David Harmon Eurosport

LeicesterLad

DQ's great, was hoping we would here more from him! Enjoyed his chat at Roma Maxima (or Strade Bianchi?)(Or one of them early season races?)

blazing_saddles

FJS wrote:

phil s wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

If you get no info about time gaps, get the co commentator to do rough timings off tv with a watch.

One of the most misinformed things I've read on these boards.

Sporza has a special guy for that, Andre Meganck, who works with the two commentators. He times gaps, makes up a rough first results list at the finish, calculates impact on GC, that kind of stuff. In addition, they also often have a third commentator in the race on a motorbike, or in the field at cross races. Add to that truly knowledgeable commentary. No comparison. I think RAI have that third commentator on a motorbike too in the Giro at least

Quite knowledgeable, too, since that be Paolo Savoldelli.

FJS

Blazing Saddles wrote:

FJS wrote:

phil s wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

If you get no info about time gaps, get the co commentator to do rough timings off tv with a watch.

One of the most misinformed things I've read on these boards.

Sporza has a special guy for that, Andre Meganck, who works with the two commentators. He times gaps, makes up a rough first results list at the finish, calculates impact on GC, that kind of stuff. In addition, they also often have a third commentator in the race on a motorbike, or in the field at cross races. Add to that truly knowledgeable commentary. No comparison. I think RAI have that third commentator on a motorbike too in the Giro at least

Quite knowledgeable, too, since that be Paolo Savoldelli.

Didn't you know? It's actually Kermit the frog. He just pretends to be Salvodelli

danlikesbikes

For those that are interested David Harmon has given the following interview which covers his thoughts on his break.

http://velovoices.com/2013/04/26/friday ... on-part-1/

Cleat Eastwood

emadden wrote:

Kelly & Quigley ... fantastic! I know these guys may accidentally start speaking in Irish or some real hiberno-English, so just to help you guys out, here are some transalations:

Hiberno-English

There are some words and phrases that, while not in Irish, would not be recognisably English to someone, say, from England. These have developed either from direct translations from Irish into English, or have developed independently since English was introduced into Ireland.

Eejit – n. Idiot
Gee – n. (Pronounced with a hard “g” as in “gold”, not with a “g” as in “Georgina”.) An offensive term for a woman’s private parts. Used widely and variously.
Gee-bag – n. A derogatory term; an insult. Based on the word “Gee”, is similar in meaning to “shit-head.”
Gee-eyed – adj. Extremely drunk.
Scarlet – adj. Embarrassed, as in red-faced. Usually pronounced by dropping the ‘t’ – scar-leh

Examples:

Quigley: Oh no no no ... I see Wiggins has dropped his chain again
Kelly: I think he must be gee-eyed

...
Quigley: Is that Kreuziger out the back
Kelly: I've said it before, sometimes Cruise-ziger lacks the turst for it
Quigley: He did win Amstel Gold
Kelly: He did but I tink his director sporteeve gave him a right fookin drillin

...
Quigley: Sean, we all know you were a bit fond of a bit of argy-bargy in the sprint?
Kelly: Em, I wouldnt say that exactly, but sometimes you might come across a gee-bag who wont hold his line. And in doze cases, you need to put the eejit straight
Quigley: Must have been great craic though?
Kelly: Certaintly.

O'chapeau

carl_p

Tom Butcher wrote:

I thought it was a bit non-committal to be honest. What was it he said - I'm back for the TdF, or that's the plan anyway? Something like that wasn't it.

Yes it was although it sounded as though it could be earlier rather than later.

Just a question - who does Sky have commentating on their coverage? I hope DH doesn't get tempted to return on a Sky only deal.

I think they should stick CK on the back of a motorcycle and he can commentate from there

argyllflyer

Carl_P wrote:

Tom Butcher wrote:

Just a question - who does Sky have commentating on their coverage? I hope DH doesn't get tempted to return on a Sky only deal.

They use international feeds provided by the host broadcaster. For the Italian ones that means Carlton Kirby, but for Romandie and the Belgian classics it has been Rob Hatch. Brian Smith summarising.

danlikesbikes

For those that are interested the link I put up earlier was part 1 of the interview this is part 2 - http://velovoices.com/2013/04/26/friday ... on-part-2/

Kind of gives more of a background to his time off & for people like me who don't know what these commentators do when they are not talking on ES about races.

argyllflyer

Thanks for posting those, very interesting.

