Ah, someones remembered to open the commenentators mic channels!
Hels may have friends at Discovery
You are about as knowledgeable as the aussie bint and south african chump on commentary this morning,
😉
That bloody helicopter is a bit much. 🙄
I was just about to say the same - surely a top end drone or two would be cheaper than the fuel alone...
climbs like a butterfly.
er, what?
I love it when the commentators start a sentence with no idea what they're about to say, but I'd never had butterflies down as one of our planet's natural climbers
Standing on flowers, virtually unsurpassed.
Climbs like a butterfly, runs like a bee
Dominant ride that, class of her own.
Some gap! Bravo Jolanda. What a result for r Switzerland!
Has that ever happened before? 1-2-3??
Happy with that. She deserved it.
Mad though. No PFP, no Lecomte, no Rissveds. All riders that have been doing well in the WC.
Awesome. Good track that.
I'm liking Terpstra's Skyway Tuff wheels.
Great effort by Richards
7th for Evie is great stuff, well done!
Fantastic to see Neff win. Swiss dominance when it mattered.
Courtney will be gutted.
Evie - 7th, what a champ!
Swiss precision runs like clockwork.
Has that ever happened before? 1-2-3??
Never in mtb, would think Aussie swimmers or American runners would have done it at some point
"disappointment for Richards"
FFS, the BBC really are shit aren't they?
Hard race with last night's rain,brilliant effort from Evie behind the Swiss army .
she didn't seem that disappointed. not as much as lacomte anyway, she looked miffed at the finish.
Bugger! I slept in. I'll try to watch on the Eurosport app later.
It's a Zorro podium.
Swiss swiss swiss.
Girls out jumping MvdP
To be fair, jolanda out jumped all the men but n1no.
Great win for Yolanda, would've been a different race if PFP hadn't slipped on the first lap I think. But that's how it goes sometimes.
7th for Evie is amazing!
So thrilled for Evie. She's going to encourage so many little girls and young women to take up our fantastic sport.
Whoever dragged Rochelle out for commentating needs a firm talking to - dire.
She kept saying the two Swiss riders in 2nd and 3rd places were helping each other, then later tried to dig a hole by explaining what she meant by that comment.
I want to see all the post-race interviews, as on the BBC we got them crossing the line and thats it...
Commentary, absolutely dire. The BBC put no effort into it, choosing to use the 'world feed' commentary rather than their own - and they seem to have their own commentary for almost every other sport!
Boardman could have done it, and he knows enough about MTB not to have his foot in his mouth for an hour and a half, and hes already on the payroll!
Great win for Yolanda, would’ve been a different race if PFP hadn’t slipped on the first lap I think. But that’s how it goes sometimes.
Possible but it was pretty clear she wasn't going to touch Neff I think? PFP consistently making mistakes throughout.
That kind of course where being the cardio fitness top gun is way less of an advantage.
PFP is alright on jumps, corners, berms etc but has always been a bit rubbish on wet roots, techy rocks etc
Commentary, absolutely dire. The BBC put no effort into it, choosing to use the ‘world feed’ commentary rather than their own – and they seem to have their own commentary for almost every other sport!
And who thought Alex Scott would be a good pick? Have they never seen the One Show? Her interview with Pidcock's parents was cringeworthy
Whoever dragged Rochelle out for commentating needs a firm talking to – dire.
She is a BBC favourite, no idea why she is rubbish. BBC need to find an alternative there must be a few former riders who can string a coherent sentence together. MTB XC getting more TV time would help
PFP is alright on jumps, corners, berms etc but has always been a bit rubbish on wet roots, techy rocks etc
She didn't like the big drop, she used the boards everytime, almost caused Neff to fall she was so slow the first time
I would question why the boards were in place, I suspect a few teams "complained" wouldn't have changed the result. Neff over the rhythm section was sublime, flew over the jumps
I am glad I don't have to listen to those two commentators again.
Possible but it was pretty clear she wasn’t going to touch Neff I think? PFP consistently making mistakes throughout.
Yeah maybe, I thought much of her mistakes in the latter parts of the race were clearly borne of frustration, I think had she been up near Yolanda, she might have had a different race. Impossible to say really, and agree that she didn't seem as comfy as Neff on some of the bigger features.
