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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 15th, 2023

PHIL LIGGETT LEADS COMMENTATORS FOR NBC SPORTS AND PEACOCK COVERAGE OF 110TH TOUR DE FRANCE, BEGINNING SATURDAY, JULY 1

Liggett (Play-by-Play) and Bob Roll (Analyst) Call the Tour de France On-Site with Reporters Steve Porino and Christian Vande Velde

Paul Burmeister Hosts Daily Live Studio Coverage Alongside Analysts Sam Bewley and Brent Bookwalter, Making Debuts as NBC Sports Cycling Analysts

Peacock to Stream Live Start-to-Finish Coverage of Every Stage

Live Coverage of All 21 Stages of Tour de France July 1-23 Across Peacock, NBC, and USA Network

STAMFORD, Conn. – June 15, 2023 – NBC Sports and Peacock today announced the commentating team for the 110 th Tour de France, beginning Saturday, July 1, across Peacock, NBC, and USA Network.

NBC Sports’ cycling play-by-play caller Phil Liggett , universally known as the ‘voice of cycling,’ will cover his 51 st Tour de France alongside analyst Bob Roll . Liggett and Roll will be on-site at each stage along with reporters Steve Porino and former professional cyclist Christian Vande Velde .

Paul Burmeister will host daily pre-race and post-race studio coverage alongside Sam Bewley and Brent Bookwalter , who make their NBC Sports debuts as cycling analysts .

Bewley, a native of Rotorua, New Zealand, retired from professional cycling at the end of 2022 after a 14-year career highlighted by nine Grand Tour starts. Bewley participated in the 2020 Tour de France as part of Orica–GreenEDGE and won bronze medals with the New Zealand men’s pursuit team at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. He currently hosts a cycling podcast, ‘The Social Distance Podcast,’ with George Bennett and Dan Jones, and is a team director for the Israel – Premier Tech cycling team.

Bookwalter, a Michigan native, had a 16-year professional cycling career which included 10 years with BMC Racing Team (2008-18) and three years with Mitchelton-Scott (2019-21). He raced in the 2016 Rio Olympics, participated in four Tour de France races – was part of Cadel Evans’ winning 2011 team – and earned podium finishes at numerous stage races.

NBC Sports and Peacock will present full live coverage of the 110 th Tour de France July 1-23, 2023. The full coverage schedule for the 2023 Tour de France will be announced soon.

In February, NBC Sports, Peacock and the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) announced a six-year extension for exclusive U.S. media rights for the Tour de France. Comcast/NBC Sports has served as the U.S. home of the Tour de France since 2001.

Beginning with the 111 th Tour de France in June 2024, Peacock will become the exclusive home of the Tour de France in the United States through 2029 with live start-to-finish coverage of every stage . Select stages will also simulcast live on NBC throughout the three-week event. Daily coverage on Peacock will include NBC Sports-produced pre- and post-race studio shows, full-stage replays, highlights, stage recaps, rider interviews, and more.

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Who are the Tour de France commentators?

Find out who's behind the mic and reporting on the ground for the respective Tour de France broadcasters

The Tour de France is cycling's biggest event and transcends the everyday fans of the sport to reach millions of people around the world.

Because of the level of interest, TV channels up their coverage and provide wall-to-wall live broadcast of the race as well as in-depth highlights programmes and analysis.

That enhancement of coverage includes recruiting the sport's top commentators and pundits to scrutinise the goings on in the race, but who are the people behind the voices we hear every day on television?

ITV Tour de France commentators

ITV has been a long-time broadcaster of the Tour de France on free-to-air television in the UK, and their line-up of commentators has been set for some time.  

Commentary veteran Phil Liggett and the late Paul Sherwen provided commentary from a US feed up until 2016, when ITV brought in their own commentators. Journalist (and Rouleur columnist) Ned Boulting took over the mic along with former British pro and four-time Tour de France stage winner David Millar, and the pair have been working on the Tour for ITV ever since. 

Two-time British champion Peter Kennaugh works as a pundit on ITV, analysing the racing alongside another former pro and three-time Tour stage winner Chris Boardman and host Gary Imlach.

