Kirsten Gum on OLN

I disagree....my favorite call from ligget was last year stage 9 when lance went through the corn field. Second favorite was this year stage 12 I believe at la mongie (?) when Basso won the stage, ligget didn't know where the line was, he though basso was leading out armstrong but lance let him win, ligget was confused as fuck

 

Hey...she is a heck of a lot better than Adrian Karsten ever thought about being several years ago. He was absolutely terrible. And what about some of the idiots that ESPN had prior to OLN taking over. I think that Kirsten Gum really ads some "class" to the broadcast.

 

I don't know if you noticed...but she was on for a week before disappearing. But she showed back up during the last week of the tour in a different role.

 

I think you have to realize they are calling the race by looking at a television feed that they have no control over. It is French TV with French producers deciding which camera shot to use. It is much tougher than being in a stadium calling a sporting event where everyone has large numbers on their back and they have spotters feeding them information all the time and they have control of the cameras via a producer.
Just the dynamics of a bike race makes it difficult to cover a bike race, especially in the Tour when there are no circuits around the finishing area like you get in the Giro.

 

I think Americans have to realize that there are other races besides the Tour. The only thing Lance has up on Merckx is his 6 Tour de France vicories.
It would be difficult to find anyone who has ever dominated a sport the way Merckx did cycling.


5 Tour de Frances
5 Tour of Italy
4 World Championships
7 Milan-San Remo Classics
5 Liege-Bastogne-Liege
3 Paris-Roubaix
3 Wallonis Races
1 Tour of Spain
2 Tours of Belgium
2 Tours of Lombardy
1 Tour of Switzerland
32 international classics
17 6 days
world hour record
Sportsman of the year worldwide ISK (1969,1971, and 1974)
Super Prestige Trophy 7 times (1969-1975)
Athlete of the century Belgium
UCI trophy for the best cyclist of the 20th century

In one tour he won all the jerseys Yellow, Green and Polka dot
He would have won a sixth tour if a fan hadn't punched him.
His career was cut short by a back injury.

 

I needed to include that he had over 400 wins as a pro.
He lead the Tour for 90 some stages, Lance Just broke 60.

 

Not to mention that Merckx won over 500 races in his career...a feat that will probably never ever be approached.

 

I've got to hand her the benefit of the doubt, she sure does have a nice rack.

KIRSTEN, YOU ROCK!

 

Wow; it was just an aside. I'm an Armstrong fan, but even I think that Phil/Paul crawl way too far up his behind in the superlatives they use to describe him on every day of the TdF coverage. Sounds to me like Phil was merely explaining why he chose to describe Lance as the greatest TdF champion instead of "greatest cyclist ever", a title not even Armstrong would claim for himself.

BTW: having your accomplishments mentioned in comparison to that of Eddy Merckx is a compliment in and of itself. I do not wish to belittle you or engage in the snooty attitude of some in this forum who profess to have superior knowledge to the rest of us, but by asking the question of "what was so great about Eddy Merckx", I would submit you've outed yourself as someone who isn't familiar with the Cannibal's accomplishments.

Lance Armstrong has a significant palmares beyond the TdF, something which his detractors try to detract from. And there is no doubt that 7 consecutive TdF titles is a phenomenon that stands out as undoubtedly the most notable body of achievement in a single event in the history of cycling. That being said, Merckx raced everywhere, in every event and discipline, beat everyone, and did it in a raging-bull style that still causes goosebumps by those who can recollect it.

So, for all those reasons, I would suggest Phil wasn't trying to be disrespectful or take anything away from Armstrong's achievements, merely giving the moment a bit of historical perspective.

 

I think this year, KG came out much better than past when she had shown absolutely no knowledge about cycling in general. I admit it was a little bit fun watching her stories on other related situations of the TDF's Show.

Keep her like that please OLN or have her undergo a major course in cycling history for about 365 days before commenting on any cycling event again. It will do her lots of good.
lots of luck KG

 

Lance led the Tour for 83 stages, Merckx led it for 111, if I'm not mistaken.

PS - Also, Merckx won the Tour, the Vuelta, and the World Championships in the same year. Pretty impressive!


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Kirsten Gum chronology:
2003- blond w/ flat chest
2004- blond w/ big fake boobs
2005- brown hair, big fake boobs.

I saw Bob Roll speak at a book signing, in spring of 2004 and during the Q&A somebody in the audience made a crack about Kirsten's "new friends", and Roll said something to the effect of "you mean Phil and Paul" or "i think she calls them Phil and Paul". In any case, it was damn funny.

 

Actually he won the Giro,Tour, and Worlds in the same year, 1974. a feat replicated by Stephen Roache in 1987. He won at least one grand tour every year from 1968-74. And even gave up the chance to win his 4th Tour in a row in 1973 because he wanted to win the Vuelta that year, which of course he did. Dont even get me started on his classic and one day record.