If someone doesn’t consider themselves one of them, that’s their problem. “I conduct a dialogue with smart people on air. If someone doesn’t consider themselves one of them, that’s their problem Sports commentator Sergei Kurdyukov
2018-01-30 08:08:45
MiscellaneousRussian journalist and commentator on the Eurosport TV channel Sergey Kurdyukov in a large exclusive interview, the site spoke about expectations from the Olympics, Daria Domracheva, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Sergei Dolidovich and much more.
In the Belarusian women's biathlon today there is an illusion of relative prosperity in personal starts. It’s hard to remember a season when three athletes had the right to compete in the mass start, even if Nadezhda Skardino did not participate in the last one on her own initiative. System or coincidence of many successful factors?
By the way, many associate this with the return of Austrian coach Alfred Eder. At the same time, the work of Russian specialists Polkhovsky and Korolkevich, who were the coaches of the national team during this Olympic cycle, was previously criticized. Also, the fruits of Bolshakov and Lopukhov’s work with the men’s team are not particularly visible. Many argue that the methods of mentors who worked in Soviet times are yesterday's century. Or is it too simplistic a concept?
Don't know. Everything is individual. I have an Italian climbing coach, he is well over 60, but he does not miss a single new trend in his field, moreover, he generates them himself. At the same time, he does not cling to any fashionable thing like a drowning man at a straw, but studies, tries, discards - or adopts it. He doesn't have a climbing wall - he has a scientific laboratory. And this is not even a technique, but a philosophy of life, which does not always depend on age. A lot of freshly graduated athletes who got together, invested in rent, walls and plastic holds and just raised money could learn from him. The law of nature is known to everyone: those who move and develop survive. Returning to biathlon, Eder always gave the impression of a man who moves and develops.
Few people are sure about Domracheva now. In one race she can show speed at the level of the fifth or sixth ten, in another she can be the fastest. Yes, even during one start. You don’t have to look far for an example: on one loop of the women’s mass start she was 23rd on the track, and on the last lap she was the fastest. Is there an explanation for this? Could this be due to the fact that for the first time in her career she spent the preseason using notes and together with Ole Einar Bjoerndalen?
It doesn’t matter at all whether someone is sure of it or not. The main thing is that on “day X” she is confident in herself. And on this path to the cherished day she managed to completely isolate herself from uncertain well-wishers. She has 25 cup victories and three Olympic gold medals. She is an adult modern athlete and knows what she is doing, unlike those insecure ones who have never skied five kilometers in a row in their lives. The combination of performances at the highest level with full family life, with raising a child - yes, it is more difficult than preparing in a cocoon, fenced off from reality. But this is an adult choice of modern adults. With the mass start, everything is even clearer - Daria knows these mountains, knows how to distribute herself in the mountains so as not to be “blown away.” Any race in the mountains, in any kind of endurance sport, is a dialogue with your body. But few athletes, even high level, are able to listen to themselves, like Daria. All of the above does not mean that she is guaranteed success at the Games. Absolute guarantees in sports... when they are mentioned, I feel a slight discomfort - guess why. But she has very good chances, she is among about five top favorites.
Daria's performance at the finish line was universally praised, as she stopped fighting with Wierer after forcing her to lose her stick seconds earlier. Are you inclined to join in the praises? And is such fair play appropriate at the Olympics?
We live in such a time - people... the word “getting wild” suggested itself, but I love animals and don’t want to use this word in such a context. Big sport risks slipping into gladiatorial fights. And Daria’s action is not in trend. The trend is “meat”, which is demanded by the crowd in the stands of the Coliseum.
What is the point of sports, if that's the case? In medal reports and earnings of athletes and sponsors? But only? Now, if you remember the educational role of sport for children or the responsibility of an athlete as a guide for those adults whose idol he is, you risk not only laughing but laughing. This act - quite obviously not ostentatious or PR - simply proves that Daria has brains, education and culture. Three things that are in great short supply today. Dot. Can what I said be classified as a dithyramb genre? I doubt.
What can Nadezhda Scardino, who won bronze in Sochi 2014, claim in Pyeongchang?
Yes to anything. That's why it's the Olympics. For every ten predicted results, there will definitely be one well-prepared surprise.
Krivko made it onto the podium for the first time in her career this year. How do you see its future? And in general, is it necessary to talk about the future, and not demand results from a 26-year-old biathlete right now?
