Commentary on TNT and other WB brands

[argyllflyer]

Gutted. Turned on eurosport for flanders. Carlton Kirby is the commentator. already talking but not actually saying anything. Just noise. At least Adam Blythe is with him.I've turned to mute. Another race I've been really looking forward, now spoilt.

Like him or loathe him, CK is Eurosport's #1 commentator and will do virtually all the big races, as he has done since 2013 (his time when working for RCS excepted).

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Constant references to "the Dwar Door"; we know what he means but come on, at least try to sound as though you know something.

 

[Swiss Tony]

Gutted. Turned on eurosport for flanders. Carlton Kirby is the commentator. already talking but not actually saying anything. Just noise. At least Adam Blythe is with him.I've turned to mute. Another race I've been really looking forward, now spoilt.

My exact feelings... the edge taken off the day by the incessant garbage spewing from Kirby's mouth... Blythe with anyone else would've been so much more pleasant, enjoyable and knowledgeable....It's painful having to listen to a man rabbit on when he obviously hasn't a clue... I'm not interested in anything this charlatan has to say

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Would Kirby like to explain the sympathy extended to "poor old Ben Perry" when he mistakenly thought it was him that got DQed, but no such sympathy when it was revealed to be a non-anglophile.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Physiognomy refers to the face. Don't use words you don't understand in a failed attempt to appear intelligent.

 

[argyllflyer]

Here's Dan Lloyd & Maggy to cheer you all!

 

[chriswil]

Hope it's Dan lloyd doing the last hour of commentary with Adam or Maggy. I doubt it though.Where's Rob Hatch or Matt Stephens?

 

[titan31]

Don't get why people like Blythe. He's an idiot imo. Does this bizarre thing where he mimics accents and sounds like an absolute dumbass when he does it.

 

[argyllflyer]

Hope it's Dan lloyd doing the last hour of commentary with Adam or Maggy. I doubt it though.Where's Rob Hatch or Matt Stephens?

Rob Hatch provides English language commentary for the six Flanders Classics races on behalf of the organisers, for the international market (US, NZ, Aus, SA, India - all his own suggestions on Twitter today).

Matt Stephens is Rob Hatch's co-commentator today.

Eurosport use their own English commentary teams rather than taking the available English language feed from race organisers.

 

[Swiss Tony]

Don't get why people like Blythe. He's an idiot imo. Does this bizarre thing where he mimics accents and sounds like an absolute dumbass when he does it.

Come on he's not that bad, he knows what it's like to ride within the pro peloton recently ..... now with 70km to we've to endure the failed Moto GP commentator Kirby
EUROSPORT PLEASE SAVE US FROM THIS PRAT!!!!

 

[titan31]

Come on he's not that bad, he knows what it's like to ride within the pro peloton recently ..... now with 70km to we've to endure the failed Moto GP commentator Kirby
EUROSPORT PLEASE SAVE US FROM THIS PRAT!!!!

He's almost as bad as Kirby imo (not as bad). I'd much rather we were finishing off with Lloyd and Backstedt here, or that we were hearing Hatch and Stephens.

 

[Swiss Tony]

He's almost as bad as Kirby imo (not as bad). I'd much rather we were finishing off with Lloyd and Backstedt here, or that we were hearing Hatch and Stephens.

He's not anywhere near this prats league when it comes to annoying pathetic no idea commentary

 

[Swiss Tony]

What a f@cking p'ck!!! Kirby just go and let us all enjoy our cycling coverage.....PLEASE!!!!

 

[luckyboy]

Have enjoyed Kirby's bizarre phrases and similes about things like soup and beef today lol

Don't get why people like Blythe. He's an idiot imo. Does this bizarre thing where he mimics accents and sounds like an absolute dumbass when he does it.

Don't love him or anything but he points out little details about the current peloton and racing that none of the other guys seem to. Backstedt is also good at this, or he is today talking about how to race on the cobbles, what lines to use on certain climbs etc.

 

[the delgados]

Honestly, the amount of vitriol directed toward me man Carlton Kirby will never cease to amaze me. I get it if you don't like the sound of someone's voice; that's a subjective viewpoint that cannot be argued.
What can be argued is the constant refrain that he has no idea what he's talking about. That's just not true.
What can be argued is the perceived lack of interest he has in a race. Bullocks.
He and the lovely and talented Magnus have a good thing going on, and you don't see the former professional rider who won Paris-Roubaix correct him on the regular, do you? No, they just share a mutually beneficial banter that to my not -so- humble opinion adds to the race. CK knows when to turn it over to the expert and the expert knows and appreciates the fact it is not easy to fill in dead air. Both aspects require different abilities and they complement each other very well.
I get that some people don't like his references to literature and sometimes goofy ways of creating metaphors off the top of his head, but that's on you for not getting it, not CK.
I know I will never win this argument, but I feel compelled to chime in when the comments section is filled with oftentimes misguided outrage.
Carlton! Carlton, you there? Hello! You did a great job, buddy.
P.S. Imagine calling a race while reading and responding to vitriolic comments on your Twitter page. Good lord.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Nothing wrong with Kirby today. He occasionally made an odd mistake or didn't spot something, however generally whoever was alongside him was able to nudge him and correct him. I feel Kirby and Backstedt generally work well together and then Lloyd is compatible with whoever is commentating.

 

[kingjr]

I learned from Kirby today that Mariaborrestraat has nothing to do with Borat. So credit to him for doing his research.

On a more general note, I love his random interjections of "What a day, Sean/Magnus/Adam" even if nothing of note has happened thus far.

 

[titan31]

Can't pronounce Kruisberg-Hotond or bother to learn it before the race says it all imo about how crap Kirby is.

 

[the delgados]

Can't pronounce Kruisberg-Hotond or bother to learn it before the race says it all imo about how crap Kirby is.

Ha! Tough crowd!
Magnus should be fired for having a hard time pronouncing the name of the climb!

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Ha! Tough crowd!
Magnus should be fired for having a hard time pronouncing the name of the climb!

Completely agree. Adam Blythe should as well because he said GVA had an orange helmet and Daniel Lloyd too as he researched the length of Berg Ten Houte being 1km but the tv said it was 1.1km. Absolutely terrible behaviour and form from all involved!

 

[the delgados]

Completely agree. Adam Blythe should as well because he said GVA had an orange helmet and Daniel Lloyd too as he researched the length of Berg Ten Houte being 1km but the tv said it was 1.1km. Absolutely terrible behaviour and form from all involved!

Indeed. A very dark day in the cycling broadcasting community.
Mispronunciations and focusing on the colour of rider's helmets took away from what was otherwise a magical day of racing.
I think it's time a panel of experts is formed to identify what exactly went wrong and develop a strategy to make sure this never happens again.

 

[kingjr]

Credit to Blythe btw, I think he was perhaps the only one who immediately spotted Fedorov brake checking Vergaerde.

 

[Potomac]

Keep up the good work, Carlton Kirby.

 

[MartinGT]

Connor Swift has been on the front a few times this season and yet, it takes an age for the Brit commentators to spot. If he had an Ineos jersey on they would be on him like a shot.

 

[pmcg76]

Gutted. Turned on eurosport for flanders. Carlton Kirby is the commentator. already talking but not actually saying anything. Just noise. At least Adam Blythe is with him.I've turned to mute. Another race I've been really looking forward, now spoilt.

Pretty much how I felt as well, especially as it had been other commentators earlier in the race. Was just about to watch the TT from Paris Vasco on playback, Kirbys voice and no, just look at the results instead.