Hello Vital MTB Visitor,
We’re conducting a survey and would appreciate your input. Your answers will help Vital and the MTB industry better understand what riders like you want. Survey results will be used to recognize top brands. Make your voice heard!
Five lucky people will be selected at random to win a Vital MTB t-shirt.
Thanks in advance,
The Vital MTB Crew
You have to hand it to the ESO, they wanted only the top 30 qualifyers to go to finals .But knew everyone would throw a fit. So they introduced Semis knowing it would be a sh1tshow and now everyone is demanding they get rid of semis. Proper 3d chess!
Man... I'd love to see Rob back but that's poor form in my opinion. The guy is trying and I see his game improving. I have noticed he has been popping up in the background of vlogs and track walk videos more often. Broadcasting is a tough game and I'm sure if we went back to Rob's first 9 races we wouldn't be that hard on Cedric.
One of the things I love the most about watching downhill is rooting for everyone to do their best. I'm rooting for CG as well.
Agree, poor form. Rob took years of broadcasting to get to the level he was at. While before Disco took over all the haters gave it to Claudio Caluori and Tracy Hannah and I never saw Rob agreeing to and sharing the hate.
I'm not sure if many remember, but there was a race back in the Freecaster days where Cedric and Rob did the commentary and Rob kept stealing Cedric's drinks and Cedric was getting pretty annoyed and Rob was getting hammered AF. Rob had his rough days as well and got a ton of training from Redbulls media department to keep announcing after free caster which is why he started to announce other events like plane racing.
I would say a screenshot of a reel is not a fair way to determine what is fair and not fair.
Lots of good detail about that in this Inside Line from 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVbIDha9QiE
Just to be clear I my comment was directed at the fan, and quite frankly all of us, who have been a bit harsh at times toward another human who is doing the best they can to bring home a paycheck.
A few hours after DH finals were over last wknd, I randomly ended up sharing the elevator (for all of one floor) with CG. He made a comment about how the race was incredible, I commented how Snowshoe somehow always delivers exciting racing, and he made a few other comments about the perfect weather, incredible fans, and great vibe. I realize this was a single, random interaction but the guy seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the whole thing. It's an elevator ride, he could have said nothing.
I'm not a huge fan of his commentary, but I don't think he deserves all the hate thrown at him. I always thought Tracey Hannah did nothing but say how amazing every female rider was, which isn't exactly providing a lot of insight.
I've also met CG and agree that he comes across as a good dude. I don't get the impression anyone is saying otherwise. What I and others have said is that his commentary skills need work. He was still getting the terminology wrong at Snowshoe about riders being up or down on time. I don't know if no one is telling him about his mistake or if it's a slip made during the heat of the moment, but we're nearly at the end of the season and it shouldn't still be happening. He and Ric also continuously interrupted Gwin to shout about splits and the speed trap when it's information that's clearly visible on our screens. That to me is unprofessional. They are charging us for the privilege of listening to him, so I think it's valid for people to comment on his performance.
No "hate" involved (from me at least), just valid criticism.
For what it's worth, I find him easier to listen to than Ric.
I think the criticism has been valid. But I agree there is no need to be mean (like the fan with the sign). I think Gracia more or less brings what Claudio brought to the commentary.
I also find him easier to listen to than Ric.
Ok that's fair then. But the guy is not exactly wrong either 😂
Fair points.
Going back to when RB took over, as I recall "someone" at Red Bull was like "Rob, we love your enthusiasm but dios mio you are bad at this. We're going to send you to broadcaster school for 6 months." Seems like that's basically what everyone is asking for now. And by Rob's own admission, he had no idea how bad he was at it - how unprofessional he was - until he went through that school. (I'm using "school" cuz I don't know what else to call it)
That's the guy I was joking about being hammered drunk in the parking lot in Pisgah the other week.
He said he was going to make a sign for SnowShoe that said "Fabien Barel You Suck at Commentating"
I started dying laughing and the other guys were correcting him that it's CG, not Barel.
I INSISTED he make that the sign though instead of naming CG b/c it would actually be funny.
I even made it and posted it to Instagram to get him to use it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CxayeziulYb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&ig…
Should have listened to me Pat.
And no one is saying CG is a bad person. Dude is hilarious. When he raced NORBA Nationals, he did that insane line down Yard Sale for the win at Mt. Snow. Earlier in the week, at the waterfall section, he asked me what line I was taking and said "Far Right"
He looks at me and said "no no no...far right too scary. you're fookin crazy." Then took far right & yells..."yeah...you fookin crazy"
Honestly I think the commentating has gotten better the last few races (or I am just used to it). Gwin is a massive part of that, but the dynamic with CG has improved and somehow I don't mind Ric as much as many do? Sure it is nowhere near the level of Rob but it's lightyears better than some of what I've heard at Crankworx DH races in past years before they got Rob (no hate on Needles, Tracey...).
Miss Rob/Eliot/Claudio dearly but have really enjoyed watching the racing this year.
During redbull time, the problem with the Claudio and Rob duo was that they are mostly both play by play casters. Great for hype and emotion but sometimes lacked depth for stats/rules/teams gossip/lines gossip. From what I listened so far is that I think Aaron Gwin could easily pivot to a color commentator role on the broadcast to provide the deeper info that diehard fans want and can help more casual fans understand the sport.
Some of Ric commentary sometimes felt like TdF commentary talking about the regions, tourist attraction etc. In a TdF stage that can work cause it's 5+ hour long with not always action but on a less than 5 minutes run that feels out of place. Same as other mentionned about still shots of the pit and manager during a run.
I think Cedric has potential to be a good hype play by play caster with more experience and training.
