Your commentary speaks volumes

14 May 2009 | 0:00 - By Philip Gomes

Wow! Who says only the Italian 'tifosi' is passionate about its cycling? Australians have clearly grown to become as passionate and sophisticated about the sport as their European counterparts.

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Trent Wilson (CC)

Wow! Who says only the Italian 'tifosi' is passionate about its cycling? Australians have clearly grown to become as passionate and sophisticated about the sport as their European counterparts.

And judging by your comments regarding the SBS broadcast commentary of the Giro d'Italia you also care deeply about how your daily diet of cycling is delivered.

We have been overwhelmed by your concern.

Over the past few days we've been listening and recording your comments - in the articles and blogs - with regard to your disappointment at the quality of the commentary supplied by our Italian broadcast partners - a disappointment we've shared with you. As a result, we've made a change to ensure the wonderful pictures from Italy are backed up by the best commentary available to us.

With Phil and Paul both on well-deserved breaks ahead of the Tour de France, we'll have the all-Australian combination of Mike Tomalaris and two-time Giro d'Italia competitor Trent Wilson on the mics to commentate from this weekend's stages onwards.

Tomo, you know all about, and Trent's extensive racing experience in the US, and his prowess as a climbing specialist will give us valuable insight not only into the race itself, but also the the minds of the competitors.

Mike and Trent will take over the commentary reins from Saturday night's Morbegno to Bergamo stage and you will hear their voices both on-air and online.

In short, you talked, and we listened, and we hope your enjoyment of not only the Giro, but all the other awesome cycling coming our way this year, will continue to grow as a result, and we here at SBS, and through Cycling Central, can sate your voracious appetite for the highest quality coverage from around the world.

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29 May 2009 14:10 AEST

Drew

From: Sydney

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Not sure what all the fuss is about as Tomalaris's grasp of the sport of cycling is rather thin. What about this mornings guff concerning McEwen, seriously. Lets not mention Trents suggesting the wrong team, he should be allowed some room to learn. Where's Mathew K, at least when that guy makes a comment you know he knopws what he is talking about.

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24 May 2009 14:11 AEST

bobby

From: sydney

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thank you SBS for putting us out of our misery. mike and trent are great. SBS have listened to the people. it would even better if SBS could show the Saturday night stages live or 1 live stage a week.

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22 May 2009 22:53 AEST

Andy

From: Gympie

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Thanks SBS for saving this years coverage and bringing in Mike and Trent to replace Paddy Agnew. Sorry Paddy - no hard feelings mate. It's great to have Mike back behind the microphone and Trent Wilson's commentary and insights are also a refreshing bonus. Thanks to Trent's comments about Menchov (I think) "feeding it some chain" I now have yet another gem of cyclo-speak to try out amongst the banter on the road.

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21 May 2009 23:26 AEST

Khalil

From: Melbourne

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Well done on the recent change in commentary team for the giro. Mike and Trent are doing an excellent job after a disappointing start from Paddy. However, I have to admit I am still a little disappointed overall - I hope SBS will improve the highlights package so that it mirrors the coverage that the Tour enjoys. For example, why is the sound quality so poor? It's the background sounds as much as the sights that makes us feel like we are right there with the riders. I would also hope that bidding for a couple of live stages are in the works for 2010? The time difference seems to work well for SBS' live coverage of the Tour...

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20 May 2009 10:38 AEST

Cameron

From: North Sydney

Thanks

Thanks SBS! I'm back onto watching now. Now if we could only make the highlights a little longer and and take swift and shift off the air.....

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18 May 2009 22:24 AEST

Matt

From: Tamworth

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Thank you SBS for listening to everyones' concerns about the commentary accompanying the giro; it makes us feel like our "vote" counts! We have been able to thoroughly enjoy stage 7 onwards without the constant guffaws at the inane stuttering comments. Well done SBS!

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18 May 2009 9:24 AEST

Mick

From: Canberra

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Wa y to go Tomo and Trent .... not quite Liggett and Sherwen, but pretty damn good and a revelation compared to poor Paddy. Like everyone, I was so looking forward to seeing the Giro and you've restored my enthusiasm. Many thanks !

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17 May 2009 22:56 AEST

Andrew

From: Doncaster East

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As soon as I heard the commentary of Paddy Agnew on the Giro, I was so disappointed. But to SBS's credit, they deserve a big thanks for making a change to this so quickly. We all know Mike is a consumate professional when it comes to talking cycling and Trent appears to be a refreshing sidekick to Mike. Maybe there's a commentary role for Trent down the track! Others have already mentioned the late programming time of the 30 min highlights - I'd just like to reinforce this. Now I'm a big fan of Silvio Rivier's Global Village but to bump the Giro highlights to around midnight when repeats of Global Village are running at 6pm seems a little odd. Capitalising on the wonderful scenery of the 100th Giro d'Italia by showing the 30 min highlights at 6pm is the only constructive piece of criticism I have of SBS. Otherwise keep up the good work SBS.

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17 May 2009 22:38 AEST

David

From: Sydney

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I agree with all the previous comments about the improvement in the quality of the commentary. Well done Mike and Trent. However, SBS, what is happening with the timing of the highlights. The last 2 nights I have set my recorder and allowed an extra 10min at the end, but I am still missing the end of the stages because the highlights are starting at least 15min later than scheduled. For those of us who can't stay up to watch the stages this late it is very disappointing to wait until the next evening only to find we miss the end of the stage. It would be great if you could schedule the extended highlights for 6pm as you do with the Tour. Please, at least stick to the scheduled times!

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17 May 2009 20:21 AEST

Lindsay Prior

From: Canberra

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Well done, SBS! Tomo and Trent were excellent! A pleasure to watch (and listen).

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