Cycling commentators on TV often come under criticism from fans, for instance when they misidentify a rider, and plenty of people seem to think they can do better. Well, Eurosport is giving fans a chance to do just that and commentate on races themselves, with a prize of a VIP trip to Paris for the final day of this year’s Tour de France on offer.
The competition has been launched to celebrate the channel’s 25th birthday, and cycling fans have three short clips to choose from, all from 2013. First is Paris-Roubaix, where Zdenek Stybar’s chance of contesting the finish with Fabian Cancellara and Sep Vanmarcke was ended by an overenthusiastic fan taking a picture.
There are also two clips from the Tour de France – Chris Froome’s victory on Mont Ventoux, and the last stage in Paris where Marcel Kittel became the first man ever to outsprint Mark Cavendish on the Champs-Elysées.
There are also competitions running for motorsport and tennis, with the sport you commentate on determining which prizes you would be eligible for if your entry is one of the top ten in that category.
You can listen to other people’s efforts in a variety of languages, and record, upload and share your own, with the number of “likes” that individual commentaries receive determining the ten videos that will make the shortlist for each sport, with the winner chosen by a panel comprising Eurosport staff and commentators.
According to Eurosport, “the panel’s choice will be based on qualitative and subjective criteria (relevance of the subject, quality of the commentary, emotion in the voice, etc.).”
While for cycling you can record your commentary now, according to the terms and conditions, only “likes” from 24 May to 28 June will count, with winners announced on 30 June.
The overall winner in the cycling category will win two VIP tickets to the arrival of the Tour de France in Paris plus a VIP “behind the scenes” experience with Eurosport on the final stage. The prize includes travel and two nights’ hotel accommodation.
There are also runners-up prizes of 10 Tour de France official t-shirts, 10 Tour de France official caps and 10 Tour de France official bottles.
Entrants must be aged 18 years or over and resident in one of the following countries: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.
To get started, visit the Eurosport 25 Live website here.
Finally, here's a behind-the-scenes video in which ex-pro Daniel Lloyd takes us inside the commentary box.
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
The constant misconception with closs passing relates to the view that 1.51m is legal and 1.49m is illegal. It isn't. The government considered a minimum distance offence (and Tim, quoted in the article, pushed heavy for it in the consultation) but the conclusion of the consultation was that a minimum distance offence would result in no prosecution as the forensic evidence of distance would not exist. Instead s3 was the sensible fall back. Tim and a few other cyclists push the narrative that 1.5 is a legal requirement and police forces receive criticism if they apply the law of careless driving rather than the imaginary law of close passing. As time passes police forces understand that 1.5 is a fallicy, as more separated cycle lanes demonstrate this as they are themselves less than. 1.5 m from passing traffic despite having a physical separation. This distinction makes closs pass prosecution very "dodgy" without clear carelessness.
But that message is lost in the fog of twitter.
According to the commentators today the french police can and have. They were chatting about temporary powers so that it's an offence to disobey an order from the police, concerning preventing spectators because of the wildfires. There were however far more fans than I was expecting.
Yesterday's flare was over the border of course.
Nothing wrong with large chainrings - in fact, big to big is way more efficient so, use a big chainring and bigger cassette sprockets - it'll freak out your mates and allow you to pedal more smoothly and replace your chain less often!
Having recently purchased a month of TNT, and waiting for the start of the TTT, I caught some of the men's downhill, might have been the winner, but this lad did particularly well and decided to fall off after crossing the line. His airbag went off.
I still think a bit of aramid in the weave on hip and shoulders wouldn't go amiss,
I liked it. I will watch it.
It's essentially the TNT coverage, highlighted.
So the same coverage that would have been on Quest or DMAX, but with the singular presenter, maybe less chat and maybe more racing.
Hopefully less chance of the weird no coverage and no explanation days.
Unfortunately no rest day recap, one of those lovely itv things. And no Chris.
That sounds like a great commercial gimmick that doesn't solve the core issue - why is there so many crashes in the pro peloton?
Hereunder info was put together by Leo, Brave's AI agent:
Top 5 Most Frequent Injuries in Pro Cyclists (Post-Crash)
Based on the most comprehensive data available from professional road cycling studies (including the 2024 "Beyond the Finish Line" study and meta-analyses of IOC consensus data), the top injuries sustained after a crash are:
1. Abrasions and Lacerations (Soft Tissue Injuries)
Abrasions are consistently cited as the most common injury type in professional cycling crashes. While often less severe than fractures, they occur with the highest frequency due to the nature of sliding on asphalt.
Context: These frequently affect the limbs (arms and legs) and torso. In high-speed crashes, these can become severe degloving injuries requiring surgery, but minor road rash is ubiquitous.
