Euro sport commentator

2

Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    Hatch is very good but gets less work than Quigley for some bizarre reason.
  • phil s
    phil s Posts: 1,128
    Pross wrote:
    Hatch is very good but gets less work than Quigley for some bizarre reason.

    You're perhaps not counting his international feed comms for IMG plus his other commentary work outside cycling.
    -- Dirk Hofman Motorhomes --
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    phil s wrote:
    Pross wrote:
    Hatch is very good but gets less work than Quigley for some bizarre reason.

    You're perhaps not counting his international feed comms for IMG plus his other commentary work outside cycling.

    Yeah, I'd say the Eurosport pecking order, availability dependent, was

    1. Kirby
    2. Hatch
    3. Quigley
    4. McCrossan
    5=. Harris-Bass / MacDonald

    Kirby can't do the Italian races for Eurosport so they go to Hatch or Quigley. Hatch does his handball stuff and also as you say the international feeds for the two Swiss races and also the Flanders classics programme of races. That gives Quigley work.

    I would guess Rob is thus doing Dwars Door Vlaanderen on Wednesday and Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday for the international market this week therefore can't do Catalunya (Kirby's at the mic) or Criterium International (Quigley). I think he actually goes to Belgium for the races so to come back to do E3 in London on Friday for British Eurosport might be a bit of a pain, hence Quigley also doing it. Then again, he and Dan Lloyd did it last year in similar circumstances, albeit down a mobile. Maybe he just wants the day off!
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    ThomThom wrote:
    Brian Holm and Thomas Bay are both former riders, teammates and close friends. They have no problem filling out 3 hours of a sprint stage when they are pairing on Eurosport. I could listen to them all day. Hilarious stuff.


    I bow to the experience of your good self and argylflyer
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    ThomThom wrote:
    Brian Holm and Thomas Bay are both former riders, teammates and close friends. They have no problem filling out 3 hours of a sprint stage when they are pairing on Eurosport. I could listen to them all day. Hilarious stuff.


    I bow to the experience of your good self and argylflyer

    And you can even hear Smith and Backstedt at cycling.tv as there's a free 5 minute snippet of K-B-K.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,462
    phil s wrote:
    Pross wrote:
    Hatch is very good but gets less work than Quigley for some bizarre reason.

    You're perhaps not counting his international feed comms for IMG plus his other commentary work outside cycling.

    Yep, only going by Eurosport but I guess that explains why they don't / can't use him more. Shame as he's head and shoulders above the alternatives.
  • Abdoujaparov
    Abdoujaparov Posts: 642
    For someone who doesn't know a great about cycling, kirby is pretty opinionated. He should definitely ask more questions of his co-commentator. Pretty basic stuff.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,104
    Big Maggy today - leg warmers don't work in the wet, use heat balm instead, what absolute crap. God he winds me up with some of the stuff he comes out with - recently retired pro he may be but he can't get through a commentary without at least one old school myth.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • narbs
    narbs Posts: 593
    DeVlaeminck wrote:
    Big Maggy today - leg warmers don't work in the wet, use heat balm instead, what absolute crap. God he winds me up with some of the stuff he comes out with - recently retired pro he may be but he can't get through a commentary without at least one old school myth.

    He's appalling. The equivalent of some of the BBC rugby pundits, Jiffy especially. The world has moved on but it seems to have passed them by.

    And watching today's Catalunya's highlights has reminded me what an idiot Kirby is. He makes Garry Richardson look like a decent broadcaster.
  • Bo Duke
    Bo Duke Posts: 1,058
    Being in Asia I get to watch the races from start to finish at night and I tell you, the professional commentators do a fantastic job to keep the viewer interested, amused and informed. The ex-pros add their knowledge but lets face it Sean Kelly's character is as dry as sawdust, he's no entertainer. Hence I never understand the criticism of Carlton 'oh my goodness' Kirby. He's a born gossip and tattler, 2 hours into a commentary he simply says something like 'look at the colour of the fields there...' which is all that is neded if you've been watching for 2 hours, its just a comment from a mate in the pub, its not a 9 o'clock news announcement. I suspect if you're watching highlights you want to se the action, hear the focused comment and might get annoyed by some of his more beneign observations but if you're watching the full race then its impossible for a commentator to create drama all the time when the peloton is whisking away at 45k/hr and lets face it - we all hate over excited, high pitched voice commentators trying to convince you there's action when clearly there isn't.

    Chapeau to the commentators, good on them (except that high pitched Australian commentator, he's cr@p).
    'Performance analysis and Froome not being clean was a media driven story. I haven’t heard one guy in the peloton say a negative thing about Froome, and I haven’t heard a single person in the peloton suggest Froome isn’t clean.' TSP
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    narbs wrote:
    DeVlaeminck wrote:
    Big Maggy today - leg warmers don't work in the wet, use heat balm instead, what absolute crap. God he winds me up with some of the stuff he comes out with - recently retired pro he may be but he can't get through a commentary without at least one old school myth.

    He's appalling. The equivalent of some of the BBC rugby pundits, Jiffy especially. The world has moved on but it seems to have passed them by.

    And watching today's Catalunya's highlights has reminded me what an idiot Kirby is. He makes Garry Richardson look like a decent broadcaster.

    The worst pairing (and it does happen) is Quigley and Maggie.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    The worst pairing is Kirby and anybody, regardless of who is with him.
    He never gives anyone the chance to say much.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    The worst pairing is Kirby and anybody, regardless of who is with him.
    He never gives anyone the chance to say much.

