Bob Roll Print E-mail
"Cycling is about two things: pain and revenge. It's about going through so much pain that you want revenge." Bob Roll

By now, most of you know who Bob Roll is, but in case you haven't seen his (in)famous color commentary on the Tour de France coverage (or Tour "Day Frants", as Bob would say), a little background is in order. He made a name for himself as one of the original members of the 7-Eleven Cycling Team, raced with Lance Armstrong, was on Greg LeMond's Z Team and finally became a cycling commentator for the Versus sports network's coverage of the Tour de France. But Bob was different than most cyclists. Bob was a character, through and through.

 

BobTalks
Ron Kiefel, owner of Wheatridge Cyclery in Colorado and former pro cyclist was on the 7-Eleven team as well, and raced with Bob, or "Bobke" as his friends call him. While attending the Moab Century Tour previously Kiefel shared an amusing, although slightly unbelievable story about Roll. During their European races, they were interviewed at length by the press, who were not accustomed to the Americans' success at the Tour de France. Roll decided to play up the 'Wild West' image and convinced members of the Euro-press that he had actually been raised in a teepee.  Clever, mischievous and zany are all terms used to describe him, but his pure love for the bike, shining most brightly when others accept defeat, has created an army of cycling fans. Even Esquire Magazine cannot help but appreciate his style in their article titled, "Meet Bob Roll, the worst color commentator on Earth and the best thing to happen to the Tour de France since Lance Armstrong."

Worst color commentator? If you've ever watched the Tour de France, you'll understand. His presence overpowers the camera, hands moving about in wild gestures all while speaking the most unthinkable assembly of words in the English language. These have become known as "Rollisms", his signature style. For example, "Kilometers are passing like kidney stones." But it works. His points get past your filters and tickle your brain. He uses his experience in the sport to translate the strategies and tactics being used in the Tour de France to the armchair cyclists. While it may not be pretty, it has been greeted with delight, amusement and understanding from the cycling audience at large. The combination of out-of-the-box, unpredictability and extreme knowledge and expertise of the sport makes him one of the most interesting of color commentators today.

Maybe we all should take a moment to consider this man's viewpoint. He seems to be on to something. He's living his life on his own terms while achieving success in the mainstream world. Truly an individual, and containing obvious disdain for the pretentious, he has accomplished fame while still, well, keeping it real.
Consider his Ten Commandments for the Cyclist:

X. Thou shalt not take the name of Eddie Merckx in vain.

IX. Thou shalt be screamed at by one Grewal or another.

VIII. Thou shalt be screwed by one cycling federation or another.

VII. Thou shalt have your bike destroyed and luggage lost by airlines.

VI. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's bike swag.

V. Thou shalt pee in cup eventually.

IV. Thou shalt be thrashed, trashed, crashed and smashed by someone younger and stronger than you.

III. Thou shalt wear your helmet on every ride.

II. Thou shalt not touch thy front brake while negotiating off-camber switchback turns.

I. Thou shalt crash and look like a fool sooner or later.

And with that, we offer this photo of Roll in 1988 at Paris Roubaix to prove he lives by his own commandments.

 

 

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