2. Fractures (Upper Extremity)
Fractures are the most burdensome injury (leading to the most time lost) and the second most frequent major trauma.
Specifics: The clavicle (collarbone) is the single most frequently fractured bone in pro cycling, followed by fractures of the wrist/scaphoid, forearm (radius/ulna), and shoulder blade (scapula).
Gender Note: Data indicates females are significantly more likely to sustain wrist fractures in crashes compared to males. One study noted females are 3x more likely to sustain a wrist fracture.
3. Contusions and Bruising
Deep tissue contusions are highly frequent, often accompanying fractures or occurring independently from impact with the ground, bike, or other riders.
Location: Common on the hips, thighs, and shoulders. These are often underreported in general databases but are a primary complaint in team medical logs.
4. Head and Neck Trauma (Concussions)
While less frequent than abrasions, cranial trauma (including concussions) is a critical category.
Trend: Despite helmet use, concussions remain a top 5 injury in high-impact crashes. General data shows 65% of fatal cycling injuries involve head trauma, but in pro racing, non-fatal concussions are the primary concern here.
5. Multiple Injuries (Polytrauma)
A significant portion of serious crashes result in multiple simultaneous injuries (e.g., a fractured collarbone combined with rib fractures and lung contusions).
Severity: Studies of elite withdrawals show that "multiple injuries" is a distinct and frequent category for race-ending incidents, often more so than isolated muscle strains in crash scenarios.
Gender Disparities in Crash Injuries
Recent data highlights distinct differences in how male and female pros are affected:
Incidence Rate: Some data suggests male road cyclists have a higher rate of reported injuries per athlete-day in racing (14.91 vs 0.68 in one specific dataset, though this may reflect reporting differences or sample size), while other studies show females have a significantly higher risk ratio for injury during racing compared to their training baseline (RR 11.10 for females vs 10.24 for males).
Injury Type: Females are disproportionately prone to upper extremity fractures (specifically wrists) and are more likely to require EMS transport following an incident compared to males, who more frequently receive on-site medical attention and continue or self-transport.
Back to News
Reckon you can commentate? Eurosport competition will see someone win VIP trip to Paris (+ video)
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Cycling commentators on TV often come under criticism from fans, for instance when they misidentify a rider, and plenty of people seem to think they can do better. Well, Eurosport is giving fans a chance to do just that and commentate on races themselves, with a prize of a VIP trip to Paris for the final day of this year’s Tour de France on offer.
The competition has been launched to celebrate the channel’s 25th birthday, and cycling fans have three short clips to choose from, all from 2013. First is Paris-Roubaix, where Zdenek Stybar’s chance of contesting the finish with Fabian Cancellara and Sep Vanmarcke was ended by an overenthusiastic fan taking a picture.
There are also two clips from the Tour de France – Chris Froome’s victory on Mont Ventoux, and the last stage in Paris where Marcel Kittel became the first man ever to outsprint Mark Cavendish on the Champs-Elysées.
There are also competitions running for motorsport and tennis, with the sport you commentate on determining which prizes you would be eligible for if your entry is one of the top ten in that category.
You can listen to other people’s efforts in a variety of languages, and record, upload and share your own, with the number of “likes” that individual commentaries receive determining the ten videos that will make the shortlist for each sport, with the winner chosen by a panel comprising Eurosport staff and commentators.
According to Eurosport, “the panel’s choice will be based on qualitative and subjective criteria (relevance of the subject, quality of the commentary, emotion in the voice, etc.).”
While for cycling you can record your commentary now, according to the terms and conditions, only “likes” from 24 May to 28 June will count, with winners announced on 30 June.
The overall winner in the cycling category will win two VIP tickets to the arrival of the Tour de France in Paris plus a VIP “behind the scenes” experience with Eurosport on the final stage. The prize includes travel and two nights’ hotel accommodation.
There are also runners-up prizes of 10 Tour de France official t-shirts, 10 Tour de France official caps and 10 Tour de France official bottles.
Entrants must be aged 18 years or over and resident in one of the following countries: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.
To get started, visit the Eurosport 25 Live website here.
Finally, here's a behind-the-scenes video in which ex-pro Daniel Lloyd takes us inside the commentary box.
