Eurosport 2014 / Cycling

mm1

Hmmm don't know about impressionable youth, but we had someone (middle aged) descending like that on our clubrun the weekend before last, as he can't ride in a straight line in normal circumstances I kept myself well out of the way.

jimmythecuckoo

ThomThom wrote:

Did Brian Smith seriously say that?

How about we let the riders decide for themselves how to ride down the mountains...

Novel!

Should have tried that in the Giro.

DeVlaeminck

I wouldn't mind them banning descending sat on the top tube or riding with hands draped over the bars. Neither is particularly hard to do even for an amateur but it does compromise your control a little bit and if the rules are the same for everyone I can't see what the complaint would be. There was on occasion a couple of years ago I had a word with a youth rider using the hands draped over the bars on the front of a group - not that I mind him doing it just not with me behind him.

deejay

Art Vandelay wrote:

During the Tour de Suisse Brian Smith actually said the UCI should fine riders for descending like Sagan. In the Criterium du Dauphine Kirby was explaining how he was a excellent descender as it came to him naturally.

Yes I heard that but then missed something else he had a whinge about.
Brian Smith kept saying "this moment in time" and so I tried to file these bits of "moment in time".
I made a note of the time he said it and now I can't find any one of them. So where did they go. ?
Maybe they shrunk and escaped from my file system.

argyllflyer

deejay wrote:

Art Vandelay wrote:

During the Tour de Suisse Brian Smith actually said the UCI should fine riders for descending like Sagan. In the Criterium du Dauphine Kirby was explaining how he was a excellent descender as it came to him naturally.

Yes I heard that but then missed something else he had a whinge about.
Brian Smith kept saying "this moment in time" and so I tried to file these bits of "moment in time".
I made a note of the time he said it and now I can't find any one of them. So where did they go. ?
Maybe they shrunk and escaped from my file system.

He often says 'again' when saying something for the first time. However, in his defence he is very good at making it clear to the audience what exactly is happening, especially if Kirby is the captain of the ship.

BrianS

To be clear....Riding with arms rested on front of bars should be banned...uci banned clip on bars as they were deemed dangerous in bunch riding....this is doing similar without the bars....I have no objection to how pro riders descend. I have descended similarly without a helmet in my career. However I would warm against copying Sagan. My comments were more on safety aspect as people may copy how the pro's descend. Stay safe out there.....

argyllflyer

Updated list below.

Art Vandelay

Sean Kelly's commentary has been really good at the Tour. Just as well as Kirby's bluffing is as bad as ever - continually just makes stuff up.

thegreatdivide

LeMond on Tour Live - it's like watching Gareth Gates and René from Allo Allo. Shocking.

Paul 8v

At least we get some post race analysis (Like every other sport) Rather than cutting to the world tiddlywinks championships in Kazakhstan or the Hong Kong pool tournament.

I don't mind them, it's like watching Eurotrash but with cycling

Paul 8v

Oh there you go, darts. A real hard man's sport of intense suffering and exertion :-)

le_patron

BrianS wrote:

To be clear....Riding with arms rested on front of bars should be banned...uci banned clip on bars as they were deemed dangerous in bunch riding....this is doing similar without the bars....I have no objection to how pro riders descend. I have descended similarly without a helmet in my career. However I would warm against copying Sagan. My comments were more on safety aspect as people may copy how the pro's descend. Stay safe out there.....

Like any aspect of cycling, when done well it's fine, when done badly it's dangerous. Not sure why this is singled out.

'Invisible aero-bars' (as they are always called by the commissaire before races) are fine also if you are on your own or right at the front of a line on smooth roads. And that's why old style Shimano gear cables are good, you can hold on to them. But wouldn't do it in a bunch or on pot-holed roads.

argyllflyer

The list is updated below:

argyllflyer

Greg Lemond - should he be back for future events?

Pross

BrianS wrote:

To be clear....Riding with arms rested on front of bars should be banned...uci banned clip on bars as they were deemed dangerous in bunch riding....this is doing similar without the bars....I have no objection to how pro riders descend. I have descended similarly without a helmet in my career. However I would warm against copying Sagan. My comments were more on safety aspect as people may copy how the pro's descend. Stay safe out there.....

I saw a very talented youth rider doing the hands on bars thing the other night. I can't help but think it's a case of copying what they see on TV as no-one used to do it. I can understand on a 200km race that a change of position and resting the hands gives a bit of a break but there's no need for it in a 30 minute crit on a tight and testing circuit.

argyllflyer

(deleted)

takethehighroad

Logistical question, but how much of the commentary is done from local at the race?

For example, I doubt Carlton travelled form Poland on Saturday to Holland today, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't on location during the TDF

argyllflyer

TakeTheHighRoad wrote:

Logistical question, but how much of the commentary is done from local at the race?

For example, I doubt Carlton travelled form Poland on Saturday to Holland today, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't on location during the TDF

Almost all of it is done from London. Some events provide facilities to on-site commentators, such as the Tour de France. Carlton was on site for the host broadcaster at all of the big Italian races (coverage in UK on Sky) while Eurosport covered them from London, the Irish stages excepted where they were there.

Turkey provides facilities (and cash incentive to go??) for on-site coverage to TV stations, and Eurosport are always on the road there.