No need to demand. We must wish for this result and let it work in peace. Is 26 years of endurance sports considered pre-retirement age? If an athlete in his youth was not killed by a “brilliant” training system under the motto “If he doesn’t die, he will make it,” in a quarter of a century he can only begin to open up. And later you can. No two organisms are exactly alike. And if in a female athlete we see a woman, a person, a person, and not just a combat unit with a rifle, real miracles are possible. In biathlon, for example, you don’t have to look far for examples.
Who, in principle, will arrange the division of awards in South Korea?
One of the stable cup racers, of course, may get sick (I don’t wish this on anyone under any circumstances), fall into a functional hole, and be unable to fully adapt to such a distant time zone; but in general - I don't think that the season's leaders will open up many vacancies. Kuzmina, Domracheva, Dahlmeier are not going anywhere; Mäkäräinen - if at least at the farewell Olympics he can control his nerves - too. Virer’s fate will also be determined by his mental state. As always, the fleet-footed but imprecise Herrmann and Eckhof have a chance in the sprint. In a long race, also as usual, breakthroughs by “dark horses” are most likely. Vitkova, the French women, Vita Semerenko are somewhere nearby all the time.
For the first time in many years, men's biathlon is so intriguing in the fight for the Big Crystal Globe. Johannes Bo is able to prevent Martin Fourcade from winning it for the seventh time in a row. Do you have any preferences in this pairing?
That is, which of them would I rather see holding a globe? Johannes Thingnes Bo. Not because I have anything against Martin, it’s just that no sport benefits from autocracy that lasts too long. But Fourcade is deadly stable. If he sometimes loses, it is without failure, he gives almost no points, and in modern men’s biathlon only he is still capable of this.
Six-time Olympic champion and multiple world champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen did not pass the internal selection, although due to the desire to compete in the seventh Olympics in his career, he delayed his retirement. How did they react to the decision of the Norwegian federation to give preference to Bjontegaard? According to the sporting principle, but still to a person who also has not won a personal license and does not seem to have any aspirations for high places.
Erlenn Bjontegaard has qualified and should start. With his third place at the pre-Olympic mass start, he finally put all questions to rest. Another thing is that in modern sports there should be additional admission criteria and a flexible quota.
In this regard, was it worth it for the IOC to take the unprecedented step of granting Bjoerndalen a license on its own, as has been rumored over the past week?
This is exactly the second part of the previous question. If they had given him some kind of wild card, they would have done a good deed. And they themselves would benefit from this, first of all. It would be high time for high-ranking sports bosses to stop sternly knitting their eyebrows, puffing out their cheeks and realize that their economy is a magnificent genre of art, a product of the cultural evolution of mankind, and this is precisely its present and future. If one person's appearance at the start attracts thousands of people to the stands and increases television ratings - what's the problem then? I don’t remember offhand who was in the top three of that Alpine Ski World Cup final in Schladming 2012, but I remember in great detail Didier Cuche’s farewell ride in equipment from the 30s of the 20th century. People laughed, applauded until their palms hurt, a friendly atmosphere reigned in the stands, as if at a gathering in a mountain hut, and it didn’t matter what country you were from or who you were rooting for. This is what sport is for. I understand that many will disagree, but perhaps we just see the world differently. It was always incredibly interesting for me to watch the now 45-year-old Noriyaki Kasai jump, even when he had long periods of decline. And pay attention: the stands give him a standing ovation, no matter how he performs. Because he is the one who changes ideas about human capabilities, about the inexorability of the laws of nature, and not those who break records by turning themselves into biorobots.
We joke that this state of affairs should have been foreseen and Bjoerndalen should have been offered Belarusian citizenship in advance as Domracheva’s wife.
Jokes aside, but I don’t see a problem with this. Except for one thing: it's too late. Well, naturally, it would be worth asking the King himself first.
How do you feel about the practice when great athletes continue to perform at an advanced age and even return to sports without showing high results? The same example of Hannu Manninen in Nordic combined. Is all this necessary: or is it better that such athletes are remembered at their peak?
If the athlete himself needs it, and his appearance pleases the most loyal of his fans, if he passes the selection, in the end - well, it’s good that he performs. And glory, any glory, is smoke and self-deception. To leave at its peak or at its decline - what's the difference? Human memory is short, the crowd loves to throw away recent idols and rush in search of new ones. Only the destroyers of millions of souls like Alexander the Great, Napoleons and others like them are firmly stuck in the memory of mankind. If Manninen has, relatively speaking, ten people left who will be sincerely grateful to him all their lives for the happy moments that he gave them - this is the meaning, and everything, in the end, was for their sake.
