on to cover cycling’s blue riband event as a broadcaster 33 times, as well as other major events around the world, with Liggett by his side.
The pair were separated by 13 years but were born only 30 miles apart in the North-west of England.
Sherwen was born in Widnes, Lancashire but grew up in Uganda where he spent most of his life. As well as his love of cycling and the part he and Liggett played in extending the sport’s popularity beyond Europe, Sherwen had business interests in the East African nation which included gold mining.
He also set up the charity Paul’s Peloton to help children in Africa gain access to bikes.
Sherwen and Liggett started their broadcasting partnership at Channel 4 but as the popularity of cycling spread, they were later hired by US network NBC and by Australia’s SBS.
Tour de France organisers decided last year that it was time to replace the quietly spoken pair, renowned for their gentle humour and keen understanding of the sport, with the younger Australian pair Robbie McEwen and Matthew Keenan. It was a move that was widely and loudly condemned by viewers.
Liggett posted on his friend’s death that Sherwen had been cycling a lot more recently.
His death was reported to him by his friend’s wife Katherine, who survives him together with their son and daughter.