Bob Roll-Gap Rating 7/10

He is a former American professional cyclist. He was a member of the original 7-Eleven Cycling Team until 1990, and competed for the Motorola Cycling Team in 1991. In 1992 Roll moved to Greg LeMond’s Z team and added mountain biking to his resume. He continued racing mountain bikes through 1998. He has written four books: Bobke: A Ride on the Wild Side of Cycling, Bobke II, and two Tour de France Companions. His nickname is "Bobke" (pronounced BOOB-ka), which is actually Flemish for "Bobby."

As a professional cyclist, his achievements included:

• 4-time Tour de France racer - 63rd (1986), DNF (1987), DNF (1988), 132nd (1990)
• 3-time Giro d'Italia racer
• 8-time Paris-Roubaix racer
• 3-time Tour de Suisse racer
• Won stage 3 of the 1988 Tour de Romandie
• Won stage 11 of the 1985 Coors Classic
• Won the 1997 & 1998 San Francisco Hill Climb
• Raced in eight World Championships

Bob's best known ride on a bike didn't take place at an event, as part of a team, or individually, nor were there any fans lining the streets to watch. In 1998, Lance Armstrong was recovering from cancer and had just dropped out of the Paris-Nice race. Bob got a call from Armstrong's coach, Chris Carmichael, and was asked to go to Boone, North Carolina to ride with Lance for a few days. Lance's career was at a crossroads, as he was discouraged from what had happened in Europe, and was on the verge of retiring. Carmichael wanted him to do one more training session, with Roll. According to Roll, "Lance had probably never met a bike racer like me...a person who could still find some happiness in such misery. We had eight hours a day for eight days of riding in the pouring rain - rain in Biblical proportions! I think Lance would’ve turned things around even without that time in the Appalachia’s, but it was a pivotal time." Lance was invigorated by the training ride. He went on to place fourth in the Vuelta a España, and within a year and a half of his ride with Bob, he had won his first Tour de France.

Roll is currently a cycling commentator for the Outdoor Life Network, where he is famous for his over-exaggerated hand movements, his intentional mis-pronunciation of the phrase "Tour de France" (or "Tour Day Frants" as he calls it), along with providing general comic relief.

Roll intentionally mispronounces "Tour de France" for a reason. He feels that during the time that he was an up and coming rider with the 7-Eleven cycling team, French riders looked down on him and his teammates with great disdain. He therefore decided that it wasn't really worth learning or speaking their language correctly, since they would never truly respect him. Some cycling fans agree with Roll's reasoning for the intentional mispronunciation decades later while others find it rather childish.