Flo Bikes - some good coverage but anyone heard of WALT Van Aert?

[Mr.Gib]

I am in a state of shock. Didn't know whether to post this in the GCN is closing thread, the pro thread, or perhaps on grindr. Decided this is so extraordinary it deserved its own space.

Watching an Omloop preview on Flo and this clown, who has annoyed me in the past with his complete lack of bike racing knowledge, comes up with this gem. Over and over again he's calling Wout - WALT! The first time I thought I misheard so I hit the back arrow... and I'll be damned, this guy thinks that Van Aert's first name is actually WALT. He's been reporting on Van Aert for years now. This is a must watch for all subscribers.

And this on the heels of spending an hour reading comments on Reddit from North America cycling fans that are realizing there are no good options to watch bike racing this year. Flo might have some decent races, but they also have this guy.

[tymon_tm]

are you sure mispronouncing a name deserves a new thread on this board?

commentators and journalists do this all the time, but i'm sure you know it. maybe dude calls him Walt just for kicks. or maybe he's actually not Dutch and someone has told him that's the correct way (fwiw every commentator pronounces Vin's name differently; form Veen-gee-kard to Wee-nee-go. shall i start a new thread as well? )

[Rudi]

In fairness - a thread where native speakers could confirm the pronounciation of riders names might be interesting.

[Mr.Gib]

are you sure mispronouncing a name deserves a new thread on this board?

No absolutely not. A thread about a mispronounced name is a waste. English commentators' mispronounciation of all sorts of European names is common and unremarkable. Nope wouldn't do that and this thread has nothing to do with a mispronounced name. But a thread about a journalist who doesn't know the name of perhaps the best known pro cyclist in the world is very worthwhile.

And even if you don't think it's worthwhile, I just figured a few Flo subscribers would get a laugh, so at the least a single post was reasonable. But glad that you take the topic seriously enough the add the the thread so thanks (I guess ) for keeping it going.

Also the point I make is not completely random. It has a bit of extra relevance in light of the abundant criticism of Flo that has emerged with the shut down of GCN. This is just another example of shoddy workmanship.

commentators and journalists do this all the time

I have watched most if not all races that Wout van Aert has ridden since he turned pro and I've never heard him called Walt - not ever. Though one cyclocross commentator pronounced it "Woot". You'll note I didn't start a thread about that.

maybe dude calls him Walt just for kicks.

You might be on to something here - the journo wants to look unsophisticated, unprofessional, and foolish, so he intentionally changes the name. Though I think arguing a reflexive default to the English version of Wouter would make a lot more sense.

or maybe he's actually not Dutch and someone has told him that's the correct way

And maybe he's not Belgian either. Doesn't matter if he's from Mars, if his job is know who the riders are, and he expects people to pay for his commentary on them, actually knowing their names is pretty much job one.

Did you even watch the video? The name is not being mispronounced. It would seem that the journalist thinks the name is actually Walter and he's called "Walt" for short. It is literally the guy's job to report news on racers. You think he should notice something unusual about the spelling of "WALT" if he was paying attention at all. Or maybe he had never seen the name "Wout van Aert" in print. Yeah right. And again, this is not some obscure continental pro with a hard to prounounce name, this is perhaps the most well know cyclist in the world.

[Karvalo]

Did you even watch the video?

Even? Did he go to FloBikes, search for the video you posted a screengrab of, find the timestamp and play it just to hear someone say Walt?

I'm guessing no, probably no-one did.

[Mr.Gib]

Boy, what was supposed to be a simple point of amusement, the sort of thing that likely wouldn't attract any replies, seems to have generated an odd amount of attention. If this keeps up we could be on page two in no time.

[UpFromOne]

Gregor there has for many years fancied himself as a sportcaster, but alas no one would have him.
So he does his own thing.

Try his TdF videos for more schitts & giggles.

[Mocs123]

Walt must be Wout's brother. I'd sign him now if I were a pro team!

[Mr.Gib]

Decided to update. I've been hard on Flo but they've been picking up a lot of the slack left by the absence of GCN in the streaming game. Always enjoy Tirreno Adriatico. So credit where credit is due.

BUT damn, they just can't help themselves with the spoilers. So as a public service announcement I have copied below the instructions from Flo on how to (maybe) avoid spoilers. (This is not a joke, this is real.)


As a sports media streaming company, FloSports wishes to provide our customers with the breaking news that shapes the sports world around us. The unintended byproduct of this is that, unfortunately, if you aren’t completely caught up with your favorite on-going sporting events, you might be unintentionally spoiled of the results.

Even something as harmless as going to the front page can be a spoiler mine-field, so follow these steps and you will greatly mitigate the odds of missing out on the action.

Bookmark the “Events” page for your favorite sport.
We recommend bookmarking the Events page as opposed to the home page. The Home page will frequently show articles regarding recent events, updates, and breaking news.

Select the event you are trying to view.
From the Events page, you can directly select the event you are interested in and click Videos to select the full replay. You will likely see all of the videos relating to this event first, which includes interviews. To fully ensure you won't see any spoilers, you will need to follow the following step.