Tom Butcher

argyllflyer wrote:

Carl_P wrote:

Just a question - who does Sky have commentating on their coverage? I hope DH doesn't get tempted to return on a Sky only deal.

They use international feeds provided by the host broadcaster. For the Italian ones that means Carlton Kirby, but for Romandie and the Belgian classics it has been Rob Hatch. Brian Smith summarising.[/quote]

Fixed

doug5_10

argyllflyer wrote:

Thanks for posting those, very interesting.

+1 Really interesting read, fair play to the bloke.

Turnbull2000

Is it just me, or does Carlton Kirby sound very similar to Harmon?

fluided

I really like David harmon. Sadly it looks like he is suffering from depression, I hope he gets better soon

https://mobile.twitter.com/Lara_Thornto ... 6325814274

nolance

Get well really soon David Harmon,he is as much the sound of the Tour for me as Daniel Mangeas.The best commentator by a mile for me,each to their own of course.
All the best David.

carl_p

Well it won't be the same without him. Hope he gets well soon as it's not a nice 'condition'.

CK not quite as insightful but sounds like a really nice bloke and you can't doubt his enthusiasm.

ITV4 highlights are bordering on the unwatchable - and so many ad breaks it's rediculous.

Greggyr

That's really sad news. I hope that David's situation improves. Having got back into watching cycle racing back in 2003, David has been the 'voice' of my viewing since then. I had the pleasure of meeting him at Dean & Russ Downing's charity dinner last year, which was a thrill for me. Bon chance to you DH.
Greg

MrTapir

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Danlikesbikes wrote:

Just watching the racing now & David has just clarified that people misinterpreted his twitter message.

"I am taking some time off before the TDF Was simply that he has moved house and had some life changes & wants to spend some time away...."

So we have our answer. For me V happy as like his commentary and answers my question.

His wife's left him for a narcissistic sports pimp and he's developed a crippling toblerone addiction?

The man drinks that yellow stuff in tins. He's an idiot. Drivesh a Renault May-gane.



I realise that is two months old but I couldn't resist.

Edit: I'm not talking about DH.

Pross

Turnbull2000 wrote:

Is it just me, or does Carlton Kirby sound very similar to Harmon?

Yeah, I can't tell them apart unless Carlton is in 'enthusiastic' mode.

ocdupalais

Pross wrote:

Turnbull2000 wrote:

Is it just me, or does Carlton Kirby sound very similar to Harmon?

Yeah, I can't tell them apart unless Carlton is in 'enthusiastic' mode.

If Harmon is suffering from depression, I'd imagine such comments will only contribute to his condition.

oxoneil

fluided wrote:

I really like David harmon. Sadly it looks like he is suffering from depression, I hope he gets better soon

https://mobile.twitter.com/Lara_Thornto ... 6325814274

That's a big thing to put into the public domain. Just hope she got the OK from him to write that.

On the CK subject he has some maddening phrases which he uses all the time;

off the nose

right now tagged onto the end of every sentence

one classic from the Giro was "it's all about the riders now"....when wasn't it??

Dan Lloyd is by far the best sidekick and the number of times CK shouted over him and butted in at the Giro was incredible.

Ron Stuart

oxoneil wrote:

fluided wrote:

I really like David harmon. Sadly it looks like he is suffering from depression, I hope he gets better soon

https://mobile.twitter.com/Lara_Thornto ... 6325814274

That's a big thing to put into the public domain. Just hope she got the OK from him to write that.

On the CK subject he has some maddening phrases which he uses all the time;

off the nose

right now tagged onto the end of every sentence

one classic from the Giro was "it's all about the riders now"....when wasn't it??

Dan Lloyd is by far the best sidekick and the number of times CK shouted over him and butted in at the Giro was incredible.

Stating that someone is suffering from depression shouldn't be any different to stating that someone is suffering from any other type of medical condition. By treating the sufferer as abnormal will only exacerbate the condition. Harmon may not feel like getting out and about again but generally it's the best form of therapy, it's gaining the support of those around that makes a difference.

It is a condition that is becoming more prevalent in the west..... http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/ ... statistics

As for Kirby he is absolutely not the man for the job his only redeeming quality is his pronunciation of French place names and riders, although he often mixes them up.

Currently I am listening to the Phil and Paul show which unfortunately isn't brilliant either, can't help thinking both channels are making it even easier for Sky to take over in the future.

When you consider the Tour is the biggest annual sporting event the standard of commentary on the race is very poor.

pete54

Ron Stuart wrote:

As for Kirby he is absolutely not the man for the job his only redeeming quality is his pronunciation of French place names and riders, although he often mixes them up.

