I finally got to see road to the tour tonight, and I would have to agree with the 'improvements'. I am not sure if I would call them improvements. I thought she looked hotter last year than now. She looks like the newest version of Pamela Anderson, which I personally think is the cheap/slutty look. However, if that is what your after, spend your money.

I'm totally gullable. I just figured it may have been a Wonderbra or something.

Anyway, she is a good commentator/host.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I have to weigh in that I, 100%, support her decision to enlarge her tits.

As Jim Rhome says, "a rack is a rack."

Those constantly critical of cosmetic breast surgury, as self-absorbed, narcissitic, and egotistical whims, cannot discount the fact that boob jobs work!

Yeah, actually booth, you're right. I have to admit.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster here.

I suspect that Ms. Gum has had a baby, not plastic surgery. Her facial features and breasts look more like post-baby than man-made.



Back to lurking.

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I have one question,who is she sleeping with???I agree she is easy on the eyes but she knows nothing about cycling.(She even admitted it during last years tour)So how did she get the job?She is either sleeping with the boss or is married to him.If you or I had her resume we would never get that job.A weathercaster knows weather a poltical correspondent knows poltics She is a bike anchor but don't know bikes!!I turn the sound down or go to the kitchen for a snack when she is on.Yes I am married so that my taint my view.She was brought up in a dicussion during a training ride last summer.When I voiced my displeasure I was told that most guys want a little bimbo with their sports.I think Kirsten and Tom's Melissa the bank teller could have alot in common.She never voices an opinion or takes a stand during discussions with Bob and the other TDF men.I think a retired pro lady biker(Julie Furtado?)wuold be a hell of an improvement!!!!!I would like to get a lady's view of a bike race not another bubblehead blonde reading a teleprompter.There are enough headlight reporters(Leeann Tweed on fuel)Give me substance!!!!That is my 2 cents.Now that I painted a bulleyes on my back let the slings and arrows fly.

I wish they would bring back Adrian Karstan or John Tess back!!!!!They beat Kristin Gump by a mile

I don't think she's that knowledgeable either. But I think her role is to be sort of a straight-man (woman) to the insider/former pro Bob Roll. OLN is trying to build the cycling audience by appealing to people who don't know much about the sport -- which is most people. So viewers need someone to identify with. She's right there with Bob and can ask him all the stupid questions that the uninformed masses in their living rooms are asking themselves.

Anyway, I enjoyed the sexual tension between her and Bob last July almost as much as I enjoyed the race itself. She was like putty in his hands.

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pedalrunner,

I'd have to agree with you on this one. Maybe the appeal to the uninformed masses is everyone will want to know who she is sleeping with to get the job.

As far as trying to appeal to the uninformed masses, why not have a knowledgeable woman explain the strategy, intricacies, equipment, techniques, etc. in a way to educate those who are not knowledgeable. What a concept!!! Just because I like cycling doesn't mean I'm an expert or know it all about racing, although some may think I think of myself as one. I would love a more inside view to what is going on.

There are a lot of people (women, particularly) who are not avid fans of football ar baseball, yet we don't have some vapid male eye candy playing stupid doing play by play to attract women viewers.

I think you're right on target! This is purely the sexist media sports programming formula at work. OLN may be very progressive in taking such a leadership role in promoting and showcasing cycling and I congratulate them for this and I am grateful as well, but they are using the same old formula for selecting hosts.

Do they wish to attract a larger audience? Including women? Why not feature women's races besides mountain biking!

If an ignorant point of view is necessary for raising questions, (what makes anyone think Kristen is the one who comes up with the questions?) let them be off camera raising the questions.

Really, I can't imagine anyone who doesn't care about cycling would watch 30 minutes or more of an OLN program on cycling because they like looking at Kristen. I think most people already have a life and they would simply do what they would prefer to do.

I'm going to go ride now. Bye.

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Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

Guys- not to be a dick, but that is kinda mean.

The guy who made the comment about her having a baby (as opposed to implants) might be right on. Also, maybe her producer just asked her to wear a padded bra and a tight sweater. The audience is predominantly male after all.

Also, the woman is a "ground floor" journalist in a sport that is just starting to grow in media coverage in the U.S. I think she is doing at least a credible job and will probably get better. I have never done what she does, but I do announce races, and I can tell you first hand it is not easy. Even when you have been in the sport over 20 years you still wind up coming off looking like a dumbass sometimes.

