Eurosport commentary

[Irondan]

Re:

No surprise Kirby confused Albasini with Gerrans, especially as Albasini lead out Gerrans in stage 1 - Actually the camerawork was sketchy for the last 400 metres giving a poor insight into the finish - Gerrans and Albasini have similar styles

So if I understand you correctly you're saying that since the camera was facing head on Kirby couldn't tell if it was Gerro or Albasini because he couldn't see behind the rider getting wheelsucked? Sounds legit....

 

[yaco]

Brian Smith will do the last 2 days of Pais Vasco - Smith has the happy knack of often incorrectly reading races.

 

[the delgados]

Man oh man, what a tough crowd.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned my man Carlton Kirby refer to Boonen and Gilbert as former teammates when they lit things up on the Muur in De Ronde, De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
As the kids say nowadays, I lol'd.
Ease up on my man, will you?
It's just a race, and as a wise one said a page or two ago, he comes up with some funny cultural references.
This is my final warning before I go to the mods.

 

[The Principal Sheep]

Re:

Man oh man, what a tough crowd.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned my man Carlton Kirby refer to Boonen and Gilbert as former teammates when they lit things up on the Muur in De Ronde, De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
As the kids say nowadays, I lol'd.
Ease up on my man, will you?
It's just a race, and as a wise one said a page or two ago, he comes up with some funny cultural references.
This is my final warning before I go to the mods.

Hey Tammy, ease up on the schtick

 

[the delgados]

Re: Re:

Man oh man, what a tough crowd.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned my man Carlton Kirby refer to Boonen and Gilbert as former teammates when they lit things up on the Muur in De Ronde, De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
As the kids say nowadays, I lol'd.
Ease up on my man, will you?
It's just a race, and as a wise one said a page or two ago, he comes up with some funny cultural references.
This is my final warning before I go to the mods.

Hey Tammy, ease up on the schtick [/

Ok, The Principal Sheep.
I shall ease up on the schtick.
But my name is not Tammy.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Did one of the co-commentators (meaning not Kirby or the other leads) really suggest that Bora would be working for Emanuel Buchmann, the climber with no sprint, during one of the Pais Vasco sprint stages?

 

[RedheadDane]

Re:

Man oh man, what a tough crowd.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned my man Carlton Kirby refer to Boonen and Gilbert as former teammates when they lit things up on the Muur in De Ronde, De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
As the kids say nowadays, I lol'd.
Ease up on my man, will you?
It's just a race, and as a wise one said a page or two ago, he comes up with some funny cultural references.
This is my final warning before I go to the mods.

So, what you're saying is that it doesn't matter that he doesn't really know what's going on in the race, because he's making some funny cultural references? Hmm... seems he might have the wrong job. After all; talking about - and therefore knowing - what's going on in a race is kinda a commentator's job. It's their thing.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Man oh man, what a tough crowd.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned my man Carlton Kirby refer to Boonen and Gilbert as former teammates when they lit things up on the Muur in De Ronde, De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
As the kids say nowadays, I lol'd.
Ease up on my man, will you?
It's just a race, and as a wise one said a page or two ago, he comes up with some funny cultural references.
This is my final warning before I go to the mods.

So, what you're saying is that it doesn't matter that he doesn't really know what's going on in the race, because he's making some funny cultural references? Hmm... seems he might have the wrong job. After all; talking about - and therefore knowing - what's going on in a race is kinda a commentator's job. It's their thing.

As a Dane I would think you were used to that nonsense given what goes on in the Tour de France every single year on TV2.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

Man oh man, what a tough crowd.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned my man Carlton Kirby refer to Boonen and Gilbert as former teammates when they lit things up on the Muur in De Ronde, De Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
As the kids say nowadays, I lol'd.
Ease up on my man, will you?
It's just a race, and as a wise one said a page or two ago, he comes up with some funny cultural references.
This is my final warning before I go to the mods.

So, what you're saying is that it doesn't matter that he doesn't really know what's going on in the race, because he's making some funny cultural references? Hmm... seems he might have the wrong job. After all; talking about - and therefore knowing - what's going on in a race is kinda a commentator's job. It's their thing.

As a Dane I would think you were used to that nonsense given what goes on in the Tour de France every single year on TV2.

They seem to at least know what's going on in the racing. Judging from comments around here, Kirby doesn't even know that. However, he might be pretty good in a role like the one Leth has; talking about the culture of the place where the race is going on.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

They seem to at least know what's going on in the racing. Judging from comments around here, Kirby doesn't even know that. However, he might be pretty good in a role like the one Leth has; talking about the culture of the place where the race is going on.

It was just Leth I was having a go at (that's why I only said the Tour). I like the others. But he doesn't really know anything about cycling (of the modern era that is) even though he pretends. And yet he still has the job of a cycling commentator.

 

[kingjr]

Re:

Did one of the co-commentators (meaning not Kirby or the other leads) really suggest that Bora would be working for Emanuel Buchmann, the climber with no sprint, during one of the Pais Vasco sprint stages?

Buchmann, Ackermann, Schwarzmann, you can get confused

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

They seem to at least know what's going on in the racing. Judging from comments around here, Kirby doesn't even know that. However, he might be pretty good in a role like the one Leth has; talking about the culture of the place where the race is going on.

It was just Leth I was having a go at (that's why I only said the Tour). I like the others. But he doesn't really know anything about cycling (of the modern era that is) even though he pretends. And yet he still has the job of a cycling commentator.

But his purpose is exactly to talk about the cultural stuff - castles, wine, cheese - during the down-times of the racing, while the other commentators talk about the actual racing. Judging by people around here, Kirby might be quite good at that.
Besides, if they're gonna show every stage in the Tour in full, we're gonna need commentators who can talk about stuff in the area the riders are going through. As long as they - the Danish guys - don't start talking about birds...

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

They seem to at least know what's going on in the racing. Judging from comments around here, Kirby doesn't even know that. However, he might be pretty good in a role like the one Leth has; talking about the culture of the place where the race is going on.

It was just Leth I was having a go at (that's why I only said the Tour). I like the others. But he doesn't really know anything about cycling (of the modern era that is) even though he pretends. And yet he still has the job of a cycling commentator.

But his purpose is exactly to talk about the cultural stuff - castles, wine, cheese - during the down-times of the racing, while the other commentators talk about the actual racing. Judging by people around here, Kirby might be quite good at that.
Besides, if they're gonna show every stage in the Tour in full, we're gonna need commentators who can talk about stuff in the area the riders are going through. As long as they - the Danish guys - don't start talking about birds...

Of course. But he also tries to comment on the racing and especially on the days where Rolf is motoring around in the peloton it becomes quite unbearable. But he seems to be quite popular, although I think he has become somewhat of a joke in recent years, so he will probably continue many years even though the old age has already made him a worse commentator than previously.

And the bird talk is absolutely hilarious. I loved their trepidation before the stage last year that actually finished in a bird park.

But regarding the full stage coverage, I agree with you. But Staghøj, Chris Anker Sørensen and Brian Nygaard will do the first half of the stages so there will be some variety. I don't know if any of those are ornithologists, though...

 

[RedheadDane]

But regarding the full stage coverage, I agree with you. But Staghøj, Chris Anker Sørensen and Brian Nygaard will do the first half of the stages so there will be some variety. I don't know if any of those are ornithologists, though...

Oh... didn't know that. Guess you can't have people sitting crammed in a box for up to seven hours. That's gonna be quite a group they're sending to France...

Sorry for technically going off-topic...

 

[Valv.Piti]

I think Staghøj is good. He is really trying and you can tell he is enjoying watching cycling and knows quite a bit, he is doing his homework. I never really liked Chris Anker, but he is superb in the role as a commentator. Much better than he is at cycling, haha. Nygaard I haven't heard that much, but is very knowledgeable. These 3 will do a very good job, Im sure.

Im a big fan of Ritter, he really knows what he is doing. Rolf is at times, I think, a bit so-so, he often get caught up in things a bit too much and is overly optimistic many times. But overall I still think he is good, after all I grew up watching cycling with him and Ritter, so there is also some nostalgia involved. I have respect for him as a rider, but also very much as a person, always looking at the positive side and sees possibilities. Leth is a legend, he doesn't know too much about (present) cycling, but I don't need him to. I think the 3 of them are a great team and I think we should be lucky - it could be a lot worse, Im sure about that.

 

[Cycle Chic]

So from Argyllflyers post - Kirby has done nearly 50% of the race commentary so far.

PLEASE COMMENT / GIVE FEEDBACK ON KIRBY ON THE EUROSPORT LINK BELOW. Otherwise we are gona have to put up with this idiot all summer. All the other commentators are good so its beyond me why Eurosport give us Kirby. If complaints go in he will be jettisoned like Harmon.

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/contactus.shtml

 

[DFA123]

Incredible that people can get so vent up about a commentator, that they would write to his employer asking them to fire the guy. I bet a lot of them are streaming the channel illegally as well.

Whenever I listen to Kirby he seems OK to me. Sure, he can be a bit biased and get things wrong occasionally, but I find his enthusiasm at the end of mundane stages quite infectious. Plus I guess Eurosport has quite a broad audience base; it makes more sense for them to have a loud, kind of entertaining, opinionated commenter who might draw in casual fans with his enthusiasm and whimsy. Rather than a guy who is factually correct 100% of the time but a bit dull, and will only appeal to cycling diehards.

 

[RedheadDane]

Otoh, if they have a lot of casual viewers, doesn't that make it even more important that a commentators knows what he's saying?

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Otoh, if they have a lot of casual viewers, doesn't that make it even more important that a commentators knows what he's saying?

Perhaps, but they have the expert alongside him who can help with the finer points of tactics and rider identification. I imagine if a lot of casual viewers tuned in with over an hour to go on your average Tour stage, they would change channel pretty quickly if the commentator was just dealing in pure facts and discussion about high-level tactics.

A few rider anecdotes, opinions, even discussing betting favourites and his own tips like Kirby does is a way to engage viewers I think. And his pitch and delivery is excellent when calling the finish - even if identification can be poor.

 

[Alexandre B.]

The former star commentator of Eurosport France, Alexandre Pasteur, will be commenting on the big stage (public television that broadcast all the main events) for the first time this Sunday - Paris-Roubaix from start to finish.

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

Incredible that people can get so vent up about a commentator, that they would write to his employer asking them to fire the guy. I bet a lot of them are streaming the channel illegally as well.

Whenever I listen to Kirby he seems OK to me. Sure, he can be a bit biased and get things wrong occasionally, but I find his enthusiasm at the end of mundane stages quite infectious. Plus I guess Eurosport has quite a broad audience base; it makes more sense for them to have a loud, kind of entertaining, opinionated commenter who might draw in casual fans with his enthusiasm and whimsy. Rather than a guy who is factually correct 100% of the time but a bit dull, and will only appeal to cycling diehards.

Agree with this, he always comes across as a friendly feller.

 

[trucido]

As someone who pays for Eurosport (in response to accusations of "illegal streaming"), I'm sure they would appreciate feedback on the quality of their service.

Kirby is fine for those irrelevant pancake flat days in a one week stage race, but I'd expect more competency in events such as RvV/P-R (him describing Boonen and Gilbert as "former teamates forming an alliance" last weekend was just ridiculous).

 

[Irondan]

Re:

So from Argyllflyers post - Kirby has done nearly 50% of the race commentary so far.

PLEASE COMMENT / GIVE FEEDBACK ON KIRBY ON THE EUROSPORT LINK BELOW. Otherwise we are gona have to put up with this idiot all summer. All the other commentators are good so its beyond me why Eurosport give us Kirby. If complaints go in he will be jettisoned like Harmon.

http://www.eurosport.co.uk/contactus.shtml

I'm not so sure he needs to be fired, just banished to the tour of turkey and any chinese races that might be still on the calander.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Re: Re:

They seem to at least know what's going on in the racing. Judging from comments around here, Kirby doesn't even know that. However, he might be pretty good in a role like the one Leth has; talking about the culture of the place where the race is going on.

It was just Leth I was having a go at (that's why I only said the Tour). I like the others. But he doesn't really know anything about cycling (of the modern era that is) even though he pretends. And yet he still has the job of a cycling commentator.

But his purpose is exactly to talk about the cultural stuff - castles, wine, cheese - during the down-times of the racing, while the other commentators talk about the actual racing. Judging by people around here, Kirby might be quite good at that.
Besides, if they're gonna show every stage in the Tour in full, we're gonna need commentators who can talk about stuff in the area the riders are going through. As long as they - the Danish guys - don't start talking about birds...

Surely if any nation's commentators are going to concentrate on Birdsong during the Tour, it is the Danish ones.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re: Re:

They seem to at least know what's going on in the racing. Judging from comments around here, Kirby doesn't even know that. However, he might be pretty good in a role like the one Leth has; talking about the culture of the place where the race is going on.

It was just Leth I was having a go at (that's why I only said the Tour). I like the others. But he doesn't really know anything about cycling (of the modern era that is) even though he pretends. And yet he still has the job of a cycling commentator.

But his purpose is exactly to talk about the cultural stuff - castles, wine, cheese - during the down-times of the racing, while the other commentators talk about the actual racing. Judging by people around here, Kirby might be quite good at that.
Besides, if they're gonna show every stage in the Tour in full, we're gonna need commentators who can talk about stuff in the area the riders are going through. As long as they - the Danish guys - don't start talking about birds...

Surely if any nation's commentators are going to concentrate on Birdsong during the Tour, it is the Danish ones.

Not Birdsong, birds. The winged kind that flies.