Top Commentator - The Real Final

RichN95.

This is real one, not the fake one. I need to stop doing these in a hurry

mididoctors

Can't you delete the old threads ?

DeVlaeminck

Would either beat Harmon if he was still in the game? He could have become synonymous with commentary for a generation.

takethehighroad

DeVlaeminck said:

Would either beat Harmon if he was still in the game? He could have become synonymous with commentary for a generation.

I'm rewatching Paris Roubaixs in the desperate hope it will still be on this year, and I have revisited my assessment of Harmon.

He had the excitement like Kirby does, but he's not so good at rider identification, and seems more interested in talking about tech.

On the whole, the current crop are very good (Kirby aside)

ddraver

Harmon would have been great with one of the new co-commentators. Sean Kelly - lovely guy, hero, legend etc - could be grandfather to most of the riders he's commentating on and just doesn't have the knowledge any more. I'm sure it was like that in 1978 Sean, but...some updates would be nice...

What's great about Blythe and Millar is that they re still friends with some of the riders they re talking about or have ridden with the current DSs so they know far more about how they think!

Edit - the exception of course being last years RVV where someone seemed to have spiked his double espresso with red bull.

Lanterne_Rogue

I think the real advantage of co-coms like Millar and Blythe is that they're fascinated by the tactics of bike riding, so bring more to the role than simple experience or knowledge of current riders (though that also helps).

Millar, for example, is absolutely obsessed with looking for signs of what's going on in the peloton. Kelly was a heck of a rider, so understood tactics, but he tends to analyse things through his own experience - "well yes, on a day like this I would have...". Millar tends to look at it more as someone having to make decisions for his team - "Lotto will really want to control this, but Sunweb will be looking at this headwind and have a car up the road waiting for the moment to split it, so if you want to..."

Admittedly 90% of Millar's analysis is that you need to be at the front of the race, but...

DeVlaeminck

I'm not sure - I've just rewatched the end of last year's Flanders (it was on Eurosport) and Kelly called it pretty much spot on.

I like Millar and Blythe but I also think some of the criticism of Kelly being out of touch is unjustified. He can't help his age but he has remained involved in the sport and I don't think bike racing has changed that much since his time. The other thing about Kelly of course is his insight is that of a rider going for the win in these big races - the others were never really at his level.

kingstongraham

Kelly's idiosyncrasies are like a soft pillow. When he tells me that something is likely to happen "in the next number of kilometres", I don't care whether it's accurate or not.

Millar is just annoying even if he is right.

rick_chasey

Sound of the voice is definitely underrated. Boutling and Millar both suffer from that. Worst is Matt Rendell for that.

I would too, fwiw. Dulcet tones matter. Kelly is, as above, easy to listen to.

Rob doesn't feel so strained to me versus Ned or others. I'm ok with his exaggerations - they're usually in context. I mean, it's nothing like Kirby.

Phil and Paul were actually very good on that measure, and sure, towards the end they suffered with age and doing it too long and I know some didn't appreciate the myopia towards Lance etc, but they sounded smooth and relaxed. I definitely feel they were broadly additive and not detracting, that isn't the case for most commentators.

Boardman is too bored for it and is far far more interested in kit over tactics. I'm a fan of his, but not in the booth.

joe_totale-2

I agree with you Rick and it's one of the reason I've got hopes that Adam Blythe could become a good commentator. His voice is pretty relaxed and welcoming.

Lanterne_Rogue

I think one thing that Phil and Paul brought was that feeling of being in a cafe with a bike race on, and two fairly knowledgeable people who are also watching it invite you to join them. Carlton's a bit too much like the pub bore who constantly encourages everyone to agree with him - he often throws over to co-comms to back up whatever he's just said - and it's not as welcoming.

If the Ned & Dave show has a flaw it's that it can sometimes feel just a little in-jokey. There's been quite a few moments with the Hatch/Lloyd/Blythe combinations that have had a similar feel of people fondly winding each other up though, and in general I'd much rather spend time with that than with people trying to convince me I was watching the most important sport ever. It is people mucking about on bikes, after all - I'd rather commentators were vaguely aware of that.

RichN95.

Anyway. The Champion is Rob Hatch - or to use the proper local pronunciation, Rob Ach

A strong performance by relative newcomer Dan Lloyd.

I would point out that on the wrong thread that the facts about Ned Boulting being the cousin of the singer from Rizzle Kicks and Dan Lloyd's mother being the oldest in Britain at the time were both true.

twotoebenny

Should we have a recount... just to be sure?

takethehighroad

Now we just need one of Iain's tier lists akin to the chipper tracker

rick_chasey

Not to make work for you Rich, but fancy doing the same for co-commentators?

pblakeney

I'm of the opinion that the commentator should be the one being descriptive and hopefully entertaining while the co-commentator should add the technical stuff.
Two entirely different positions.