AS a journalist, Gum faces an uphill battle: She is an attractive female and that, for some reason, immediately detracts from her credibility. That is a shame. Look at Rudy Bahktihar (sp?) on CNN. She is a very beautiful woman (as beiatuiful as a Wolf Blitzer is handsome I guess...) but first and formost she is a good anchor.

Does Gum have a nice figure and a pretty face? Yup. Did I notice? Absolutely. Does it make her any less of an anchor in a fledgling sport? Nope. It probably makes the entire look of the show "stickier". Heck, I'd rather look at and listen to her than Bob Roll, and I like Bob Roll.

And this discussion about sleeping her way to the top? Damn, why it gotta be like dat? In the unlikely event she hears about this forum and reads it can you imagine how that would make her feel? The likelyhood is she got behind the anchor desk becasue she was the best candidate.

If she had to sleep her way to the anchor desk imagine what Bob Roll had to do to get there- eh gad, If that is your logic it probably involved midgets, donkeys and Ziegfried and Roy.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Christ, if they want ratings, why don't they just kick her off and put Paul Teutel on...

Not to be stupid but, who's Paul Teutel?

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Gotta agree with Tom. One of the most revered announcers in golf, CBS, the Masters, was Pat Sumrall. Was he a scratch golfer or a field goal kicker. I think he was a field goal kicker and a great announcer. How many people said Jim Nantz got to the top by sleeping with Fred Couples?
I'm hope no one is accusing my daughters (or yours) of these things.

Bob Sigerson

Tom,

Paul Teutel is the Father on American Chopper on the Discovery Channel that is always yelling and carrying on about something... Hey, maybe you can start a reality TV show on Discovery Channel also. They have got a family on there running a funeral home why not The Reality Show Bikesports Michigan. Anyway Happy Easter... Enjoy Hawaii....

Craig in Alabama

Tom,

I applaud you for being so forgiving, but......

I have yet to see a cycling program with the host format reversed. Knowledgeable women hosts with a ground floor ignorant male "journalist" to attract the uninitiated viewer. It just doesn't happen. Just to set the record straight, by ignorance, I mean lack of knowledge, not stupidity or brainlessness.

And don't confuse following a script with journalism. Diana Lewis, Channel 7 Detroit ABC affiliate, is a news reader not a journalist. Likewise, Karen Drew, another local TV news reporter and substitute co-anchor, is a journalist, not a news reader, and it is evident in her presentation and content.

Kristen Gum presents herself and comes off much more as a news/script reader than as a legitimate journalist. I'm sure Kristen had to be thick skinned to get where she is now. If our criticism of her on this forum causes her true pain, then she can respond by convincing us with her future presentations that our past impressions were wrong. It surely wouldn't hurt the program. I don't believe that will happen, though, until after she studies journalism. If she already has, then she has either forgotten what she learned or it is a sad comment on what some universities teach as journalism. IMHO FWIW

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Ben Cline


Better to aspire to Greatness and fail, than to not challenge one's self at all, and succeed.

Oh, duy, I guess I knew that. I just couldn;t have reproduced that name worth a darn. I didn;t even know his name.

I like that show though. It's funny. I wish Ihad a shop area that big. That would rule. They have every tool too. Super cool.

On a high note, we just got about $4000 worth of new tools. Big fun.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I'm kind of with Tom on this one. Kirsten isn't that bad. She's trying, and I think that counts for something. You never know what goes on behind the scenes. It isn't fair to pass judgment on how she got on OLN. She may be a newbie journalist trying to break into the business, and the cycling gig on OLN was the only thing available. She may not even be a sports fan. When you're breaking in the business, you take what's offered and learn as you go. It's obvious that the OLN powers that be wanted some eye candy on the air. But I don't think that discredits her. I watched the Tour last year, and I don't think the coverage suffered because of her presence. She may have been the most knowledgeable anchor, but she made an effort.

I'm not sure about the plastic surgery thing, either. Someone mentioned a week or so ago that she was pregnant or had just had a baby. And I honestly didn't pay attention to her boobs last year, and therefore didn't notice the alleged enhancements this year. But plastic surgery is commonplace among people who make their living in front of the camera. Look at what Greta van Sustern did when she left CNN for Fox.