Basically, they're in London more often than not, Tour excepted. They were at the finish yesterday too. I believe the main issues are cost and also availability of commentators as the summarisers especially have other strings to pluck and sometimes need to be in 3 places at once, even if just for TV work! Brian Smith was popping up all over the place earlier in the year on the same day - Womens Tour and California I think (both on 11th May, both with him).

Rob Hatch does work for the organisers of the two Swiss races and the Belgian classics and is always on-site for those. Again, Sky sometimes pick up the coverage. If Eurosport have any of these events, they book their own commentary pair (i.e. Tour de Suisse this year) and they do it from the London studios.

argyllflyer

The updated British Eurosport commentary pairings so far in 2014:

Commentators used for .1, .HC & .WT: Declan Quigley, Carlton Kirby, Rob Hatch, Jonathan Harris-Bass, Matt Stephens, Marty MacDonald
Summarisers used for.1, .HC & .WT: Brian Smith, Matt Stephens, Sean Kelly, Magnus Backstedt, Dan Lloyd, Tony Gibb

Dubai: Quigley & Smith
Oman: Kirby (solo)
Andalucia: Hatch & Stephens
K-B-K: Hatch & Stephens
Le Samyn: Kirby & Smith
Langkawi: Hatch (first week) / Quigley (last few stages) (both solo)
Strade Bianche: Hatch & Smith
Roma Maxima: Quigley & Smith
Paris-Nice: Hatch & Kelly
Tirreno-Adriatico: Quigley & Stephens
Milan-Sanremo: Quigley & Kelly
Catalunia: Kirby & Backstedt
E3 Harelbeke: Quigley & Stephens
Criterium International: Quigley & Stephens
Three Days of De Panne: Kirby & Smith
Tour of Flanders: Kirby & Kelly
Vuelta al Pais Vasco: Kirby & Stephens
Paris-Roubaix: Kirby & Stephens
GP de Denain: Kirby & Lloyd
Tour of the Reservoir: McCrossan & Stephens
Amstel Gold Race: Kirby & Kelly
Fleche Wallonne: Kirby & Lloyd
Tour of Turkey: Kirby & Smith
Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Hatch & Kelly
4 Days of Dunkirk: Quigley & Backstedt
Tour of Azerbaijan: Hatch (solo, stage 1) / Quigley (solo, stage 2) / Harris-Bass (solo, stages 3-4) / Harris-Bass & Gibb (stage 5)
Women's Tour of Britain: Porter & Smith (syndicated - also on ITV4)
Giro d'Italia: Hatch & Kelly (with intro from Harris-Bass stage 1 and Andy Smith stages 2&3)
Wiltshire Grand Prix: McCrossan & Stephens
Tour of California: Stephens & Smith
Tour Series (all rounds): Porter & Smith (syndicated - also on ITV4)
Tour of Norway: Quigley & Backstedt
Lincoln GP: McCrossan & Stephens
World Ports Classic: MacDonald & Smith
Tour des Fjords: Stephens & Smith
Criterium du Dauphine: Kirby & Smith
Milk Race: Quigley & Tony Doyle
London Nocturne: Porter & Smith
Tour de Suisse: Quigley & Lloyd
British Road Championships: Kirby & Stephens
Tour de France: Kirby & Kelly with Harris-Bass
British Circuit Championships: Porter, Trott & Backstedt
Elite Circuit Series: McCrossan & Stephens
La Course by Le Tour: MacDonald & Ottilie Quince
Tour de Wallonnie: Stephens & Smith
Clasica San Sebastian: Quigley & Backstedt
Tour de Pologne: Kirby & Backstedt
Women's Ride London: Hatch & Smith
RideLondon-Surrey Classic: Hatch & Stephens
Eneco Tour: Kirby & Smith
Arctic Race of Norway: Hatch & Backstedt (stages 1&2) / Stephens (stages 3&4)
Circuit of the Fens: McCrossan & Stephens
USA Pro Challenge: Hatch & Backstedt
Vuelta a Espana: Kirby & Lloyd (stages 1 &2), Kelly (stages 3+)
Vattenfall Cyclassics: Quigley & Backstedt
GP Ouest-France Plouay: Quigley & Smith
Tour of Alberta: Hatch & Smith

Coming Up (from @carltonkirby, @RealStephens, @robhatchtv, @BriSmithy):

Tour of Britain: tbc
GP Quebec: tbc
GP Montreal: tbc

deejay

I like the Vuelta ITV 4 Highlights program with the "Live" inserts of Graham Jones making Liggett sound interesting.
Well even Phil can recognise most riders on the screen with Jones help if he can't.

Art Vandelay

Message to Kirby - if you say 'pale of pallor' one more time I swear I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

argyllflyer

He'll be unzipped and ready for action.

jimmythecuckoo

Its all about how many times he can use the word "pace" right now.

Macaloon

The mindless litany of potential stage winners while the on-screen action becomes more subtle, complex, and gripping - a desperate cry for help.

thegibdog

Good news for cycling fans, David Harmon says he will be doing the coverage for the official feed of the 6 Days of Amsterdam (I am assuming Eurosport will have their own commentary team though).