We also have such an example in skiing. Sergei Dolidovich, at 44 years old, will fly to the seventh Games in his career. And in order to get there, in the spring-summer of 2017, he launched a crowdfunding campaign. And the funds were collected.
Wonderful. The person is faithful to the cause and serves it. If you have the strength and motivation to serve like this, that’s great! The fact that people supported Sergei with their money is the answer, and this makes me happy: it means that these people are able to look at many things more broadly. He didn’t cross anyone’s path, didn’t take someone else’s place. He may not be that fast today, but there is a concept of “class” in professional sports. He is a high-class athlete from whom a young racer can learn a lot, even before the start or after the finish - if, of course, this young one was initially raised correctly, starting from children's school.
In cross-country skiing, we have never attracted foreign coaches. And in the last two decades - even Russian-speaking countries former USSR! What do you think: is a foreign coach a fix? How capable is he of getting the farm back on its feet overnight? Any guess as to how far progress has gone in the leading skiing powers of the West: Germany, France, Norway, Sweden? There is, perhaps, an opinion why skiing in Russia is at a very good level, but here we are in trouble?
In Russia (compared to other winter sports, at least) cross-country skiing is mass appearance sports This has been the case for many decades and, despite all kinds of shocks, it has remained. There are many schools, hundreds of thousands of lovers who have children growing up. No matter how much they say that in modern sports mass participation is not necessary, it is enough to find two geniuses and assign one competent coach to them - all this is casuistry, in my opinion. Austria wins in alpine skiing because it is a national sport. With Norway, everything is generally clear. And a coach from far abroad is not a panacea, of course, but the arrival of such a specialist can be a good positive shake-up, “wake up the athletes.” Sometimes it is enough for a rider who is used to driving himself into insensibility to be taught how to rest properly, be distracted, and recover properly - both physically and psychologically. Western experts know a lot about this.
What are your general expectations from the Olympics? Maybe there are those for whom you will worry personally?
Necessarily. But I'll keep this to myself. We are a pan-European sports channel and it is naturally understood that we should, if possible, distribute our experiences evenly and give credit to the strongest. One way or another, I always especially root for those who have served their cause for a long time and faithfully, for whom sport is an eternal striving for perfection, and for those who have had a special difficult fate- injuries, other circumstances - but they did not give up.
The Gracenote agency, which specializes in processing statistical information, in the latest version of its forecast insists that Germany will win the overall medal standings at Pyeongchang 2018. And the USA and Canada will also be left behind. Belarus is given two silver medals. How adequate is this forecast?
Well, they are statisticians who know everything. And in principle, I don’t really like numbers and forecasting. It’s interesting for me to be surprised, it’s interesting when any forecasts collapse. And, to be honest, I also have a difficult relationship with medal standings; there is always an unhealthy hype around them - almost the same as in those years when on a global scale the sport was a fierce tennis match across the Iron Curtain between political and economic systems. I'm interested in personalities and incredible, memorable stories. Therefore, one medal can sometimes sink into memory deeper than three columns with the number of medals.
Some of my colleagues asked me to thank you for your work and wish you bright reports and a grateful audience. Including Sergey Yuzhik (bulba_beer), whom you may remember from the Eurosport forum. Successful Olympics to us and you!
Thank you! Of course I remember. The forum was useful tool, a good platform for interactivity, until it suffered a sad but typical fate - the invasion of trolls, fake characters and simply not quite mentally healthy individuals. And we closed it. Hello back to colleagues! I wish them and myself a beautiful sports performance at the Olympics that will inspire people to take their skis - or whatever they like best - and go discover new life. Believe in yourself and realize the value of your destiny. Sport makes us capable of taking action and changing our lives, in every sense, for the better.
Grigory TROFIMENKOV
— You comment exclusively individual types sports Why not team ones?
- Ha ha! Cycling, with the exception of time trial racing, is the most team appearance a sport where one in the field is not a warrior (and even more so in the mountains)! Another thing is that the commentator, due to poor knowledge of the specifics, may have difficulty seeing tactical and strategic constructions— and his audience won’t even understand this. What about general start races in winter sports and relays? It would be more correct to say that I do not comment on game types - this is true. It happened that way. I love all kinds of races, I love when each personality comes out in relief. Well, the work is now through the roof, where else can we add?
