The interest in David Duffield reached fever pitch toward the end of the Tour de France 2001. Emails were received and the best ones are below for your enjoyment.

From: Ryan
Subject: duffield

One Duffieldism that I thought you would have got,

Now the (Saeco, Telecom etc.) team are starting to go = Team is working hard at the front. Usually uttered after the team has been working at the front for well over 20k. Also can be applied to a rider who has been at the front for at least half an hour.

Other classic Duffers characteristics include,

Confusion over which rider he is watching. Even if one was 10 minutes behind in the peleton and the other was in the front with a break of 3. This happens frequently when he is not sure who is in the break and if a team mate attacks from the peleton he thinks that is the rider attacking the break. Most recently when Cardenas won his stage and he was not sure whether he was watching Laiseka or Etxebarria.

As you have mentioned in other areas, failure to pay attention to what is going on. Which he does realise and then apologises for another 5 minutes by which time the race is usually finished.

One last one. This usually happens to Sean. Duffers asks a question, short pause and before Sean answers he then continues to evaluate all possible answers that Sean could give. Usually ends with Sean just saying YES when Duffers finally finishes his question.

I have watched Eurosport for two years now and suffered. Lots of people in our club like Duffers, but I think he is the worst commentator I have ever heard. Unfortunately I have no choice if I want to see any cycling coverage in the UK. The whole idea is to analyse the action from an informed point of view. He does appear to be informed but in no way able to analyse what is going on (probably comes from being a tester in his racing days). Comparisons to Murray are just not fair. Murray has made some fantastic mistakes but his following of the action has never faulted, despite mis-identifications, jinxed timing and poking Nigel Mansell on the huge bruise on his head. Still Duffers does deserve recognition for his "attempts" to try and popularise cycling and his dedication to the cause.

Like the site. Keep up the good work.

Ryan
Birmingham Cycling Club
www.birmcc.org.uk

I guess with David you have to do part of the work when watching a race. You look after the technicalities of who's in the break and who's off the back and leave the entertaining stories of cheese, hard work, Fausto Coppi and rabbits called sixpence to DD. Lets see what the others say...

From: Edmund
Subject: Dufferisms

Hi, love the site!
Here are some tasty snippets which spring to mind:
Calling the banned Spinachi bars "Spinergy" bars (David, they make wheels!) In the early days of EPO awareness, he was calling haematocrit "haematoclit" bless 'im......like that one, David! The little Columbian climbers who "weigh 7-stone wet-though" The marvellous moment during the Giro 2001 when the riders were getting hassled from the Simoni supporters and just as David was stepping into the pulpit to preach how something had to be done with the wild tifosi, Belli plants his right fist on a culprit's coupon (the hapless victim turned out to be Simoni's cousin or something)...David's joyous reaction was priceless, and just a leeeetttle out of line considering they threw Belli off the race for that! The similar defining moment when Guidi was knocked down by that geeky lad brandishing a camera on Alpe d'Huez...David said something like..." and I hope that all the people who are friends of this man, never, ever speak to him again...!", while sounding like he was frothing at the mouth...no, sorry.."spitting nails"!
I have a feeling we have a long way to go before exhausting new material for your site...

Ed Edinburgh

p.s. I like to sometimes watch Euro while listening to France Inter commentary on Long Wave radio...they also have live reports from the motorbikes and wow can they make it exciting!

Haematoclit??? What did he think epo did? Is it oestrogen based?