Boardman could have done it, and he knows enough about MTB not to have his foot in his mouth for an hour and a half, and hes already on the payroll!
I like Boardman.
Boardman is a cyclist’s cyclist, not just a sometime bike racer. Puts some effort in on the issues that affect everyday cycling, commuting etc. 👍
And with his sense of humour there would have been some very tongue in cheek comments about “seeing their road cycling background coming out as they tuck in behind their teammate for the draft” (at 5mph up a climb).
Oh one more thing, when he was doing the technique section on descending on the TdF show, he said outside foot down to balance the bike on the corners. Star. I coach children and most road coaches say inside foot up to avoid pedal strike, and while I agree pedal strikes are a bad thing, the balance and weighting of the bike is far more important 99% of the time on the road. And just saying it differently makes children think about it differently.
Be interesting to see who the BBX have commentating on the BMX racing....
Turning back to the women’s race today, I thought they made that look really easy, in particular they looked less laboured on some of the uphill sections than the men - though the rain maybe changed the pedalling/riding style required.
I would probably have struggled to walk it, never mind ride, never mind race, and I am nothing but impressed.
And the 45 year old Brazilian mother at her third or fourth summer olympics, who also does cross country skiing in the Winter Olympics. I haven’t seen her, I know nothing more than that about her, but that’s seriously impressive, and I’m sure my wife will understand my passing crush on those facts alone. Actually they did mention she’s married to another Olympian - ah well.
I am glad I don’t have to listen to those two commentators again.
Rochelle was the DS/owner of Women's road team, Team Wiggle High5 for a while and a reasonable enough road racer back in the day herself.
Her commentary though is just dire - it always has been, just a mix of cliches ("she's such a strong rider", "look at the injection of pace now", "attack off the front here...")
Like Hugh Porter but in a grating Aussie accent.
She's got very little knowledge or experience of MTB though, it seemed at various points in the commentary that she was just reading off a sheet of paper.
Also after watching leconte crash and lose quite a few places she later suggested that maybe she was trying a different tactic by not sitting at the front. You saw her crash, that's why she's not at the front.
I thought they made that look really easy, in particular they looked less laboured on some of the uphill sections than the men – though the rain maybe changed the pedalling/riding style required.
In WC XC it seems the men often go full gas right out the gate, while the womens race has a bit more nuance and tactics to it.
Possibly more so this time, as I see the women did 5 laps to the mens 7. Normally it is only a 1 lap difference.
I would question why the boards were in place, I suspect a few teams “complained” wouldn’t have changed the result. Neff over the rhythm section was sublime, flew over the jumps
The boards were put back in and one of the rock garden a-lines removed due to the conditions after the overnight rainfall as instigated by the weather protocols.
Cracking race and the way Neff settled into her pace was brilliant, just like Pidcock yesterday, push it on the safe parts, relax a bit on the techy parts.
As for commentators, it's not an easy job, they're trying to appeal to an audience that more than likely aren't aficionados of MTB like everyone on here seems to be.
Cracking ride there by Neff and it looked like Evie Richards really enjoyed herself!
Those Trek Supercalibers look pretty smart, first XC bike I've like the look of since my old S-Works Epic a few years back.
As for commentators, it’s not an easy job, they’re trying to appeal to an audience that more than likely aren’t aficionados of MTB like everyone on here seems to be.
I don't doubt it's hard but Rochelle Gilmore has form, both for being dull and for coming out with with tripe from the dark ages. She should have been replaced ages ago with someone with more talent and enthusiasm
Rochelle Gilmore has form
"Liam Carlin"
Liam Carlin?
Not this one I assume
Not unless he's quite tasty on an XC bike!
The Liam Carlin who looked very much like Liam Killeen, but was pronounced as such for a whole 90 minutes during (IIRC) the Commonwealth games a few years ago.
Very impressed about Neff's ability to dodge hesitating PFP on the big feature, she landed heavily on her front wheel but was able to ride on from that. Could have easily broken the wheel under bigger rider and also remembering that her hand was broken in June.
Edit. This part:
