Paul Sherwen is generally seen as Phil Liggett’s counter-point, dutifully keeping the iconic duo’s race commentary on course, helping to convey to the English-speaking world the sport of Professional Cycling. Liggett, of course, has undeniably helped shape this great sport for Anglophones across the globe, having been the English voice of this sport since before I was born – and for that I’m eternally grateful to him; merely the sound of his voice warms the cockles of my cold, black heart. But as much as he is inextricably bound to the sport, the last time he got a fact right must have also been before I was born, if he ever has.
The balance Liggett’s special breed of factual rigor is Paul Sherwen. Not only does he have the insight of an ex-pro with which to season his commentary, he has several other highly technical analytical tools at his disposal, such as actually watching the race. Furthermore, Paul is able to counter Uncle Phil’s constitution under pressure – which resembles that of a knock-kneed Rhode Island Red in a washing machine on a delicates/knits cycle – with his Sprinter’s Cool. Whereas Phil can be heard squawking and clucking incomprehensibly with excitement as a race unfolds, Paul peppers the commentary with self-deprecating jokes about his own career and adds a Swahili proverb or two that might be helpful for the riders, were they only able to hear him.
In this current role of his, as the commentary equivalent of Autocorrect on Liggett’s iPhone, it is easy to forget that Paul was among the most respected riders of his day. Seen here stringing out a bunch (in complete Rule Compliance, I might add) reminds me of the various tales of tenacity that earned him the respect not only of his fellow riders, but of race organizers.
One such example is of the 1985 Tour de France when Sherwen, a domestique with no chance at the overall, crashed in the opening kilometers of a Pyrenean stage and was left to fend for himself while Bernard Hinault raced for the win at the front, making small children of grown men. Refusing to give up, Sherwen limped through the stage alone, accompanied only by a single Gendarme’s motorcycle. More than an hour after the stage winner and well outside the time limit, he finished the stage. The race jury, moved by his resolve to finish the stage, reinstated him and allowed him to continue on in the Tour. In a word, respect.
I think of all the people in the cycling world I most admire, it has to be Paul Sherwen.
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@Jeff in PetroMetro
Alex is still the man in my neck of the woods - as far as cycling royalty we don't have much in the Edmonton area, but we have Alex. When it come to the velodrome we have a few more, but everyone knows when Alex shows up to watch a sprint or points race!
@Dan_R
I still remember watching him on CBS in '86. He looked cooked after the morning stage and pretty much admitted it before the afternoon's TTT. Then the Slurpees took to the streets and showed how much they needed to practice TTT. I think Heiden fell over in a corner. I really liked Steida. He seemed like one of the good guys.
@Dan_R
@Jeff in PetroMetro
Yep, he was one of the good guys, though he was one of the guys who handed me my ass in my last ever stage race I referred to in my story above.
Hey, if you ever need someone to give you a reality check as to whether you would ever make it as a professional cyclist, it might as well be someone who wore the maillot jaune, at least for a half day.
Sweet! Getting served by one of the 7-11 greats!
Does riding with a cracked rib,put one on the path to be a hardman?
@sequipa
It may. However seeking hardman recognition for ones own self is an automatic demerit.
@scaler911
Velominati need not advertise, it is beneath a true hardman ... but perhapes a special seal could be offered to Velominati approved products .. the "V-Cog" .. placed around much like the Mason's did with the Compass and Square, it would help those less enlightened find their way ..
@toomanytreks
I read this comment and went on the interwebProwl with suitable V rigour, and you are right it certainly does not appear to be mentioned anywhere. I did however find a great website which seems to contain a large list of cycling movies old and new as well as link to other websites that go back even further.
One movie of special mention for those not willing to delve into the list was this:
Cycloporn 1970's Italian style
I did find mention of a book though, published in the same year with the same name as the documentary you mentioned.
@huffalotpuffalot
Those useful links by the way for the cycling movies are
hereandherewhat about wayne randle for a hardman-most americans wont have heard of him but anyone who can crash heavily on the decent of the bulc y groes into barbed wire during the milk race/tour of britain and still finish cut to ribbons twenty odd years before jonny hoogerland has to be truly worth the title "ardman"