— “Eurosport” is a rather specific channel; it shows things that you won’t see on others. Like any other site, TV ratings are probably compiled on it. What place does cycling take among summer sports?
— Well, firstly, you won’t see this on other channels in Russia, because the number of sports on broadcast channels is generally extremely limited (minus the World Championships and Olympics). The same bike is shown in comparable volumes in many European countries even on non-sports channels. As for the rating, we still have 22 language versions, the numbers vary from country to country. But almost everywhere cycling is in the top three.
What happens in sports is a derivative of what happens in life in general
— Is it difficult to comment on a sport that is considered one of the dirtiest in terms of doping? Admire people and their victories, and then find out that these victories were obtained by dishonest means?
— The key word is “considered.” In endurance sports at the elite level the situation is more or less the same, it’s just that cycling, due to internal and external feuds, constantly airs its dirty laundry in public (and the media happily helps this), while others manage to somehow keep genie within the bottle. And the problem is so large-scale and long-standing that I am never free from doubts. Although in a dishonest way - in relation to whom? To those who lost because they built their pharmaceutical training less professionally? Doping is an extremely unhealthy phenomenon, this is my firm belief. Only its use is flesh of the flesh dominant in modern society ideas: achieve success at any cost. What happens in sports is a derivative of what happens in life in general.
— Is it even possible to win fairly in cycling? Almost all the winners of the main races in recent years have been involved in doping scandals?
- I believe it is possible. True, when victory is achieved only with blood and sweat (and in a “doping victory” these components, by the way, are also present), the promoters and the public who have just thrown beautiful slogans begin to whine: well, it’s unspectacular, boring! You will decide, gentlemen, what we are striving for.
— But still, there are so many scandals... Is the threat of excluding cycling from the Olympic program real?
- I think it’s unrealistic. The maximum that could be is a return to the old scheme: Games are only for amateurs. And even now everything is so mixed up. Today's sport is completely commercial, including Olympic sports. First - economics and politics, then - everything else. Of course, I want more elevation, of course!
“Sport can take away health and give it back”
— Have you been seriously involved in sports yourself? Why did you end your career?
— The Master of Sports standard is quite a serious milestone, but what is it from the point of view of a member of the national team or an elite professional? So “seriously”/“frivolously” - everything is relative here. Before reaching his maximum in cycling, he collected a collection of sports categories: swimming, skiing, running, kayaking. I probably ended my career (such a big word) when, as a junior, I strived for Olympic heights without taking into account (my own and the coach’s) the dynamics of the body’s development. My health improved, and there was a forced break, during which development in other areas progressed quite successfully. I regained my health through the same sport, so it is a universal thing, it needs to be used wisely. But if we talk not about a career with sky-high ambitions, but about life in sports - it continues, there is always a place for training and competitions in it.
— You tried your hand as a writing journalist, but then stepped away for some time. Why?
— “I tried my strength” is about those times when I had my first couple of dozen publications, just during a physical breakdown in my youth. Today, many hundreds of materials have been published in the paper press alone. I quit my job at a daily newspaper, which I did for several years—that's true. For a number of reasons, one of the main ones is that it is difficult to sit on two chairs during major races, preparing for commentary and working on air requires one hundred percent commitment. Work in magazines continues, there is a different rhythm. Two articles about motorcycle racing every month. And for the last five years I have been constantly working on the topic of skiing, mountains in general, and travel, publishing a lot of materials with my photographs. In my opinion, it is natural for a person to expand the horizons of his activities. And travel and creative exploration of our amazing planet is what I have dreamed of since childhood.
I have always especially loved working in children's plays - an amazing, appreciative audience, it allows you to be completely transported to another world
— Before becoming a commentator, you worked in the theater. More? What performances did you play in, what role was your favorite?
— It was a period of theater boom, we had a small hall with 200 seats, but we traveled a lot with performances. Real masters worked with us, from the Mayakovsky and Soviet Army theaters, trainings were conducted by highly qualified teachers - from GITIS, for example. The director's choice of the repertoire took place in free flight, the directors could take on whatever interested them, and the occupancy of the halls was still guaranteed. From Erdman to Woody Allen. I have always especially loved working in children's plays - an amazing, appreciative audience, it allows you to be completely transported to another world, to forget about stage conventions. After all, when children play a game, they live a new life every time. Outplayed everything - from princes to robbers.
— You also worked on the radio, in radio plays, and did voice-over work. What did it give you in professionally, as a sports commentator?