I would love to see a female in the booth. Think someone like Rachel Atherton could be a good color commentator or Micayla Gatto as a play by play caster.
After watching a full season of DH, it's sad to see the broadcast take a step back. The main problem is that Ric & Cedrick spend almost the entire race run telling you what's happening. Viewers can already see what's happening on screen, so they really don't need the constant reminder of what they're already seeing. Similarly, they fill any dead air with superlatives of how fast the riders are going, which is something that adds to the broadcast if there's something truly noteworthy or a subtle thing that a viewer will have a hard time noticing.
What separates good announcing crews from average ones is the ability to have a conversation about what is happening on the screen. Having a back and forth between the crew where context and insight is added in a conversation really enhances the broadcast. For my money the guys who were the best at this were the HBO boxing commentators (RIP HBO Boxing). The commentary is a fluid conversation where they note what's happening and then paint the background picture around the fighters and the flow of the fight. There's plenty of pauses as well to let the action speak for itself. Note how different this is compared to the GCN broadcasts: https://youtu.be/EdEjBCjkPr0?si=vloM3KK_xnGGppPm&t=1260
To give credit where it's due, for a rookie Gwin did an excellent job of this. The context about rider's histories and insights into the track conditions helps instruct the viewer how to watch each run, enhancing their understanding of what their eyes are seeing.
Warner certainly wasn't the best broadcaster out there, but he understood that to provide a good product on screen he had to do his homework, talking to and learning about the riders and track throughout the week leading up to the race.
It's pretty upsetting to see an organization that is supposed to elevate the sport's with additional resources and a more professional approach put seemingly untrained and unprepared broadcasters in the booth.
Great points in the post above. Gwin's eye on what the racer was doing was the only thing that made it worthwhile leaving the sound up and not just play Yakkity Sax in the background. His ability to see the line the racer was on, when he made a mistake, when he did something special, he lost time here, gained timed there ... Ric and particularly Cocaine Cedric brought NONE of that. I want to see Gwin racing next year, and I am sure Gwin does too, but it's going to leave a large, racer's-eye-shaped hole in the broadcast team.
If only there were another, talented, pedigreed, well-spoken ex-racer who can bring that perspective -- perhaps one that just came off a huge injury falling off the side of a mountain. One that then signed up for Red Bull Rampage and crashed his ass off there and broke some vertebrae and, oh, I dunno, a few skull pieces. I'll have to think about who that could be and get back to you.
For some reason Gee and Roy Kent from "Ted Lasso" occupy the same space in my brain.
Fokkkkk
While I totally agree with you RE the commentary team for the new World Cup broadcast, I feel there is more to the product than the commentary, especially seen as not everyone in the world listens in English.
Negatives a plenty, but having watched a whole season like you I thought there were some genuine improvements over red bull tv.
Better quality pictures/resolution than Red Bull
Saw more of each run (check Jackson's winning run versus say Bruni's winning MSA run in 2018)
2022 RB tv was plagued with timing issues, no split times on screen etc..., at times no timing at all. We had a lot less of that this season.
Some venues had better camera placement or more creative ideas than RB tv, others didn't.
The WB/discovery broadcast improved alot from Lenzerheide to MSA
The finish line gantry, hotseat and infrastructure looked much better on TV than the uci stuff did previously.
Commentary was pretty average, with the exception of Gwin. But having said that I also hated Claudio and Tracy Hannah, neither of whom added anything of value. Arguably worse than Cedric
Personally I thought the raised gantry for the hotseat really diminished the vibe around riders finishing their runs this year. It separated those on the hotseat and made for more muted celebrations.
no positives at all then?
A bit more of rider's race runs and better course marking, but outside of that I think it's been a massive backward step. Semis are a waste of time that dilute the excitement and increase the risk of injury.
Poor direction on the race footage, focussing on a peakless Bruni on the finish line while ignoring the celebrations of O'Callaghan's win, cutting away to interviews and shots of team mangers mid run.
Commentary from the main team was woeful, do we have to rely on injuries to provide decent commentary again next year? How can that be a good thing?
I can't say I noticed an improvement with timing, plenty of runs this year with issues.
More rider dissatisfaction than I've ever seen in this sport. Increased costs for all due to increased fees and poor organisation.
What seems to be a concerted effort to push privateers out, ending some of the great stories that the sport as provided over the years.
Yeah, hard to find positives from my perspective (and that's without getting into the fact we now have to pay for what is IMO an inferior product to the one we were previously getting for free).
pro wb:
they showed more of the track, mostly visible at msa, where usually it was the start, than nothing for a minute, the long straight and then after the wood section again to the finish
minus wb:
commentary quality
on screen informations.
i never believed the accuracy of the visualizations of redbull, but they added something to orient yourself at while watching. that was completely gone this year. all these undersections and the comparisons with the former riders. and then add commentary that tells me same thing i‘m already seeing myself. thanks for nothing, captain obvious.
you got more of the track, but the broadcast lost a lot of depth and details
Also missing the key piece about where in the running order a rider was; including who's up next. Not having timestamps/bookmarks on the replays (as RB did) is also a loss.
100% this.
Another super annoying thing, the rider’s time is always shown in green. Then a small little line shows up under it to let you know if the rider went slower or faster. Super confusing when we’ve all been used to seeing green only for faster times for years They were told about this after the first race but never cared to change it. (I know that green is their main theme color, that doesn’t mean it has to be used for the time graphic). A small detail but it shows they are not really listening or caring.
Likewise yelling about someone being "5 SECONDS UP WOW" on a split when the current fastest time included a crash...
Post a reply to: UCI grant Discovery WC rights from 2023 to 2030