Read more: 2023 Tour de France route - all about the mountains

ITV also send reporters to work on the ground at the Tour. Author and journalist Daniel Friebe provides colour segments for the highlights programme as well interviewing riders pre- and post-stage. Another author and journalist Matt Rendall provides interviews and on the ground from the Tour as well.

Eurosport/GCN Tour de France commentators

In the UK, Global Cycling Network have upped the ante after launching their online race streaming platform in 2020. Since being acquired by Discovery, subsequently part of  Warner Bros. Discovery, the GCN and Eurosport coverage has converged and now holds pre-race and post-race shows every day, as well as start-to-finish coverage without adverts (on streaming).

In the commentary box is a mix of Eurosport veterans and newer recruits. Commentator and author Carlton Kirby has been on Eurosport's cycling coverage for a very long time, and shares the lead commentary duty with another long-time Eurosport commentator Rob Hatch, interchanging throughout the day. There's also the voice of Jonathan Harris-Bass from Eurosport HQ to talk about food and other stuff when the action lulls.

They're joined by former pro and four-time Tour de France green jersey and five-time stage winner (amongst many other victories) Sean Kelly on analysis commentary. Another Tour great, Australian Robbie McEwen, who sprinted to 12 stage victories and three green jerseys, joined the channel this year also drops in on commentary as well as appearing in the studio programmes either side of the race.

Likewise, GCN presenter and former British pro Daniel Lloyd combines stints on commentary with appearing in the studio.

Read more: How long is the Tour de France?

The analysis show either side of the race is hosted by journalist and presenter (and Rouleur columnist) Orla Chennaoui. She is joined every day by McEwen, Lloyd and former British champion Adam Blythe in the studio to discuss the daily happenings.

On the ground, retired Austrian pro Bernhard Eisel, former British champion Matt Stephens, and former British pro Hannah Walker interview riders.

NBC Sports Tour de France commentators 

Phil Liggett and Bob Roll host the NBC cycling coverage for the Tour de France (Getty Images)

Over in the US, British commentator and journalist Phil Liggett is covering his 50th edition of the Tour de France and his 45th as a commentator, having first travelled to the Tour in 1973.

He's joined by former US pro Bob Roll on co-comms, with NBC journalist Steve Porino and former South African pro (and Tour de France stage winner) Robbie Hunter reporting from the ground.

As well as hosting wall-to-wall coverage, NBC also has analysis programmes for each stage, with retired US pro and Vuelta a España winner Chris Horner joined by another retired American pro, Christian Vande Velde, to provide expert insight. Presenter Paul Burmeister hosts the pre- and post-race shows.

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Bike Cams & Remote Announcers: Inside Tour de France Broadcast Plans

• Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the network will produce its 21 live broadcasts stateside.
• The coverage will have new features, like live footage from some riders’ bikes.

When the Tour de France begins Aug. 29, nearly two months later than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be with 55 fewer NBC Sports employees on-site to broadcast the event. 

In a normal year, 65 crew members handle the 23-day race in-person, but instead, just 10 will be on the ground. The rest will work out of NBC’s Stamford, Conn. headquarters, with their days starting at 2 a.m. ET to match the Tour’s schedule, NBC Sports Coordinating Producer Joel Felicio said.

The Tour itself will see some relatively minor changes due to the pandemic, as compared to what the effect has been on professional sports in the United States. 

Its course will not cross into any neighboring countries and the extra vehicles that usually surround the peloton will be reduced by 40% to help with social distancing. Fans lining the roads will be limited to 5,000 per day to adhere to France’s current restrictions — typically, about 10 million fans attend throughout the event. 

Riders’ media availability will also be different than in years past, which featured crowded scrums around competitors and team busses. 

NBC is seizing the opportunity to innovate its coverage and provide a more immersive viewing experience for those at home. It’s something the network had been wanting to do even before the pandemic.

Among the updates to coverage will be cameras — no larger than a GoPro — streaming live footage from some riders’ bikes. Previously, cameras have been placed on bikes to record the action, but haven’t been aired live before.

“Just to have a little perspective on what it’s like to be in the peloton. … Being able to go to those live shots is going to bring the viewer that much closer,” Felicio said. Other shots give viewers perspective on how fast a rider is flying down a mountain, for example.

The Amaury Sport Organisation, the race organizer, handles the logistics of assigning which riders have cameras. 

In addition to the live bike feeds, British former pro rider Adam Blythe will be reporting on the race from the back of a motorcycle, as well as conducting post-race interviews. NBC’s usual on-site reporters Steve Porino and Steve Schlanger won’t be able to attend the race as Europe’s borders remain closed to travelers from the U.S.

Blythe will have a camera on the front of the motorcycle and be able to adjust it to frame shots as he wishes. He’ll be able to perform various other antics to demonstrate the conditions on the course, Felicio said. 

Play-by-play announcer Phil Ligget, known as “the voice of cycling,” will call the race — his 45th — from Sky Sports’ London Office, while analyst Bob Roll will virtually join him from Stamford. 

The commentator setup got a test-run with Roll at home in Colorado and analyst Christian Vande Velde in South Carolina during the Critérium du Dauphiné, which ran Aug. 12-16 and streamed on NBC Sports Gold. The commentators essentially video-called with each other so they could still see facial expressions and have a rapport like if they were in close physical proximity. 

The action will air across NBC, NBCSN, CNBC, on NBC Sports Gold’s “ Cycling Pass ” and Peacock Premium, bringing yet another sports offering to the newly-launched streaming service. 

NBC Sports currently anticipates returning to France at full capacity when the world health situation allows, Felicio said. But if all goes according to plan this year, viewers won’t be able to tell that much is different. 

“I’m hoping that when people tune-in, they don’t know that we’re doing it from Connecticut and not on-site,” Felicio, about to work his 20th Tour, added. “We’re doing a good job if people don’t tune-in and think about where the control room is. That’s a home run for me.”

Live coverage of the 2019 Tour on NBC Sports averaged 307,000 viewers through Stage 15 — up 11% from 2018 and the highest mark since 2015.

Coverage of the 2020 Tour could also prove to be a key opportunity for the sport of cycling at large, which has seen increased interest in the U.S. amid the pandemic. Three American riders are on the start list. 

NBC Sports does not have streaming numbers for the Critérium du Dauphiné, which did not air on linear television.

Cycling sales — which include traditional bikes, indoor bikes, parts, helmets, and other accessories — were up 63% in June compared to 2019, totaling $697 million per NPD Group. USA Cycling says that its memberships are down 15% year-over-year at this time as it had to slash its events by 72% in July alone, but since March, 75% of memberships have come from people who had never previously registered. 

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Tour de France

Brent bookwalter is joining nbc’s tour de france broadcast.

Recently retired pro Brent Bookwalter will join the production as a cycling analyst, alongside longtime broadcasters Phil Liggett, Bob Roll, Christian Vande Velde, and reporter Steve Porino.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

American cycling fans will see another familiar face on NBC’s Tour de France telecast this July.

Bookwalter is one of two new hires for the telecast. New Zealand’s Sam Bewley, who raced in the WorldTour for Team Radioshack and Orica-GreenEdge, is also making his debut in July.

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The broadcast addition marks the latest chapter in Bookwalter’s career. He raced professionally for 16 seasons, competing in the Tour on four occasions. He was a key member of BMC Racing’s 2011 Tour squad, which helped Cadel Evans capture the yellow jersey.

Bookwalter also competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. He ended his professional road cycling career after the 2021 season while racing for Mitchelton-Scott.

In 2022 Bookwalter worked as a broadcaster for the streaming service FloBikes and also raced some gravel events.

The Tour returns to NBC this July as part of a recently signed six-year broadcast extension with race organizer ASO to show the race in the United States.

NBC has yet to reveal the specific details of its 2023 live coverage plans. However, in previous years, the network has shown live coverage of the event on streaming platform Peacock, and on linear TV channels USA Network and NBC.

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