"Chris" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Tom Kunich" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:-
>
[email protected]...
> > "SMMB" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
> >
news:[email protected]...
> > > pronunciation apart, the race is in France, and the
> > > French word is "bonification". I guess Roll was being
> > > cool and local. (Who is Roll ?)
> >
> > Bob Roll was a domestique on the 7-11 squad and I
> > believe the early US Posties as well.
>
> Never on USPS, we was dumped when Motorola took over from
> 7-11. He went
from
> 7-11 to mountain biking IIRC. I don't think he did any pro
> road races
after
> 7-11 dropped him. He may have done a bit of the US crit
> circuit before switching to mountain bikes.
Actually he raced with Motorola in 1991 in Europe. Again
with the too-little-sleep. Forgot Motorola was in-between
7-11 and Posties.
> > Presetnly he is one of the announcers on OLN for bicycle
> > racing. He's a pretty neat guy but he tries to keep a
> > drugged-out
attitide
> > about everything as his unique personal slant and sort
> > of his
trade-mark.
> > But as he is losing more and more hair it is becoming
> > plain that he
can't
> > carry it for too much longer without looking like
> > a fool.
> >
> > He is actually very intelligent and observant. That is
> > unusual among announcers in English so I really like to
> > see him announcing at the
Tour,
> > the Giro (where he was instrumental in helping Andy
> > Hampsten win the
Giro
> > stage that won Andy and 7-11 the Giro in '87)
>
> Roche won overall in 1987 and Andy won in 1988. Roll was
> an important man for the Swiss Tour (Romandie actually I
> think) and for the Giro that year ('88). Roll crashed out
> of the Tour (or just before?) that year after
flying
> all spring.
I think someone sent him a picture of me and told him I was
a stalker. I was thinking of making faces at him while he
was taping a segment at the Sea Otter two years ago and he
just looked up the hill at me standing behind the cameras
and lost it. I never even got a chance to make that face. I
think that he and I are on the same wavelength.
> >and any other race where he doesn't try to act over-
> >clever.
>
> He never acted "over-clever" while racing, it was only his
> remarks afterwards that lead to his "character".
I meant when he's announcing. I really enjoy his playing
around with languages without any self conciousness that
many Americans would feel in this day and age about
mispronouncing French or Italian words.
Bobke's great.