Hugh Porter dismissed

[accountantpete]

Too right.

David Duffield commentating on track riding is a nightmare thought.

Imagine him describing a sprint. By the time he'd finished telling us the wine he'd had for dinner the night before and the local cheeses, the race would have been over, the medals awarded and the crowd all gone home

Yes - but lets face 90% of road races are downright boring until you get to the final 10km and DD did keep you entertained until that point.

I admit that when the 10km was reached then DD carried on the same style which did annoy some people.

 

[ColinJ]

Too right.

David Duffield commentating on track riding is a nightmare thought.

Imagine him describing a sprint. By the time he'd finished telling us the wine he'd had for dinner the night before and the local cheeses, the race would have been over, the medals awarded and the crowd all gone home

DD's cheese and wine report!

 

[thom]

Perhaps we should be a bit more positive?
...
Eurosport is much improved by the Harmon/Kelly combination, and Kirby/Backstedt/Lloyd are pretty good too.

I agree with pretty much all of this !
It's quite easy to take pot shots - HP was ripe for retirement yes but he did well for the BBC and cycling in years past when the public interest was much lower. There's no need to project derision on him at this point - Liggett irks me much more.
Simon Brotherton should be a good replacement and I hope HP turns up now and then in some form, if not as a commentator. I hope ITV realise similarly that it is time to move forward.

 

[dellzeqq]

Kelly knows his stuff (nobody more so on Paris Nice) but he is kind of dull. If the intention is to make the event attractive to non-enthusiasts, then you need someone with him with a bit of zip.

 

[rich p]

David Harmon manages to keep me interested in a long stage race. He throws in a bit of local colour, architecture and cycling chat and still manages to identify the riders pretty well. Hugh Porter and the last years of David Duffield were notably poor at rider recognition, team recognition and tactics. Time moves on.
Kelly, despite his intimate knowledge, just doesn't quite cut it - Backstedt shows him up in that role.

 

[dellzeqq]

cycling needs AC Jimbo! Does he ride a bike?

http://www.thescore.ie/james-richardson-tips-799912-Feb2013/

the thing is this. Sports writing is at an all-time high. Open any paper, including the ones you have to disinfect first, and there's a world of insight, humour and literary talent. And yet...sports coverage on TV is really dull (I except Jonathan Pierce from this). Why? Television outstrips The Street of Shame in so many ways, but the sad tale of Colin Murray (and the sadder tale of those two sex pests on Sky) suggests that the people who run sport on TV are pretty cowardly.

 

[Tomba]

Brotherton sounds like a decent replacement. Just hope they don't give any work to Ant McCrossan, voice like dragging your nails down a black board.

 

[Briancampbell]

Cycling fans were told he was leaving the Beeb to explore other paths.
In fact the Beeb gave him the push without any warning. Hugh has been the voice of cycling for 30 years or so. May not to be everyone's liking (I liked him though) but he knew the sport.
Thank you BBC for being your usual subtle organisation!

 

[Briancampbell]

I heard him commentate at the finish in Wells on the Tour of Britain 2 years ago. he did a superb job. Very confusing as on the highlights that night he seemed to be commentating live on the TV as well. Presumably he was commentating to the final edit. I think he, like a few others tend to get a little confused, get names wrong etc. etc. all it takes is a young guy beside him to keep him on track.