    Often they're left speechless!
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    History today from CK: the King of Spain's lisp!
  • dolan_driver
    dolan_driver Posts: 831
    Bo Duke wrote:
    Sean Kelly's character is as dry as sawdust, he's no entertainer

    That's a bit harsh, Bo. Kelly is, by all accounts, great craic in more relaxed surroundings other than live TV and I've heard this first-hand from people who have ridden on cycling holidays with him. He does occasionally come out with some very amusing comments from time to time. His rider identification is usually lightening quick and accurate and generally he is spot on in predicting the evolving tactics of each race he is commentating on.

    DD.
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    Dolan Driver wrote:
    Bo Duke wrote:
    Sean Kelly's character is as dry as sawdust, he's no entertainer

    That's a bit harsh, Bo. Kelly is, by all accounts, great craic in more relaxed surroundings other than live TV and I've heard this first-hand from people who have ridden on cycling holidays with him. He does occasionally come out with some very amusing comments from time to time. His rider identification is usually lightening quick and accurate and generally he is spot on in predicting the evolving tactics of each race he is commentating on.

    DD.

    Absolutely agree with that, DD.
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,725
    So, Ag2r now ride in Tinkoff kit and De Gendt has changed his name to Ten Dam.
    Just 2 of Kirby's howlers for the day.
    As for the countless oh, hellos .......
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    So, Ag2r now ride in Tinkoff kit and De Gendt has changed his name to Ten Dam.
    Just 2 of Kirby's howlers for the day.
    As for the countless oh, hellos .......


    And Fuglsang was still out in front and hadnt been swept up

    Oh, and the Tears of Reza
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Richmond Racer wrote:
    Blazing Saddles wrote:
    So, Ag2r now ride in Tinkoff kit and De Gendt has changed his name to Ten Dam.
    Just 2 of Kirby's howlers for the day.
    As for the countless oh, hellos .......


    And Fuglsang was still out in front and hadnt been swept up

    Oh, and the Tears of Reza

    lol yeah I did wonder about those tears but was also wondering what that streak of white was?

    MB does not eat fish. He was asked if he went to a hole with his dad and they fished one out if he still wouldn't eat it. MB also like soft cheese with jam which seems an odd combination to me. Also today he said they saw riders pour tea over their knees, elbows and hands at...TA then some other race then finally he said it was MSR. Dl

    I would prefer no commentary but a feed to race radio.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Paul 8v
    Paul 8v Posts: 5,458
    I think the best commentators know when to be quiet, sometimes it's nice to have some ambient noise.
    Road
    MTB
    NEW Cross
    Track/Grass Track/Winter bike
  • bobbydazzla
    bobbydazzla Posts: 289
    Carlton Kirby sounds like a local radio DJ. A really, really, really shite one.

    All that chuckling whilst he talks and the incessant warbling.

    He's rubbish.
  • Macaloon
    Macaloon Posts: 5,545
    "race tyred" - was Froome on the wrong rubber?
    ...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.
  • JustinLeeAtkinson
    JustinLeeAtkinson Posts: 335
    Er did someone say that Greg Leman was joining them?

    As for cycling.tv its hardly ever available in the UK is it?

    And leave Maggy alone, even though he is now a triathelete. I will certainly be smothering my legs in vaseline if it chucks it down at my 4th cat crit in just over a week.
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    JustinLeeAtkinson wrote:
    Er did someone say that Greg Leman was joining them?

    As for cycling.tv its hardly ever available in the UK is it?

    And leave Maggy alone, even though he is now a triathelete. I will certainly be smothering my legs in vaseline if it chucks it down at my 4th cat crit in just over a week.

    No but they do show 8 or 9 races live in UK. And if you're desperate for more there are ways.

    The archive is worth subscribing for IMO anyway.
  • JustinLeeAtkinson
    JustinLeeAtkinson Posts: 335
    Ways?

    So you can get the live footage after the event in the cycling.tv archive can you? Even for those races that are not available in the uk?
  • Turfle
    Turfle Posts: 3,762
    I still don't know who Kirby decided to yell "happy birthday" to during the sprint finale a couple of days ago. I think he did it because he didn't recognise the rider crossing the line 5 bike lengths ahead of anyone else, despite his wearing the leader's jersey, having won the day before, and being the favourite for the stage.
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    JustinLeeAtkinson wrote:
    Ways?

    So you can get the live footage after the event in the cycling.tv archive can you? Even for those races that are not available in the uk?

    You can get all relevant races 'as live' in the archive, but there are some geo-restrictions. A proxy server will access those not available.
  • Yellow Peril
    Yellow Peril Posts: 4,466
    Eurosport should have Matt Stephens on a full time contract. I thought he was excellent today.
    @JaunePeril

    Winner of the Bike Radar Pro Race Wiggins Hour Prediction Competition
  • RideOnTime
    RideOnTime Posts: 4,712
    ^^^yes^^^
  • argyllflyer
    argyllflyer Posts: 893
    Yellow Peril wrote:
    Eurosport should have Matt Stephens on a full time contract. I thought he was excellent today.

    He's definitely becoming the best co-commentator, very listenable.

    And despite my criticism of Quigley, I was reminded today why I enjoyed him doing the Tour Series - he's actually ok when there's loads of action. It's the slower stages he sinks as he can't keep it ticking over.

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