Watching Races

lcoh

Is there any other way of watching all the classics and tours on TV/on-line other than Eurosport/GCN. Whilst enjoying some commentators, Matt Stephens, Dan Lloyd, Brian Smith, Carlton Kirby, Magnus Backstedt(sic) and Adam Blyth, I’m finding Rob Hatch’s insufferable “I pronounce names properly to show respect but I’ll happily drop my T in English” and, apart from his impressive facts, a somewhat banal and at times over-excitable commentary, somewhat irritating after a while. Throw in the Dutch lady (Josie?) with her Hatchesque pronunciation and, I hate myself for saying this as he was an awesome rider, but Sean “yes, well” Kelly’s opener to every sentence…..

I don’t want to hear about GCN polls or ad-free subscriptions; I just want to watch good full cycling coverage and solid but fun commentary. And relax…….

PS I bet Rob Hatch is in bits now Pozzovivo’s gone; I’m sure there’ll be another name to over play…..

salsiccia1

Get a VPN and try Sporza in Belgium. They tend get the pronunciation of Dutch names correct too though, so it may not be for you.

lcoh

Thanks, I’ll have a look. I have no issue with correct pronunciation but Hatch’s seemingly fanatical desire to over pronounce is grating; he never pronounces G’s name in a Welsh lilt, nor Caleb Ewan’s in an Ozzy twang…

salsiccia1

I know you're only semi-serious about accents...

But Hatch and others getting stick for correct pronunciation is a very strange criticism to me.

Hatch is multi-lingual, has lived in Italy, and currently lives in Spain. I'd find it strange if he didn't pronounce names as a native would, given that a) he knows the exact pronunciation, and b) he has the language skills to do it. I don't think that's over-pronouncing, its probably natural to him and I expect he'd have to make an effort to not pronounce these names correctly. It just stands out clearly amongst English dialogue.

gsk82

Maybe you can find some old premier calendar races on YouTube. They seem more to your taste.

ddraver

I'm impressed you think cycling is a big enough sport to have a whole other broadcast set up for people that don't like the commentators on the other...

lcoh

Good one gsk.

Salsiccia, it’s a trifling point but as I’ve lived in Germany, have french cousins and spend lots of time in Italy and Belgium, the argument over Muenchen/Munich usage/pronunciation prevails. I’d just rather have more emphasis on the racing and that’s where Lloyd et al comes in. Perhaps I just don’t like Hatch; the exemplar of a humourless pedant. There’s always the volume control…..

lcoh

ddraver said:

I'm impressed you think cycling is a big enough sport to have a whole other broadcast set up for people that don't like the commentators on the other...

I never said in English. More than happy to listen to French, Italian or German commentary, or Flandrien. Hence the tip on Sporza or Rai is really useful; unlike some of the other comments.

RichN95.

I've said before about Hatch, he can grandstand all he likes about proper pronunciations when he starts putting the click sound at the beginning of Qhubeka

ddraver

lcoh said:

ddraver said:

I'm impressed you think cycling is a big enough sport to have a whole other broadcast set up for people that don't like the commentators on the other...

I never said in English. More than happy to listen to French, Italian or German commentary, or Flandrien. Hence the tip on Sporza or Rai is really useful; unlike some of the other comments.

Switch the commentary on GCN then..?

salsiccia1

I do see where the OP is coming from, and sorry Icoh if I started a pile-on. The standard of commentary is variable, and different people like different styles. FWIW I really like Rob Hatch and Dan Lloyd, I think they're both excellent in their own way.

Like a lot of other posters, I suspect, I started watching cycling in the late 80s when the ONLY thing we got was 30 minutes of the TDF each night in July and nothing else the rest of the year. So as far as I'm concerned my cup runneth over now and I'm loth to be critical of what we have. I even tolerate the inimitable CK!

rick_chasey

salsiccia1 said:

Get a VPN and try Sporza in Belgium. They tend get the pronunciation of Dutch names correct too though, so it may not be for you.

So a VPN opens up the world of any free-to-air coverage.

You could try to look into channels abroad that carry the English speaking world feed - I know Boulting is doing that for the non-UK audience.

The ozzies obviously have McEwan for the big races so you could look into that too.

bobmcstuff

I find Boulting very dry myself - not that I wouldn't listen to him, but I wouldn't seek him out over Hatch and Kelly.

Hatch's pronunciation can seem a bit silly sometimes but it doesn't make my blood boil like the constant stream of verbal diarrhea that comes out of Kirby's mouth.

The good thing about the GCN coverage this year is they are bringing other co-commentators (Lloyd and Blyth, maybe some others?) through pretty frequently so it breaks it up a bit.

bobmcstuff

RichN95. said:

I've said before about Hatch, he can grandstand all he likes about proper pronunciations when he starts putting the click sound at the beginning of Qhubeka

I've tried to do that - I watched the video where they show how it is supposed to be - I find it completely impossible!