Yes, Carlton Kirby is useless. He has no depth of knowledge of the sport and just shouts to try and cover this up. If you actually analyse what he is saying there is virtually no useful content at all. Thank god Sean Kelly is there.

oxoneil

Ron Stuart wrote:

oxoneil wrote:

fluided wrote:

I really like David harmon. Sadly it looks like he is suffering from depression, I hope he gets better soon

https://mobile.twitter.com/Lara_Thornto ... 6325814274

That's a big thing to put into the public domain. Just hope she got the OK from him to write that.

On the CK subject he has some maddening phrases which he uses all the time;

off the nose

right now tagged onto the end of every sentence

one classic from the Giro was "it's all about the riders now"....when wasn't it??

Dan Lloyd is by far the best sidekick and the number of times CK shouted over him and butted in at the Giro was incredible.

Stating that someone is suffering from depression shouldn't be any different to stating that someone is suffering from any other type of medical condition. By treating the sufferer as abnormal will only exacerbate the condition. Harmon may not feel like getting out and about again but generally it's the best form of therapy, it's gaining the support of those around that makes a difference.

It is a condition that is becoming more prevalent in the west..... http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/ ... statistics

As for Kirby he is absolutely not the man for the job his only redeeming quality is his pronunciation of French place names and riders, although he often mixes them up.

Currently I am listening to the Phil and Paul show which unfortunately isn't brilliant either, can't help thinking both channels are making it even easier for Sky to take over in the future.

When you consider the Tour is the biggest annual sporting event the standard of commentary on the race is very poor.

Yes I see that ( I have personal experience of having a friend who suffers with it ) but I was coming from the angle of whether it is appropriate to reveal someones medical condition regardless of what it is. Definitely one of the most misunderstood conditions if you've never known anyone or experienced it yourself.

Pross

oxoneil wrote:

fluided wrote:

I really like David harmon. Sadly it looks like he is suffering from depression, I hope he gets better soon

https://mobile.twitter.com/Lara_Thornto ... 6325814274

That's a big thing to put into the public domain. Just hope she got the OK from him to write that.

On the CK subject he has some maddening phrases which he uses all the time;

off the nose

right now tagged onto the end of every sentence

one classic from the Giro was "it's all about the riders now"....when wasn't it??

Dan Lloyd is by far the best sidekick and the number of times CK shouted over him and butted in at the Giro was incredible.

I didn't think Carlton did the Giro, wasn't it Quigley? :?

argyllflyer

Pross wrote:

I didn't think Carlton did the Giro, wasn't it Quigley? :?

He did the Giro for the host broadcaster, and Sky Sports picked up that coverage for daily highlights shows. It was better than Quigley and Kelly but that really isn't saying much.

Kirby and Kelly are a bad combination. Sean's not forceful enough in his own opinion and you'd have to write down what he's said on occasion to draw it all together. Carlton on the other hand just makes it up and says whatever pops into his head, no matter how irreverent the point might be, such as calling for Cofidis to be slung out of the Tour in place of even more 2nd rate ProConti teams. I do like to listen to CK, but his ability to call a race correctly is somewhat lacking.

deejay

Just dose Harmon up with Valium or Diazapan to forget his troubles or take him down the Pub.
I seem to be hitting the "Mute button" a lot less this year so I'm happy Harmon is away but goodness gracious me
I wish Kirby would stop chuckling about his mistakes.
Thankful that Maggy is not here.

jerry3571

Yep, cycling is full of dopers so a Commentator on drugs is a good plan. Drag him back!!

Must admit that Cycling has it's characters and we are the people who weren't football lads or rugby lads or cricket lads. We come under a group called "others". Some Cyclists who can duff over other riders seem to think they're cool but they are in the minority of 1st and 2nd Cat riders. The rest of us take our beatings on the bike with grace and honour.

Chapeau to David and if it's the case he's a bit gone in the head, he's in good company with us Cyclists.

Gazzaputt

Missing him.

All the best I hope you see some sort of recovery soon.

Ron Stuart

Gazzaputt wrote:

Missing him.

All the best I hope you see some sort of recovery soon.

Nice and someone who thinks of others, well done

pomtarr

Ron Stuart wrote:

Gazzaputt wrote:

Missing him.
All the best I hope you see some sort of recovery soon.

Nice and someone who thinks of others, well done

+1 to both. Some very insensitive comments on this thread.

Hoping for a swift recovery.