La Vuelta a Espana 22/8 - 13/9 2015 (here be spoilers)

[jarlrmai]

Millar is like a cool tailwind on a hot day.

 

[Buddfox]

Millar is like a cool tailwind on a hot day.

I don't know, he must have described various riders as being in the "perfect situation" about sixty times in the last ten minutes of today's stage. But it's easy to pick holes in any commentator really.

 

[Rustybucket]

Dare I say Millar is already starting to annoy me.....

However Ned and Dave are an 100% improvement on Eurosports commentary! And at least if your recording the highlights you know itv will show them at 7pm

Enjoying this race immensely so far!

 

[smutchin]

As a sub editor by trade, I feel that what this Vuelta really needs is a stage finishing in Seville and for Carlos Barbero to win it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

As a sub editor by trade, I feel that what this Vuelta really needs is a stage finishing in Seville and for Carlos Barbero to win it.

Or maybe some Euskatel Euskadi riders in orange. Not terribly likely, I grant you.

 

[rich p]

Excellent uphill sprint from Orica's Caleb Ewan. They're having a better Vuelta than Tour!

 

[mjr]

Are Ned and David's reminiscences better than P&P's sightseeing? I think so.

 

[HF2300]

... the rule is clear. Hold on to a car and gain any kind of advantage, out you go...

[holding onto the car] doesn't [become a disqualification matter] if the car isn't moving faster than everyone else. There are some things that happen in races that sensible commissaires simply don't see, because although technical offences, they do nothing to alter the outcome of the race.

I think that's probably what I'm thinking, in that these two positions are inconsistent. That isn't a go at you, just thinking about the inconsistencies and perhaps injustices that can creep in when turning blind eyes. It's always difficult to know what will and won't affect the outcome of a race.

I'm not disagreeing and think both decisions were correct. The point I was making was that, given the high profile nature of Nibble's DQ, the commissaires might have felt under greater pressure to punish similar infractions, even though the degree of offence was far lower.

I think Nibbles' offence was judged to be holding on to the car, while Bouhanni's was a sticky bottle offence for which the penalties are much lower, and don't include elimination.

Great sprint by Ewan yesterday. Sagan can console himself with the thought that at least he didn't come second. That uphill looked a bit of a killer - they all seemed to be running out of legs.

Thinking particularly about Sagan's comments about yesterday's and the previous day's finishes, it really surprises me that in these days of (supposedly) more professionalism and marginal gains, riders still often don't seem to know the detail of crucial parts of stages.

 

[HF2300]

I don't know, he must have described various riders as being in the "perfect situation" about sixty times in the last ten minutes of today's stage. But it's easy to pick holes in any commentator really.

Think we have to remember Millar and Boulting are still very inexperienced. The whole thing is a bit bumbling as Boulting hasn't really got his rider recognition sussed yet, and Millar's making judgements about individual or team tactics which inevitably will be wrong sometimes - but at least he's watching, and trying to tell us what's happening. One thing I do like is that they are happy to tell us what they think is happening and correct themselves if they're wrong, unlike P&P who seem unaware of what's happening or carry on talking nonsense even when what's going on is clearly the opposite of what they've said.

Whatever the minor issues, I think having an expert summariser who's been in the modern peloton and really thinks about the sport and the race is invaluable. Despite mistakes or naivety, I learn more from Millar in one highlights programme than I would from 3 weeks of a GT with Statler and Waldorf.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

Wow..
How to brass neck nicking a bike...

Sorry if already posted..

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Think we have to remember Millar and Boulting are still very inexperienced. The whole thing is a bit bumbling as Boulting hasn't really got his rider recognition sussed yet, and Millar's making judgements about individual or team tactics which inevitably will be wrong sometimes - but at least he's watching, and trying to tell us what's happening. One thing I do like is that they are happy to tell us what they think is happening and correct themselves if they're wrong, unlike P&P who seem unaware of what's happening or carry on talking nonsense even when what's going on is clearly the opposite of what they've said.

The other thing is that they only have one crew out at the actual race (Matt Renshaw?) and everything else is happening in a studio back in the UK, so they won't have the same access to race radio etc. that they would have if they were commentating on the spot. Basically it's the TV equivalent of someone putting up a Powerpoint slide and then reading the text on it out loud.

 

[HF2300]

Matt Rendell, I think!

Wow..
How to brass neck nicking a bike..

Ben King said the guy told him he was too injured to ride to the finish so the guy 'volunteered' to ride it to the finish for him!

 

[Crackle]

The whole thing is a bit bumbling as Boulting hasn't really got his rider recognition sussed yet

That is my only criticism. His rider recognition isn't fast enough but it is improving.

 

[mjr]

The other thing is that they only have one crew out at the actual race (Matt [Rendell - HT @HF2300]?) and everything else is happening in a studio back in the UK, so they won't have the same access to race radio etc. that they would have if they were commentating on the spot. Basically it's the TV equivalent of someone putting up a Powerpoint slide and then reading the text on it out loud.

Yes, they can't look out of the window and they don't have high-def feeds. However, whatever they are getting is probably higher-quality than the itv4 broadcast because they've read a few rider numbers and so on that I couldn't even on freeze-frame.

It's noticeably not quite as good as when they did the Tour of Yorkshire, but I still prefer it to P&P.

What's with Eurosport's coverage this year? So much is in English and the poor German commentator (Karsten Migels again, I think) has to interpret almost all of it. Does the woman (whose name I've not caught - sorry) doing the interviews this year not speak many languages?

 

[Berk on a Bike]

The Eurosport interviewer is Laura Meseguer. She can converse in French and Spanish as well as English (possibly Italian as well?).