And, he is right about it. https://t.co/rFjZ7dTFUE. I quite like Kirby. It is not general knowledge, and it should be. Cycling broadcaster Carlton Kirby on why stats aren't everything - Betway The schedule and time duration work differently for every sport. When Kirby explains the difficult process of commentating on cycling, and the concerns he has, one might want to know how much of that impacts him. Whether they be dusty in the summer or wet in the winter, motorcycles are far too dangerous and get far too close to the bikes. Commentating during the 2022 Ronde with 222km to go, Kirby says: Aranburu could have finished as high as 5th in Milan-Sanremo, but didnt think it was worth his while so he eased off at the end and came in 13th. There are many great cycling commentators around at the moment, Im afraid Kirby isnt one of them. The breaks going to go up the road, theyre going to be allowed anything up to 15 minutes of an advantage and everyone else is just having a chat including us., All the other commentators from all the other nations and all their information are in the same room, so you often get people saying: Have you heard this?, with loads of things to share. When we drive to the finish well usually get on the course, because were badged up to do it, and then make notes. Fully agree Kirby is the most irritable commentator ever. For all those who can't stand Kirby's 'commentary' (must be everyone on Bikeradar? For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. In the early 1990s he became a freelance commentator. During a long interview, the legendary veteran commentator of Eurosports shares some of his knowledge about the job. You have your usual office equipment, coffee machine, and sandwich machine. I agree listening to the mans over stressed enthusiasm really gets on my nerves. But it was here he developed the ability to call a sprint. Story Time with Carlton Kirby - How British cycling went - Eurosport When youre on-site, even though youre there, youre still watching a monitor, Kirby says. From wrestling with sound walls, coping with dropped audio, working with Sean Kelly and deciphering the Kirby CODEC, we caught up with Kirby midway through the raceto getan insight into life on Tour as a commentator. You might remember an 'interpretive spinning' vid doing the rounds on social media a few weeks ago. I realise that commentating on a race involving nearly 200 riders is challenging, but since 1986 I have always been able to follow what is going on thanks to the commentary. Following a two year broadcasting secondment with the United Nations in the South Pacific he joined ITV as TVams overnight Sports Producer and Reporter. Yates was obviously cooked - why else would anyone work for dozens of kilometres and then give up in the final 2km? One of the most adaptable voices on British Television, as can be seen from hisworking synopsis, Carltons range is wide. Thats one of the vagrancies of Eurosport.. The actual bones of the job are quite similar. I can't understand why Eurosport need to use him when they gave at least four other knowledgeable commentators, even without Harmon. Mrs John Murphy May 3, 2010 2,662 0 0 Aug 26, 2011. Its a whole other much more positive view of commentators as a whole. Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. At Eurosport, because the producer maynot necessarily be listening to the Englishcommentary, theyll be occasions when I goto Sean and say, so what do you think of Sagan? and hell start mulling it over and responding and then all of a sudden well get a producing lining up a cue pointin his ear, and hell have to switch from his usual, slow voice to speaking very quickly and wrapping up his point in five seconds for no apparent reason to the viewer. Plus the the week's top tech news, in: Flying Tom Pidcock wins Strade Bianche, in: Cyclists call on council to reconsider unsafe diversion, in: Call for Scottish safety portal that would "deliver justice", in: Campaigners: Remove pedestrian vs cyclist conflict, in: Highway Code changes haven't helped cyclists, Near Miss of the Day 853: Driver of lorry urging cyclists to Please take extra care near this vehicle fined for close pass (includes swearing), Continental unveils the "strongest" and "fastest" ever Grand Prix 5000 tyre models, Brompton boss frustrated to be fighting "war of attrition" against rip-off rivals, Remove conflict between cyclists and pedestrians, urge campaigners in wake of manslaughter case, Have bike tech wars turned cycling into Formula 1? Ill be making notes when Sean Kellys driving, which can be a difficult thing! London live show preview! Kirbys Knowledge and Enthusiasm on the Mic is Unparalleled, When Kirby explains the difficult process of commentating on cycling, Michael Matthews powers to Bretagne Classic victory, Bora-hansgrohe riders false positive raises new doubts over accuracy of COVID-19 