Take it easy on Kirsten, guys. We can't pass judgment on her based on the half or so we get to see her face on TV each week. Just be glad we're getting some cycling coverage.

RP

... I, for one, says that she does pretty well on here. I was not going after her journalistic or newreading abilities by any means. I was just making a comment.

It looks like she has had an eyelift, maybe a bit of lip augmentation, and the obvious breast augmentation. There are a few other things that I may have missed.

I notice these things, because I am into aesthetics, whether it be on humans or bicycle parts. Functional design is my vocation, whether it be for a good hairstyle, or an aerobar. I tend to notice these things. And she does not look like a Pamela Anderson wanna-be. Her enhancements are pretty subtle, but enough to make me notice.

I thought she was pretty darned cute before her "enhancements", but it does not have any bearing on how I feel about her being on OLN commenting on the TdF. I personally like having a cutie on the tele, as I am sick of the bro-down sausagefest that is usually on the tele commenting and reporting on sports. She does her job and does it very well, period.

In the end, if Kirsten feels better about what herself, it's going to make us like seeing her a lot more. I thought she was attractive before, and she is attractive after. If I am wrong about what I suspect, then I am very sorry. But I know that a baby does not brighten the eyes, plump up the lips, AND enlarge the breastestes at the same time. Maybe OLN has a new and better makeup person, whom I would love to meet and find out the secrets.

so you guys who do not like Kirsten,what do you want to do? get some burned out ex pro no one every heard of with a fifth grade edu,who can not make a complete sentence with out a huh or you know in it,and lets not forget the accent,make it sooo heavy you can not understand him,give her a break,

I think we agree on something, Mr. randall t!

LIke I said, a bro-down sausagefest with people who have no ability or stage presence making commentary is a certain way to make people yawn their way off of the OLN coverage of the TdF.

I could see the commentary of former pro, Jacques Blacques Shellacques,winner of two stages of the Tour de France in the years of 1959 and 1964: "Ze Lance ees not doing soo well because he ees amereecahn. But ee rides zee bikes reely, reeely fast, which makes eem, how you zay dees een angleass, not good for zee Tour.

"I like zee Jan, but ee ees NOT franch. Wee ave not ad any franch riders do worth zee damn een Tour seence Fignon. Dat damned Lemond won zat Tour, and Fignon and ees pony tail went down een shame."

And now to Italian World champion from 1942, Gianni Giovanni:" Da Toura is for the Italianos, capiche? But where are-a these-as Spaniardsas coming froma? Mario quit ze Toura the twentietha time-a. Whata do we do-a now-a?"

I prefer Ms. Gum.

Please note that I mean no disrespect to any native French or Italians by my lame-o printed impersonations.

Talking about her visual improvements are one thing. But questioning her talent, knowledge and how she got her job are other things entirely. You didn't do that, and went so far as to complement her work on OLN. I didn't mean to imply that you were being unfair to her. You weren't.

The visual enhancements are kind of moot to me. I don't care much for plastic surgery myself, but if others want to do it, go for it. She does look different, but I can't pinpoint exactly why. I'm kind of dumb like that: I was thinking new hair do, new makeup artist, something like that. But I would expect someone in your line of work to be able to pick up on these kinds of things. I wouldn't doubt that she's had some work done on her. Like I said earlier, it's pretty commonplace, even among so called "serious journalists."

I don't like people ranking on her for being dumb or stupid or such as that. I don't think it's fair. It is very easy to be critical of people. Sometimes, it just rubs me the wrong way.

I apologize if I implied you were being critical of her. That's not what I meant.

RP

she's not thick skinned at all.

Cosmetic plastic surgery is a major turn off (with exceptions for accident/birth defect victims). It only demonstrates that she has no self esteem, is shallow, and lacks any inkling of self confidence.

She's the kind of girl who wants to blow and screw her way up. It's a shame, becuase she used to be cute, and seemed capable of making intelligent decisions.

"She's the kind of girl who wants to blow and screw her way up. It's a shame, becuase she used to be cute, and seemed capable of making intelligent decisions."

Now that is unfair. How can you make that judgment about her?

Gosh Ben. Well since your in Florida your a sister screwing, trailer park living, water polluting, unable to use a simple ballot, welfare getting redneck.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.