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
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The constant misconception with closs passing relates to the view that 1.51m is legal and 1.49m is illegal. It isn't. The government considered a minimum distance offence (and Tim, quoted in the article, pushed heavy for it in the consultation) but the conclusion of the consultation was that a minimum distance offence would result in no prosecution as the forensic evidence of distance would not exist. Instead s3 was the sensible fall back. Tim and a few other cyclists push the narrative that 1.5 is a legal requirement and police forces receive criticism if they apply the law of careless driving rather than the imaginary law of close passing. As time passes police forces understand that 1.5 is a fallicy, as more separated cycle lanes demonstrate this as they are themselves less than. 1.5 m from passing traffic despite having a physical separation. This distinction makes closs pass prosecution very "dodgy" without clear carelessness. But that message is lost in the fog of twitter.
According to the commentators today the french police can and have. They were chatting about temporary powers so that it's an offence to disobey an order from the police, concerning preventing spectators because of the wildfires. There were however far more fans than I was expecting. Yesterday's flare was over the border of course.
Nothing wrong with large chainrings - in fact, big to big is way more efficient so, use a big chainring and bigger cassette sprockets - it'll freak out your mates and allow you to pedal more smoothly and replace your chain less often!
Having recently purchased a month of TNT, and waiting for the start of the TTT, I caught some of the men's downhill, might have been the winner, but this lad did particularly well and decided to fall off after crossing the line. His airbag went off. I still think a bit of aramid in the weave on hip and shoulders wouldn't go amiss,
I liked it. I will watch it. It's essentially the TNT coverage, highlighted. So the same coverage that would have been on Quest or DMAX, but with the singular presenter, maybe less chat and maybe more racing. Hopefully less chance of the weird no coverage and no explanation days. Unfortunately no rest day recap, one of those lovely itv things. And no Chris.
Being knocked-off by a driver who makes a beeline to exit a roundabout without signal lighting
@mdavidford Ice cold water, maybe
What is this AI vomit meant to have to do with either the story, or your question about why so many crashes occur?
That sounds like a great commercial gimmick that doesn't solve the core issue - why is there so many crashes in the pro peloton? Hereunder info was put together by Leo, Brave's AI agent: Top 5 Most Frequent Injuries in Pro Cyclists (Post-Crash) Based on the most comprehensive data available from professional road cycling studies (including the 2024 "Beyond the Finish Line" study and meta-analyses of IOC consensus data), the top injuries sustained after a crash are: 1. Abrasions and Lacerations (Soft Tissue Injuries) Abrasions are consistently cited as the most common injury type in professional cycling crashes. While often less severe than fractures, they occur with the highest frequency due to the nature of sliding on asphalt. Context: These frequently affect the limbs (arms and legs) and torso. In high-speed crashes, these can become severe degloving injuries requiring surgery, but minor road rash is ubiquitous. 2. Fractures (Upper Extremity) Fractures are the most burdensome injury (leading to the most time lost) and the second most frequent major trauma. Specifics: The clavicle (collarbone) is the single most frequently fractured bone in pro cycling, followed by fractures of the wrist/scaphoid, forearm (radius/ulna), and shoulder blade (scapula). Gender Note: Data indicates females are significantly more likely to sustain wrist fractures in crashes compared to males. One study noted females are 3x more likely to sustain a wrist fracture. 3. Contusions and Bruising Deep tissue contusions are highly frequent, often accompanying fractures or occurring independently from impact with the ground, bike, or other riders. Location: Common on the hips, thighs, and shoulders. These are often underreported in general databases but are a primary complaint in team medical logs. 4. Head and Neck Trauma (Concussions) While less frequent than abrasions, cranial trauma (including concussions) is a critical category. Trend: Despite helmet use, concussions remain a top 5 injury in high-impact crashes. General data shows 65% of fatal cycling injuries involve head trauma, but in pro racing, non-fatal concussions are the primary concern here. 5. Multiple Injuries (Polytrauma) A significant portion of serious crashes result in multiple simultaneous injuries (e.g., a fractured collarbone combined with rib fractures and lung contusions). Severity: Studies of elite withdrawals show that "multiple injuries" is a distinct and frequent category for race-ending incidents, often more so than isolated muscle strains in crash scenarios. Gender Disparities in Crash Injuries Recent data highlights distinct differences in how male and female pros are affected: Incidence Rate: Some data suggests male road cyclists have a higher rate of reported injuries per athlete-day in racing (14.91 vs 0.68 in one specific dataset, though this may reflect reporting differences or sample size), while other studies show females have a significantly higher risk ratio for injury during racing compared to their training baseline (RR 11.10 for females vs 10.24 for males). Injury Type: Females are disproportionately prone to upper extremity fractures (specifically wrists) and are more likely to require EMS transport following an incident compared to males, who more frequently receive on-site medical attention and continue or self-transport.
@quiff There is also the live S4C coverage which is on iPlayer and freesat channel 120. Great for brushing up on your Welsh language skills.
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