Tony Bell (born 20 June 1958) is a freelance writer and journalist, known for his ''What's he on'' column in

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".

, where he was a columnist between 1994 and 2006. His popularity gained as a CW columnist led to engagements as an

after-dinner speaker Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech delive ...

at cycling events. Bell is also a serious reporter with a degree in

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

who has reported on race riots, gangland contracts, drugs wars and environmental and social issues in his native

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

for

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

and

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

. Following a road accident in which several members of Rhyl cycling club were killed, Bell criticized the attitudes of those such as

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' an ...

, whose column in '' The Sun'' he considered anti-cyclist, and what he saw as the cynical attitude of motorists. He called for a single organisation to represent cyclists in the UK to avoid such tragedies recurring. Bell was also professional cyclist. He once held the mountains and points jerseys in the prestigious Mi-Août Bretonne. He is the brother of former National Amateur and Professional Road Race Champion Mark Bell, who died in 2009. Bell lives in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and supplements his income as a bus driver. He is writing an autobiography, provisionally called "Pinball", excerpts of which are on his web site.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Tony 1958 births Living people English male journalists English male cyclists Writers from Liverpool Cycling journalists People from the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral