Roger Hammond

MrTapir

I've really enjoyed his contributions on the ITV highlights studio, everything he says is very informative and adds to my understanding, which is pretty rare for pundits I find.

Pross

Yep, he's excellent. Still has knowledge of the current peloton but not scared to criticise.

Yellow Peril

I agree. Very informative and lots of insight. I would also say (perhaps controversially) Liggett has been better. That may be down to the fact that he is not live broadcasting.

MrTapir

Yellow Peril wrote:

I agree. Very informative and lots of insight. I would also say (perhaps controversially) Liggett has been better. That may be down to the fact that he is not live broadcasting.

Is he not? yesterday he said 'ooh there's Nieve attacking'. I think Graham Jones corrected him. Maybe he does it deliberately to make it seem its more live.

I thought Roger Hammond's point he made about FDJ driving on the front the other day was good, and yesterday when he was talking about the effects of cold on riders' muscles and ability to eat and things. It really explains the race.

Might he move into a bit of co-commentary? I think I would prefer him to many others.

Richmond Racer

Agree - Rog, Dan Lloyd and Big Maggy are all good.

I'm wondering who the Beeb are going to line up for the Worlds as main commentator and expert alongside this year. They've put Porter out to grass (not before time)

Yellow Peril

MrTapir wrote:

Yellow Peril wrote:

I agree. Very informative and lots of insight. I would also say (perhaps controversially) Liggett has been better. That may be down to the fact that he is not live broadcasting.

Is he not? yesterday he said 'ooh there's Nieve attacking'. I think Graham Jones corrected him. Maybe he does it deliberately to make it seem its more live.

I thought Roger Hammond's point he made about FDJ driving on the front the other day was good, and yesterday when he was talking about the effects of cold on riders' muscles and ability to eat and things. It really explains the race.

Might he move into a bit of co-commentary? I think I would prefer him to many others.

I think he may live commentate but as with the Tour they get a chance to make corrections for the highlights show and as this is highlights only I'm presuming any major howlers are cut. Still netter than when he's in the Tour IMO.

completely agree about Hammond, very informative and explanatory.

edhornby

liggett and Jones are the live feed, you can tell by the way that sometimes there is quite a bit of gap between the post-advert picture feed then the commentary is taken up at a sensible point

Liggett is rubbish and getting worse every year, needs putting out to pasture... misses riders, misses action that I could spot from the feed myself

morstar

edhornby wrote:

misses riders, misses action that I could spot from the feed myself

I can't argue that he does miss stuff and there are better commentators out there but I'd suggest it's not quite so simple to actually observe everything and comment on it in an informative way at the same time. Switching between using recall to fill in dead time and suddenly something does happen that requires rider recognition and race status all in a split second probably isn't so straightforward.

The 'even I can see that' argument is understandable but having been a sports ref for the last few years, sitting back watching and multi tasking whilst in the thick of the action are two very different things.

blim

I've enjoyed Liggett during the Vuelta, which makes me think its Sherwen that really annoys me. At least Graham Jones corrects him, and is less excitable than Sherwen.

Also agree re: Roger Hammond. Mrs blim thinks he's no Chris Boardman, but he's incisive and intelligent.

salsiccia1

blim wrote:

I've enjoyed Liggett during the Vuelta, which makes me think its Sherwen that really annoys me. At least Graham Jones corrects him, and is less excitable than Sherwen.

+1

The ITV highlights have actually been better than the usual almost unbearable. Graham Jones is, as usual, excellent and Phil seems to be more relaxed and with it without Sherwen. Decent combo - one I'd be happy to see do the Tour together.

Paul 8v

I don't mind Liggett to be fair, I've grown up watching bike racing with him doing the commentary so he's a bit of a Murray Walker character in my eyes (or ears) Hammond is good and also Maggy

Pross

Richmond Racer wrote:

Agree - Rog, Dan Lloyd and Big Maggy are all good.

I'm wondering who the Beeb are going to line up for the Worlds as main commentator and expert alongside this year. They've put Porter out to grass (not before time)

Brotherton I should think / hope. He did the Ride London Classic early stages from memory.

gattocattivo

Will we be spared Porter on ITV for the ToB?

Pross

Porter doesn't do ITV as far as I'm aware. I think it was Graham Jones and possibly Liggett last year?

gattocattivo

No, Porter's definitely done it in the past on ITV

gattocattivo

...

ManOfKent

I think Brotherton is a BBC staffer. Most of the others mentioned here are freelancers, which is why they turn up on different channels at different times, for example Boardman on the Beeb's Olympics coverage.

Roger Hammond has been good in the Vuelta and it does seem that as cycling finds its way onto British TV more widely, some decent pundits are emerging from among the ex-pros. The downside of this is that some capable journalists have less opportunity. I'm thinking in particular of Matt Rendell, who I thought was excellent last year but is now limited to a disembodied voice conducting post-stage interviews.

BR 1979

ManOfKent wrote:

I'm thinking in particular of Matt Rendell, who I thought was excellent last year but is now limited to a disembodied voice conducting post-stage interviews.

I totally agree with you here. I think MR is a great journalist (and author) and I really enjoy his commentating. Less "animated" than some which I think might be a reason he's not used as much.

I even like the way he conducts the post race interviews, comes across as a real fan in everything he does. Asks the questions in a manner I could imagine doing so myself.

MrTapir

BR 1979 wrote:

ManOfKent wrote:

I'm thinking in particular of Matt Rendell, who I thought was excellent last year but is now limited to a disembodied voice conducting post-stage interviews.

I totally agree with you here. I think MR is a great journalist (and author) and I really enjoy his commentating. Less "animated" than some which I think might be a reason he's not used as much.

I even like the way he conducts the post race interviews, comes across as a real fan in everything he does. Asks the questions in a manner I could imagine doing so myself.

Also he does it in different languages, e.g. his interviews with Valverde and Purito yesterday. I really liuke that in an interviewer.

But I thought Matt Rendell's main job has always been as the roving reporter actually at the race (never heard him commentating I think). It certainly seems that way from reading Ned's book.

BR 1979

I must be mistaken then. I could have sworn he did some of the commentating on those bottom-gear grinding out-of-the-saddle climbs in 2010 ITV4 highlights. Anyway, certainly agree on the languages in interviews, very cool.

ms_tree

I THINK he did commentary on Eurosport for the first Tour of Oman; he was also describing the scenery as there was quite a bit of that and 'look-at-life' features as well.

BR 1979

Back to Rog though... Those shirts, they must be a bet?

ManOfKent

MrTapir wrote:

But I thought Matt Rendell's main job has always been as the roving reporter actually at the race (never heard him commentating I think). It certainly seems that way from reading Ned's book.

I don't remember him commentating either, but at one of the races last year (the Vuelta?) he provided post-stage studio punditry, hence my remark about him being displaced by the "name" ex-pros.

prawny

Ms Tree wrote:

I THINK he did commentary on Eurosport for the first Tour of Oman; he was also describing the scenery as there was quite a bit of that and 'look-at-life' features as well.

He did, it was awful. He's got a great voice for analysis and he was good chipping in with others like in the early stages of the ITV tour coverage before P&P took over. But on his own it was like watching a David Attenborough documentary. Obvioulsy this wasn't helped by the coverage of Oman, which was basically Wish You Were Here with bikes the first couple of years.

dave milne

BR 1979 wrote:

Back to Rog though... Those shirts, they must be a bet?

My wife and I comment on their awfulness every night, last night's was a disgrace

Paul 8v

dave milne wrote:

BR 1979 wrote:

Back to Rog though... Those shirts, they must be a bet?

My wife and I comment on their awfulness every night, last night's was a disgrace

That was his swansong that one, bloody awful shirts but a nice guy!

deejay

Just get Roger involved with Belgian racing and apart from Sean Kelly there is no one that has been around and around the Belgian scene more than he.
Remember he was 3rd behind that self important Maggy in the Paris -Roubaix and good enough for 4th place in the 2010 PR race.
I watched him riding with little Belgian teams in the 90's.

As an aside to the West Coast TOB thread.
Roger Hammond has won the ARCHER GRAND PRIX.