I just watched a tape of stage 17, not until now after 18 is already done and gone. I watched stage 16 the previous night - these were the first stages I had seen this year. I was quite surprised.
First of all, why the B-team? Why was 80% of stage 17 with Trautwig/Bobke? How does this work? Do different versions of the telecast (the morning live, the afternoon, the evening) feature different people? Why just a few minutes of Liggett/Sherwin?
Second, what superficial drama - Trautwig/Bobke just didn't have the gravitas to give the stage what it deserved. I could pile on, but I'll just leave it at that. Really, really disappointing.
Third, I vaguelly recall that in other shows, the last X portion of the race would be free of interruptions. I'd have to go through some old tapes to get the details, but this one seemed loaded with commercial breaks, including one surprisingly close to Landis' arrival in Morzine. Aargh.
Minor quibbles: first of all, many commercial breaks featured an ad for OLN's coverage the next day, and the image they used was Landis pumping his fist on stage 17 - which hadn't happened yet! (This suggests I was viewing the afternoon or evening version, not the live morning.) Distracting.
Also, many people have remarked on the surprise shown by the break when Landis caught up to them. What I saw was a rear view, so rider faces/expressions not visible, heads turning when Landis came by, but no evidence of surprise or any other reaction, unless it was the turning of the heads that was so unusual.
I hope the version sold down the road is better than what I just saw...
First of all, why the B-team? Why was 80% of stage 17 with Trautwig/Bobke? How does this work? Do different versions of the telecast (the morning live, the afternoon, the evening) feature different people? Why just a few minutes of Liggett/Sherwin?
Second, what superficial drama - Trautwig/Bobke just didn't have the gravitas to give the stage what it deserved. I could pile on, but I'll just leave it at that. Really, really disappointing.
Third, I vaguelly recall that in other shows, the last X portion of the race would be free of interruptions. I'd have to go through some old tapes to get the details, but this one seemed loaded with commercial breaks, including one surprisingly close to Landis' arrival in Morzine. Aargh.
Minor quibbles: first of all, many commercial breaks featured an ad for OLN's coverage the next day, and the image they used was Landis pumping his fist on stage 17 - which hadn't happened yet! (This suggests I was viewing the afternoon or evening version, not the live morning.) Distracting.
Also, many people have remarked on the surprise shown by the break when Landis caught up to them. What I saw was a rear view, so rider faces/expressions not visible, heads turning when Landis came by, but no evidence of surprise or any other reaction, unless it was the turning of the heads that was so unusual.
I hope the version sold down the road is better than what I just saw...