testing, Giro dItalia, Milan-San Remo under threat of cancellation due to coronavirus, Ewan storms to victory on stage 2 of UAE Tour. Your Tour de France telecastwill look the same this year, but it may feel somewhat different. and apologises to those who don't. 00:04:00, 29/05/2020 at 08:52 Related VN:When youre at the race, who are you talking to regularly to get your intel for the broadcast? When actually its just hand-written sheet of notes to recall from.. We've asked Colnago for more details but they just shrugged their shoulders in reply. But he's British and that's all that matters to Kirby. There are no points for each turn. The Vuelta a Espana used to be the worst of the Grand Tours because theyd have transitions day of 250km across a desert. Astonishingly though, a single stage of the Tour de France lasts for about more than six hours. I talk about the same stuff, except Im making it up. That doesnt portend his job has not become a whole lot harder. Its quite nice at the Tour de France that we have a roadbook and a history book of everything were going through. Interview: Life on Tour with Eurosport commentator Carlton Kirby VeloNews: Whats the biggest difference for you when youre commentating on a race from back home, instead of attending the event? and clearly was totally clueless. And its only the past year that we even get to see more than the Tour de France. On the descent, motorbikes often get too close to the cyclist in front of them. Carlton's voice is familiar to fans of Motorsports and Cycling both on British Television and throughout the world. If it goes on for two or three years, then people will notice because the freshness of what is in our heads will ebb. It means sometimes were not actually commentating from the finish line because the Tour de France is so huge theres about 8,000 people attached to the Tour. We met a young boy and young girl who recently lost their mum, and its really sad when you see that side of it. I've just discovered, after following a tweet that Orla Chennaoui had re-tweeted, that the esteemed Mr Kirby has blocked me on Twitter. The demands of media and multimedia these days make it more of a serious problem. (@StasaZlatanovic) March 24, 2019. Proper all rounder. All of this stuff adds to the vrit of the broadcast, and its stuff you cannot get in a studio in London. Best known for his work on Eurosport, his voice has also appeared on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Motors TV, Cycling TV, Speed Channel USA, ABC Australia, SABC South Africa, Canal Plus France, Canal France International and more. I often moan about Kirby myself, but I don't. I'm constantly berating or pointing out the danger of the motorcycle. Creativelyreplacing it witha Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bikearound local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive hispreferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story. And yet, love him or loathe him, Kirbys voice is as intrinsically linked to the Tour de France, for Eurosport viewers at least, as other famous voices across the sporting spectrum. Hence, To be qualified to fill up that huge amount of time is, quite naturally, a daunting job. carlton kirby leaves eurosport 2021; carlton kirby leaves eurosport 2021. We cant do that when hes at his house and Im at mine. Im a bit annoyed at myself because I lost my temper at the time. Being a commentator is all about improvisation and Kirby knows this quite well considering his huge range of experience. "Commentating on cycling is not like snooker or tennis," Carlton Kirby tells Betway in a recent interview, one of the principal commentators for Eurosport's cycling coverage, who has served in the sport since 1996. theres nowhere like ENOUGH cycling on tv. Carlton Kirby is a sports commentator who is most known for his work commentating on the Tour de France. It just stays online forever. To know that, you simply have to do a Google Search and you will know why. He is thinking of five wins, and is finally allowing himself to believe he is going to reach the all-time record of the Belgian all-rounder Eddy Merckx's record for stage wins of 34. He said from the rider's perspective, motorbikes get far too close to the race. Doesn't look that pretty, cable tied, very practical. As a small example, he started talking to Magnus Backstedt about tyre widths the other day ("weren't you the 27 mm guy?") Carlton Kirby: 'Yates is the heart and mind of this breakaway group'. Mark Cavendish crossed the line first, and said Kittel came up to slap him in the back. To my mind, the motorised vehicles are getting far too close, a point I continue to pick up on commentary. It is amusing that explaining this is futile, he remarks. JavaScript is disabled. I like Kelly just out of respect more than anything. He has to engage with the directors in the ear, guarantee that innumerable hours