1 year into a 10 year TdF deal?
Sell it to P+.
1 year into a 10 year TdF deal?
Sell it to P+.
I think it’s more a sign of the times in regards to sports broadcasting.
The last couple of years have shown that we don’t need someone on the ground during the coverage of cycling. Even the Eurosport coverage has the commentators in separate studios, not travelling to the events.
Given they lack any sports content outside of the NBA, he’s essentially been resigned to the role of sport anchor on the nightly news and as such he was probably asked to take a significant paycut.
Yes, but It’s a pretty bad sign. Everything becomes generic and uniform. There has always been a character to SBS sport coverage, and I get there is a cost to that, but without that character would the product be where it is now in Australia?
Absolutely not. His impact on not only the broadcasting but also the massive increase in participation of cycling cannot be overestimated. He should have been allowed to go out on his terms and SBS should given him a farewell Tour on the ground in France as a thank you (Les Murray in Brazil). Even if they couldn’t give that to him they at least could’ve given him a decent send-off during the coverage of Paris-Roubaix the other week.
As coverage goes now, the once a year viewers of The Tour do so essentially for the scenery. They don’t really want to see Mike on the couch talking to a former cyclist then going to a cooking segment. Those that tune in to watch the race also don’t want to see that so the format has passed its shelf life. I watch on the Tour Tracker to avoid it (as well as the ads) and I’m sure I’m not alone.
The other problem is that Matt Keenan is as good at presenting as he is at commentating. There’s also the added benefit that he is not spread across broadcasters as Phil Liggett was meaning there is no need for filler content (cut to Mike interviewing someone on the ground in France). He also has really good contacts inside the sport so he can provide the studio insight while commentating rather than having to cut from the pictures. By rotating the second commentator (Bridie, Robbie, Macca) and bringing in a special guest commentator (Cadel, Gerro) like they did this year you still get the fresh perspective that you get from a studio guest.
I guess what I’m saying is, through his tireless dedication, he improved the coverage to the point that his role is now redundant.
Next year’s Wollongong World Championships courses have been released. Road races to start in Helensburgh. The final to include ascents of Mt Ousley Rd.
Robbie McEwan joins Mike Tomalaris on the SBS scrap heap.
While I could understand moving on from Tomo this one makes less sense, he’s so much better than Dave McKenzie.
Interesting that he’s going to be working with Matt Keenan still on Ch.7 so there’s no issue there.
Wow, that’s a huge shame. I thought he and Keenan had a great thing going. They could have become the Liggett and Sherwen for the modern age. Their call of Matt Hayman winning Paris Roubaix in 2016 is an iconic Australian sporting moment imo.
Big ol’ bump to this thread, but Milan-San Remo is a fucking sick race and this was a good 'un. Mohoric is an absolute mad dog. Matthews with a creditable 4th to add to his other five top 10s in this race. Was great to hear Robbie McEwan going strong on the Eurosport comms too.
Mohoric is an absolute beast, I mean you have to be a little bit good if you’re the Slovenian nation road champion at the moment. When he’s on a good day there’s not too many out there that can match his numbers, his 2 wins in last years TdF are a perfect example, but for me he just lacks the consistency of Pogacar, Roglic, Van Aert & Alaphillipe. He seems to have a few more off days than those guys and his floor is a lot lower. Still, I’d have him in my team any day.
Matthews needs a win. He’s been riding consistently well sine he returned to Bike Exchange but just can’t crack the victory. I think the flood gates will open for him when he does.
Yeah I sure hope so. He’s a rider I really like and he’s had a great career so far. Just unlucky that in the races that suit him there has always been just a couple of guys ahead of him so he’s never quite reached that superstar status. It was Sagan in his early career, then Alaphilippe and now Van Der Poel and Van Aert.
If there’s one criticism I have it’s that sometimes he seems to ride passively. You almost never find him attacking a final and trying to make the race. His preferred path to victory is usually to hide in the wheels, hope a small bunch stays together and that he can win the sprint. I wonder if he would win more if he took a chance more often. Of course, if he is just outmatched physically by those other stars then it might be a suicide mission, but I can’t even recall him trying it once. He should be taking inspiration from Simon Gerrans who won both of his Monuments in his early-mid thirties, but both times from attacking and winning the sprint from a group of 3 or 4.
Tour of Flanders and Amstel Gold Race being on consecutive weekends this year probably helps his chances too. He seems to be in good shape so it will be interesting to see how he goes.
Agreed. He really should go all in on a late breakaway but at the same time, given his consistent top 10 performances, I can’t see him being given that leeway.
Unfortunately, because of Bike Exchange’s poor UCI ranking, he needs to keep placing as high as he can as outside of Simon Yates there’s no one on the squad really able to get them the points to guarantee survival in the World Tour.
If it wasn’t for that you’d advise him to sit up for a few races making it look like he was out of form then target a classic. After that you then go for a monument.
Yeah I thought this too, but then found that he is riding the Volta Catalunya this week instead of E3, Gent Wevelgem etc. There are heaps more points available for lower placings at one day races (even second and third tier ones) compared to stage wins at one week tours. So it doesn’t make a lot of sense from a WT points perspective. Maybe they think he is still chasing form and want to throw it all in on the bigger classics in a couple of weeks time.
The other factor for BEX WT points is Groenwegen. They’ll be hoping he can deliver some big wins too. And if he does they’ll probably still be OK.
Forgot about Groenewegen.
Looks like both he and Matthews are going to the TdF at this stage so who knows what the thinking is.
You would’ve thought Groenewegen would be better suited to the first couple of days of Catalunya than Matthews but the opposite is true at the end of the tour. At the same time Groenewegen is better suited to Brugge-De Panne than Matthews so it makes sense.
Matthews probably also offers better protection for Yates given he gets up hills a bit better than Groenewegen.
Yeah, you’re right actually. I was looking at Matthews’ 5th in Gent-Wevelgem last year and wondering what was up. But with Groenewegen there this year, and De Panne also being WT level now I think this schedule makes more sense. It also leaves Durbridge and the others to have a completely free swing at E3 and Dwars Door Vlaanderen.
Well there you go, ask and ye shall receive.
Scary scenes with Colbrelli post race.
Yeah great to see a win finally for Bling. Hope he goes on with it and bags a one day race this spring.
Anyone a regular listener of The Cycling Podcast? It’s absolutely shocking to hear that host Richard Moore has died. I’ve been in a kind of daze since hearing the news. Podcasts are such an intimate form of media it somehow feels like the death of a close friend.
That’s the one with Phillipa York, yeah?
If it is I listened to it a bit around 2 years ago. I used to walk to work so had plenty of time to listen to a lot of podcasts. After I bought a car it was one I fell behind in listening to and eventually gave up.
It was a really good podcast though.
No I think that one is the CyclingNews Podcast. The Cycling Podcast is independent and run by three cycling journalists (though now sadly two). They do a weekly show throughout the year, daily episodes at all three Grand Tours, a monthly show on women’s cycling and lots of mini documentaries too.
Damn that horrible news. When I watched cycling more often, I was a regular listener. He seemed like a great bloke.