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.
@Blackthorne83
Have you an inside track or is this just supposition?
He's not young and perhaps he is indeed an ar$e.
Maybe he's a racist, maybe he isn't. I'm sure it will all come out.
If you stick a national jersey on, there is an inevitable responsibility to think more carefully how you speak and behave. Don't get yourself into a position of risk to start with.
@matthewn5 I'm talking about carbon crank AXLES, not spiders. SRAM axles are aluminum (29 or 30mm versions) or steel (24/22mm GXP); Campag are steel (most models) or titanium (Super Record). Are there any other brands using carbon axles?
@ROOTminus1 Lake wide fit - CX239 would probably be ok for you. I wear the normal width and they are roomy, the wide ones accommodate lardy feet.
And who wears road shoes with laces? That's just wrong, 2x boas or stay home.
@chrisonabike Any excuse to repeat my favourite quote from Bertie Wooster, when he took on Spode (Lord Sidcup) who had started a fascist movement called the Blackshorts:
"The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone. You hear them shouting "Heil, Spode!" and you imagine it is the Voice of the People. That is where you make your bloomer. What the Voice of the People is saying is: "Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags! Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?”
Please spear us the jousting puns - it's just throwing down a gauntlet for some greaves abuse of the comments section, and there's no excuse for tilting things in that direction.
@theslowcyclistxx Carbon wheels correctly built for their intended purpose can take a tremendous amount of punishment, as can be seen from downhill mountain biking where carbon wheels survive massive jumps, high speed crashing over rock gardens et cetera et cetera. If this wheelset is not designed for that that's fine but then it should not be falsely marketed as being as strong as XC MTB wheels when clearly it isn't.
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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 £2.49. 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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Latest Comments
@Blackthorne83 Have you an inside track or is this just supposition? He's not young and perhaps he is indeed an ar$e. Maybe he's a racist, maybe he isn't. I'm sure it will all come out. If you stick a national jersey on, there is an inevitable responsibility to think more carefully how you speak and behave. Don't get yourself into a position of risk to start with.
@MatzeLoCal Spot on. No request should be necessary. The testers, upon hearing the circumstances, should have 1. Paid respects 2. Rescheduled
Fantastic result, and a great write up, thank you
@matthewn5 I'm talking about carbon crank AXLES, not spiders. SRAM axles are aluminum (29 or 30mm versions) or steel (24/22mm GXP); Campag are steel (most models) or titanium (Super Record). Are there any other brands using carbon axles?
@ROOTminus1 Lake wide fit - CX239 would probably be ok for you. I wear the normal width and they are roomy, the wide ones accommodate lardy feet. And who wears road shoes with laces? That's just wrong, 2x boas or stay home.
@chrisonabike Any excuse to repeat my favourite quote from Bertie Wooster, when he took on Spode (Lord Sidcup) who had started a fascist movement called the Blackshorts: "The trouble with you, Spode, is that just because you have succeeded in inducing a handful of half-wits to disfigure the London scene by going about in black shorts, you think you're someone. You hear them shouting "Heil, Spode!" and you imagine it is the Voice of the People. That is where you make your bloomer. What the Voice of the People is saying is: "Look at that frightful ass Spode swanking about in footer bags! Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?”
@mdavidford more cheap lists-icles.
Please spear us the jousting puns - it's just throwing down a gauntlet for some greaves abuse of the comments section, and there's no excuse for tilting things in that direction.
@eburtthebike some cyclists already wear black shorts, we really don't want the Blackshorts joining in...
@theslowcyclistxx Carbon wheels correctly built for their intended purpose can take a tremendous amount of punishment, as can be seen from downhill mountain biking where carbon wheels survive massive jumps, high speed crashing over rock gardens et cetera et cetera. If this wheelset is not designed for that that's fine but then it should not be falsely marketed as being as strong as XC MTB wheels when clearly it isn't.
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