Does anyone here believe that Chris Carmichael has added any value to the commentary during the tour? He seems to struggle through the most basic questions and it seems like Al and Bob have to dumb it down for him…
For someone putting himself out as an expert and getting as much publicity as he does - I was expecting A LOT more out of him during the Tour…
Additionally, I think Bob has really stepped up his game this year…I think he’s had many less akward moments and his hand gesturing is a little under control…
I think it is the other way around. Al asks the stupid questions that can’t be answered and Chris C. tries to put an answer to what he thinks Al might be asking… imo. Al just does not get it.
I think it is the other way around. Al asks the stupid questions that can’t be answered and Chris C. tries to put an answer to what he thinks Al might be asking… imo. Al just does not get it.
Agreed. How about the question comparing cycling with power to watts in a lightbulb? Seemed like Carmichael didn’t know how to respond to that for a sec.
I think Al has done a great job…I have no issues with him…I think he lends some class to the booth…he balances out Bob. Paul and Phil are on a completely different level.
Carmichael, being the expert he supposedly is, should be able to take the basic questions they ask and turn them into something meaningful…I’ve just been really disapointed with him.
It’s still OLN…capital of the PBR, not meant to be targetted at “us”.
I find his answers to be elementary, with just a hint of expertise for those foaming at the mouth for more information. His comments on LA’s TT were outstanding…
I think Chris is playing his cards close to rhe chest.He don’t want to give away any game plans.What if Al asked how Lance was doing cause he looked a little tired and Chris said Lance had a tempature and was feeling sluggish.The next day everyone would attack Lance.Chris has to think ahead to make sure he don’t give away the game plan.So he comes off wooden during the interview.
Well, ummm. Lance eats cornflakes for breakfast which is a switch from spaghetti and eggs, which came before muselix… Well, ummm. Lance is pushing out 400 watts…
I cringe every time I here that the OLN team is about to interview Chris. Look, he is very successful and probably has done a lot for the sport and for Lance but he irritates me. Mostly because it “seems” that he has taken all the fun out of cycling and made it such a science - or at least he always has a scientific explanation for everything. I know, I should ignore him and just enjoy cycling. His training is for the pros and those who really want to do well. I guess things sort of soured in my mouth when EVERY type of cadence or training regimen had been trade marked by him (ala FastCadence, SpeedPeddle or whatever all that stuff is called). Chris Charmichael is to cycling what Steven Covey is to Self Improvement - they both have a corner on the market.
My two cents. I just plain old enjoy Phil and Paul. Wish the little cutie that used to do side stories (example: she explained all the jerseys and took each one off to introduce the next, then when the yellow (last) jersey was left, she said something like no more jerseys are coming off). Miss Kirsten as a blondie too!
There have long been rumors that the relationship between Carmichael and Lance was a sponsorship one, not a coaching one, and that the real coach was Michele Ferrari. The new book “Lance Armstrong’s War” strongly supports this viewpoint.
Not sure who the brains behind the operation is now that Lance has severed ties with Ferrari after his conviction, I’m dubious that it’s Carmichael.
As far as being scientific, it’s my impression that the people that seem to be the most up on sports science don’t pay a lot of attention to Carmichael, I think he’s perceived as being good on marketing but not an innovator on coaching.
I knew Chris WAY back when he coached Lance to his first Tour win (he was coaching me that year, too…I spent a lot of time with him on the phone and in person)…simply put, Chris just isn’t very good on camera. If you see any of his coaching videos, his delivery is very stiff. He is not a good public speaker! Compare him to Troy Jacobson who is absolutly charming; the on-camera persona just does not exist for Chris.
i saw carmichael speak a couple years ago, and found his delivery appalling. In his attempt to sound inspirational while driving home a point, he yelled so loud we had to plug our ears. Every time he was coming to an important point, his voice would raise to the point where audience members were looking around just to be sure they weren’t the only one who thought his voice was so loud.
D- minus overall, since most of what he said could be found in lance’s first book.
His training is for the pros and those who really want to do well. I guess things sort of soured in my mouth when EVERY type of cadence or training regimen had been trade marked by him (ala FastCadence, SpeedPeddle or whatever all that stuff is called). Chris Charmichael is to cycling what Steven Covey is to Self Improvement - they both have a corner on the market.
Now THAT’S funny, because in my view, CTS/Charmichael is very RETAIL not pro. I was coached by CTS and it was – plain and simple – a joke.
He was horrible last year, he’s horrible this year. Adds nothing. In fact, he subtracts value by clogging up my broadcast that I pay for on cable with his useless time-eating babble that is obvious marketing for his services. It’s basically spam.
Wow! I am very surprised to hear some of the comments posted on Chris. I admint I’m not at all sophisticated when it comes to cycling so I thought that he probably did training for pros and pro wannabe’s. Sorry. I just wanted to make it clear that my cringing and dislike for Chris was on a purely personal level and not based on any experience with the man in any arena. I didn’t want to totally trash him just b/c I don’t like it when someone trade marks types of training, etc.
Look, my only experience with all of this was to read Lance’s training book b/c I thought it might help me a little. But after going through it and trying to remember all the things I was supposed to do, I just said “forget it, that’s no fun”. So I do what I used to do back in 1982, what my training partner taught me. Ha!
You might be looking for a more interesting response but I don’t have one…
My training partner was just a guy that was a chiropractor that used to race in college. I was in high school at the time and live WAY down in McAllen TX. Pretty boring stuff, huh?
But after going through it and trying to remember all the things I was supposed to do, I just said “forget it, that’s no fun”. So I do what I used to do back in 1982, what my training partner taught me. Ha!
You mean like drills and stuff? Most people eat that stuff up because they like training plans that are unique and complicated.
You might be looking for a more interesting response but I don’t have one…
My training partner was just a guy that was a chiropractor that used to race in college. I was in high school at the time and live WAY down in McAllen TX. Pretty boring stuff, huh?
Yep!
I thought you might have been subtly suggesting that you trained with Dave Scott. But he apparently trained alone. I’m sure your chiropractor mate had some good advice though, especially if you’re still involved in the sport 23 years later !
Yeah, drills I guess. It was back when “anaerobic” (sp?)was a new term (or at least relatively new, I may be giving myself too much credit) and we did sprints and measured our sprints using telephone poles. That just is more my level. Of course I never amounted to anything in the racing world but I had a lot of fun and great memories. I am now passing this stuff along to my 3 children .
Wow! I’ve sort of moved off topic here. I apologize. Chris, let’s get back to counting telephone poles, ok???!
I think they are all disappointing compared to other broadcasts. How about calling the race, that would be a novelty. If there is a group of 30 people climbing the Col de la Schlucht, virtually every commentating team in the world will try to give its spectators as many of those thirty riders’ names as possible. Not OLN, they’ll say Armstrong, Vino, Ullrich and maybe one or two more if they can recognize them and that’s it. But they’ll talk without end about all the disco guys that are missing. I’ll bet you a bagel that NOS in the Netherlands or France2 had at least 20 if not all 30 names announced and probably up on the screen during that climb.
We were just lucky that Horner finished 10th that stage, if he had been 21st they would never have known he was in the Armstrong group. Bottomline, anywhere in the world except North America you can watch the Tour on TV and know everything that is happening. Here, you have to search the web while watching OLN to figure it out.
I know, everybody will say we’re lucky to get anything, but that doesn’t make it right to settle for mediocrity.