Eurosport commentary

[tobydawq]

Cycling is one of the most difficult sports for rider identificatiom, especially when you have up to two hundred riders and so many of the kits having similar colors. The commentators get some of their rider identification from race radio, however, sometimes race radio gets its wrong. I suspect its fine to sit from your ivory tower and criticise.

It's not that hard, especially not distinguishing the teams from one another...

 

[Netserk]

Cycling is one of the most difficult sports for rider identificatiom, especially when you have up to two hundred riders and so many of the kits having similar colors. The commentators get some of their rider identification from race radio, however, sometimes race radio gets its wrong. I suspect its fine to sit from your ivory tower and criticise.

As hard as it may be, some commentators are so much better at it than others. I feel sorry for those listening to the English commentary, it rarely is up to the professional standard of others.

 

[tobydawq]

As hard as it may be, some commentators are so much better at it than others. I feel sorry for those listening to the English commentary, it rarely is up to the professional standard of others.

Nobody will ever match Chris Anker Sørensen when it comes to rider identification, I don't think.

 

[yaco]

I wish the commentators good luck with riderID ZLM tour. A few teams and riders who will be unfamilaiar to even the most hard core cycling fans.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

I wish the commentators good luck with riderID ZLM tour. A few teams and riders who will be unfamilaiar to even the most hard core cycling fans.

Tbh that is most 2.1 races

 

[Valv.Piti]

Topbanter in the ZLM Tour
José Been thinking a man pays 40 euros for his haircut.

I pay that.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Who's gonna tell José Been Timo Roosen is no longer on Visma?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Cycling is one of the most difficult sports for rider identificatiom, especially when you have up to two hundred riders and so many of the kits having similar colors. The commentators get some of their rider identification from race radio, however, sometimes race radio gets its wrong. I suspect its fine to sit from your ivory tower and criticise.

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Nice big clear numbers on helmets. Visible at almost all times, not taking much estate from sponsors, not problem about them being swapped halfway through a race, minimal expense. I presume that these will need to be squad numbers rather than their race number, but we will soon learn the numbers of the key individuals and those important to us, and have a list close at hand to correlate all numbers to riders for any given race.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Occasionally misidentifying someone riding for a local car wash in a midweek Belgian race is fine. Screaming out Cees Bol as the winner multiple times on the Champs-Élysées, funny as it was is more along the lines of what I was referring to.

 

[RedheadDane]

Sometimes, rider misidentification can lead to memes.
Vingegaard had to podium the Tour before moving away from just not being Chris Harper.
He's still not Chris Harper - most people aren't...

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Occasionally misidentifying someone riding for a local car wash in a midweek Belgian race is fine. Screaming out Cees Bol as the winner multiple times on the Champs-Élysées, funny as it was is more along the lines of what I was referring to.

Wait, which idiot did that?

 

[Tim Cahill]

Wait, which idiot did that?

Carlton when Meeus won, pretty funny stuff

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Carlton when Meeus won, pretty funny stuff

I should've expected that.
Did he think Bol was on Bora or did he think the guy in fifth crossed the line first?

 

[Tim Cahill]

I should've expected that.
Did he think Bol was on Bora or did he think the guy in fifth crossed the line first?

Thought Meeus was Bol, did it a couple of times during random sprint stages too, It's been speculated that he has a bet on certain riders hence the hyper focussing on random people, not a bad idea I suppose if you have to sit there for 6 hours yapping.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

View: https://youtu.be/_A48ukCTk18?si=gYnFG-crpLMA5wSb


Yes he thought ces bol won and yes it is funny, and yes it is unprofessional. But at least it is genuine enthusiasm and not over hyped nonsense for instagram

 

[zlev11]

Brian Smith not happy it seems, it's quite funny listening to him commentate because you can sometimes hear him slowly getting more and wound up, genuinely think one day we could hear a Mick Morgan style blowup from him;

https://twitter.com/x/status/1798462633831723454

It could be so much better, cycling isn't a simple sport but it's being dumbed down by broadcasting that gives it's audience no credit. At least give us people who can at the correctly identify the riders, I don't think that's too much to ask. Then again, I promise you it can get so much worse so I'm careful what I wish for. Football is in an even worse state, the problem with both is that characters occasionally appear that remind you how much better it could be, James Horncastle and James Richardson wandered onto the BT Europa League set a couple of months ago talking about Gasperini's tactics and were quickly ushered off set never to be seen again. Next week we were left with Rio Ferdinand filling time being asked for the 4th time 'how can Atalanta win this one Rio?'.

Test cricket commentary is about 3 leagues above any other sport because they seemingly have absolutely no interest in appealing to the lowest common denominator, comfortable in it's own skin. Every time I listen to Nasser Hussain. Michael Atherton and in the past Richie Benaud and Michael Holding they tell me something I don't know about the sport and something I wouldn't be able to see. It's a shame it's only a few countries play it but because it's massive in South Asia it's still one of the most watched sports in the world.

Brian Smith sucks. he should put in an effort above the absolute bare minimum (sometimes it's even less than that) if he aspires to be part of the TDF coverage.

 

[Potomac]

Brian Smith sucks. he should put in an effort above the absolute bare minimum (sometimes it's even less than that) if he aspires to be part of the TDF coverage.

Brian Smith is a dullard.

 

[tobydawq]

View: https://youtu.be/_A48ukCTk18?si=gYnFG-crpLMA5wSb


Yes he thought ces bol won and yes it is funny, and yes it is unprofessional. But at least it is genuine enthusiasm and not over hyped nonsense for instagram

I hadn't watched it before but I honestly don't think this is too bad. I was going to post a sarcastic comment about Bora's and Astana's colour palette being almost identical - I had completely forgotten that Astana actually did have a jersey in the Tour that had the same colours as Bora.

And it's four riders side by side, you could forgive him for focusing primarily on Philipsen, Groenewegen and Pedersen as they were the favourites - and as soon as we get it from the heli very shortly after, he corrects himself.

Not exactly meme-worthy stuff.

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Nobody will ever match Chris Anker Sørensen when it comes to rider identification, I don't think.

I see your CAS and I raise you my José de Cauwer

 

[tobydawq]

I see your CAS and I raise you my José de Cauwer

I don't know that we can meaningfully compare since neither of us has listened to the other, but in the opening phases of Tour stages, Chris could always correctly identify every rider who launched or was involved in an attack. That was quite incredible.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I don't know that we can meaningfully compare since neither of us has listened to the other, but in the opening phases of Tour stages, Chris could always correctly identify every rider who launched or was involved in an attack. That was quite incredible.

It would probably also have become harder for him once more of his former colleagues had retired.

 

[tobydawq]

It would probably also have become harder for him once more of his former colleagues had retired.

I honestly don't think so. It was uncanny how easily he could identify someone from a great distance. I don't think that had anything at all to do with having ridden with those riders.

 

[RedheadDane]

Meanwhile, Chris Anker was one of the first riders I learned to recognise by style alone.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I honestly don't think so. It was uncanny how easily he could identify someone from a great distance. I don't think that had anything at all to do with having ridden with those riders.

We'll never know

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

I don't know that we can meaningfully compare since neither of us has listened to the other, but in the opening phases of Tour stages, Chris could always correctly identify every rider who launched or was involved in an attack. That was quite incredible.

I reckon there are some here and there who can. José and also Renaat Schotte are masters of the art. And I remember some french guy on Eurosport who's also decent at identifying riders.