of gaps are filled in suitably, deal with incoming radio announcements, all the while tackling an uproar of a different kind with the action around him. But saves my life" German governments helmet advert sparks sexism row, - Sir Gary Verity steps down from Welcome to Yorkshire for health reasons after "errors of judgement" with his expenses, -Bristol taxi driver who cut up cyclist and braked in front of him has licence revoked (+ video), -Porn Pedallers to carry on riding despite being stripped of British Cycling affiliation. He's ruining the sport I love - I avoid many races purely because he's the commentator. . Fantasy Cycling: game [at] road.cc Listen to Carlton Kirby's Cycling Lock-In on TuneIn Riders have lost their ability to race, says LeMond, Nacer Bouhanni handed penalty, fined for shove. Among the big names the Belgian put time into today were Alejandro Valverde, fourth overall and 2 minutes 56 second down in fourth place overall, and Team Skys Egan Bernal, a further 1 second back. You can also sometimes find your hotel is one or two hours away. Kirby remarks, Its not like a written press where you can write something out and finesse it and shave it. Carlton Kirby's Cycling Lock-In on Apple Podcasts Harmon LOVES cycling, cycling history, and even riders who don't speak English. What blasphemy is this? Story Time with Carlton Kirby: Mankini's and mechanicals | "The pictures were all over the news. They have produced some merchandise like cycling caps and badges, they get together at Carltons events. Kirby tells us that Batistella is punching his handlebars in celebration. It is not just the motocycles remember. So, were close to the press guys who have spoken to the riders, and they wander up during the day, and weve been in place for two hours already, and we meet with you guys. Were literally opening up Sean Kellys cranium to learn the nuances of the sport, and he comes out and says which guy is going to go on and win the next day. As is seen in most cases, the primary action of any game takes place during the outset and ending parts. I remember being impressed during the Giro at his ability to identify riders. Stay tuned! . As for the Sky Team Fans member - you wouldnt actually be Mr Kirby would you ???? Marcel Kittel gesticulates as Mark Cavendish wins stage 14 of the Tour de France ahead of Peter Sagan, Stage six finish: Cavendish edges Kittel again in thrilling finale, WATCH: Moment Cavendish finds out he has won. These local mountain bikers tried Athletic Brewing Company's craft beer for the first time, and you'd be surprised by their reactions. You also get a guy filming on the one side of a cyclist, who is then blocking the rider from turning at the right angle into a corner because a motorbike is blocking him. As just one example, the long list of criticisms he has levelled at Thibault Pinot. He further says, "In tennis, you never talk through a point because the crowd doesn't. Maybe it's because he doesn't ride a bike himself? You can't work commentating on it for as long as he has next to informative ex-pros without some of it getting in through osmosis at the least. Brian Smith is very good and I feel for him having to listen to Kirby's dumbfounding comments. After my tweet he at least toned that down. Well, Kirby says, when its all out action on the road its very easy the problem comes on longtransition stages. You can do that by clicking one of these links - TAKES 30 SECONDS: https://help.eurosport.com/hc/en-gb/requests/new, https://help.globalcyclingnetwork.com/hc/en-gb/requests. AndKirby wouldnt have it any other way, even if there are those who dont always appreciate what goes into calling a Tour de France stage. When Cavendish won again on stage 14, Kittel just fell to pieces emotionally. Thus, the commentary that you hear wont come from the finish line, but rather from some television studio thousands of miles away. Over 3,200 worth of amazing prizes from Pacenti Cycle Design and Saint Piran, including some stunning carbon wheels! That is in fact my main Friday occupation. I've been told to stop having a go at the motorcycles, but it is purely from a safety aspect and sadly this poor guy, who was very a vibrant talent at the age of only 25, has lost his life. It is irretrievable. Harmon's attitude can best be described as 'wogs begin at Calais'. The most interesting people are the race commissars, and talking with them you get a lot of insight into who they are keeping an eye on. Eurosport have a lot of these, so theres a lot of conversation going on in your ear [between producers] and its quite a task trying to keep the flow of what you are saying, Kirby says. All of that is avoidable if you have the right distance and the right protocol in place. Unlike other sports, the practicalities of cycling dont change, and doing this remotely is not at all a good idea, but the situation makes all helpless.