After clicking on the event of your choosing, edit the address bar,
Instead of going to the “Videos” tab on the event, copy and paste "/videos?facets=%7B"Content%20Type":"Full%20Replay"%7D" at the end of the website address in the address bar. This will make it so the video filter is selecting ONLY Full Replays for events, so this will guarantee you won't see any interviews or highlights spoiling the race.

An example of this for the recent Digital Swiss 2020 race for FloBikes would go as follows.

You would go to the event hub from the Events page which should bring you to this link here; https://www.flobikes.com/events/6743718 ... al-swiss-5

Then, you copy and paste the above addition to the end address to bring you to only the Full Replays so that the link now looks like this; https://www.flobikes.com/events/6743718 ... Replay"%7D

Clicking on the new link will then bring you to only the replays!

Also, when following an event, please make sure to be extra careful around the newsletter we send out each day. While it’s a great tool for keeping up with upcoming events, do note that it can include things like results from recent events! So to stay on the safe side, if you are currently behind on an on-going event, it might be best to save looking at our emails until you’ve gotten caught up.

With these tips, you should mitigate the chances of getting spoiled for any event you have yet to be caught up on. Enjoy!

[EtoDemerzel]

Flo is the debbie downer of youtube. I hate that obnoxious interviewer that always tries to drama queen everything up too. I just block Flo.
Eurosport has been posting up summaries and clips without spoilers.

[Mr.Gib]

Did you even watch the video?

Even? Did he go to FloBikes, search for the video you posted a screengrab of, find the timestamp and play it just to hear someone say Walt?

I'm guessing no, probably no-one did.

The video was on the home page for about a week. Any subscriber that signed in would have been confronted with it. Those that care could watch, those that don't won't. But regardless, yet another great Karvalo contribution to a thread.

[Karvalo]

The video was on the home page for about a week. Any subscriber that signed in would have been confronted with it. Those that care could watch, those that don't won't.

I'm pretty sure he's European, so why would he be a Flo subscriber?

But regardless, yet another great Karvalo contribution to a thread.

I guess it really must have been if it was worth bringing up 2 weeks later.

But hey, feel free to keep biting back at people. I'm sure that'll help create the amusing thread you were hoping for.

[Mr.Gib]

The video was on the home page for about a week. Any subscriber that signed in would have been confronted with it. Those that care could watch, those that don't won't.

I'm pretty sure he's European, so why would he be a Flo subscriber?

I bet I can get you to post again.

It's an interesting question that you raise. Simple to explain really, he wouldn't be - Euro's have all sorts of good options for viewing pro racing.
A better question though is why comment on something one has not seen?

But regardless, yet another great Karvalo contribution to a thread.

I guess it really must have been if it was worth bringing up 2 weeks later.

I only brought it up two weeks later because it was the first time I looked at the thread without signing in. You know that once I have signed in, I can't see your posts. OTOH, curious to know what brought you back here two weeks later?

Fact is I dunked on your post (bless you OnTheRivet). No reason to get out of sorts. Why not just move on to a topic that interests you. It's pretty clear that this one doesn't.

[Karvalo]

It's an interesting question that you raise. Simple to explain really, he wouldn't be - Euro's have all sorts of good options for viewing pro racing.
A better question though is why comment on something one has not seen?

Right, so as you comprehensively explain, the 'did you even watch the video' comment makes no sense. Were you expecting him to subscribe to Flo bikes just to watch a video you thought was funny?

[OTOH, curious to know what brought you back here two weeks later?

Who could possibly say? It's a mystery

Why not just move on to a topic that interests you. It's pretty clear that this one doesn't.

The topic didn't appear to interest anyone, that's why you've behaved so petulantly towards the people that said as much. What does interest me is just how pissy you're willing to get in the name of creating a fun and amusing thread. It's a bold strategy, let's see if it pays off for you.

[Mr.Gib]

Right, so as you comprehensively explain, the 'did you even watch the video' comment makes no sense. Were you expecting him to subscribe to Flo bikes just to watch a video you thought was funny?

It's rhetorical. I'll explain for you: it would be the same as saying "you shouldn't comment on something you haven't seen" (as you will miss some information that is likely to result in missing the mark with the comment.)

The topic didn't appear to interest anyone.

You can try to sell this idea all you want, but many people are unhappy with Flo Bikes and there have been many posts about it.

that's why you've behaved so petulantly towards the people that said as much. What does interest me is just how pissy you're willing to get in the name of creating a fun and amusing thread.

Classic projection. Petulant? Pissy? Look up two lines. This is classic Karvalo. You make an ill advised comment, you get called on it, and you double down, triple down, change the subject, misquote people. I'd be entertained by it as I am a fan on online mayhem, but it totally messes up threads I might consult for useful information - that's why your blocked.

So here you are in a thread you insist no one cares about, coming back again and again.

And I'd be willing to bet a fair amount of money that you'll be back yet again. It's who you are and it's what you will do. You'll spend hours figuring out how to turn around what I've just written. But you won't comment on the quality of Flo Bikes, whether they are good or bad, you won't comment on if it matters that a pro cycling journalist doesn't know Wout Van Aert's name. Instead you'll just come here and spill your purse full of diversion on the floor.

If you find it all so objectionable why not just block me? (And you don't have to answer that with a post saying that you'll block me - you can actually just block me.) But we both know you can't do that.