- Yes, there were a lot of different activities there for several years - end-to-end broadcasting, dubbing, acting, reading works of fiction, I even did a little staging. Together with the theater, it gave me... it’s even hard to say what part of what today’s broadcast work is based on. I'm afraid to underestimate. Certainly more than half. Stage speech, the ability to communicate with an audience, see an object, build internal drama, set a task and much, much more. Luggage is priceless.
“TV must provide interactivity, otherwise it will fall by the wayside”
— You were one of the first, if not the first, to use direct communication with viewers via Twitter in reporting. What prompted this idea?
— Just the desire to make a completely virtual audience more tangible. Exchange energy with real people. Receive feedback, better understand what people need, what “catches” them more. Attract them to working together above the report - someone reported an interesting fact, someone noticed something you missed. It started more than ten years ago, with the Eurosport forum. But Twitter is much more convenient for live broadcasting, at least in terms of the interface. And it is also very important that it is easy to control inadequate subjects who, being in the minority, are capable of turning any forum into a trash heap. Actually, because of this, we closed the conference at one time. And so, in modern conditions television must provide interactivity and participation, otherwise new technologies will push it to the margins.
— How do you recover after three-week marathons, when you have to comment on stage races such as the Giro, Tour de France, and Vuelta almost every day? What do you do with your voice to prevent it from sitting down?
- Well, I’m a cyclist! No, that's not what you were thinking about. The skills to spend energy and restore it come from sports. You must find at least one and a half to two hours a day to move around, turn off your boiling brain, and breathe Fresh air. I am very attached to nature, and the outdoors saves me. In the car, listen to the music that helps you recover. On the air - constantly moisten your throat, correctly build “eavesdropping” in your headphones, inter-noise balance, volume of your own voice. Eating and drinking is sometimes the same sports nutrition as during the race. Although... sometimes the voice still “flies out”, there are key points when you no longer take care of yourself.
Road racing, especially stage racing, is not even a series, it is an epic. It's extremely telegenic - a great journey, a great adventure.
— There was a time when you worked as a press attaché for the Tinkoff team. Credit systems". Now there is no desire to take a similar position again in another team?
“It’s too much to bear, then you’ll have to squeeze out the activity that is core to me—I don’t want that.” At Tinkoff I was only one of those who worked with the press, almost on an optional basis, this is completely different.
— You comment on sports that you understand thoroughly. Be it cycling or alpine skiing, which, as far as I know, you do very seriously. Have you ever had to comment on something from sight without being immersed in the sport?
— Every commentator had to save broadcasts sometimes. But if on an ongoing basis... It is important for me to immerse myself in the topic, otherwise I will fall below my level, and this is unacceptable. I haven’t been involved in ski jumping or motorsports either, but they are really interesting to me. Eurosport is a channel that gives you the luxurious opportunity to broadcast only your favorite sports. By the way, I don’t comment on alpine skiing, I write about it and do it - but that’s all.
“The attitude is not to work, but to pump money here and now”
— Should a commentator even be a professional in the sport he leads? In our country, many commentators are not athletes - philologists, teachers, lawyers, economists.
— A professional, strictly speaking, is someone for whom sport is the main job for which he receives money. In this understanding of the word, it is not necessary to be a professional, and sometimes even undesirable - if this activity crowded out all interests from life, narrowed my horizons, and did not give me the opportunity to achieve a certain educational level (level of language proficiency, in the end). Another danger: for many ex-pros, what happens in the sports arena is ordinary and does not evoke an emotional response. But being a qualified athlete, or even better, continuing sports activity in one form or another is highly desirable, I am convinced. You are on this wave, you see everything from the inside. I have noticed many times that the most successful reports come after a good workout.
— On forums, fans sometimes accuse you of being too “clever” and insufficiently emotional. Do you agree with this point of view?
— Can I use the network slang term “accordion”? Firstly, on forums this is present in the form of shouts from an Internet gallery, even from the wording it is clear what kind of audience this is. Secondly, through Twitter and Facebook there is a stream of feedback that is exactly the opposite. The Internet is full of pieces of my reporting that focus on emotional outbursts. Directors always turn up the faders on their consoles almost to the minimum to avoid overloading the channels. So, in general, it's funny. I’m generally silent about “abstruseness”: I conduct a dialogue on air with smart people, if someone doesn’t consider themselves in this category, it’s very sad, but that’s their problem. Further. What is emotionality? Acoustic pressure? Is the fairground barker emotional? Yes, it is empty, like a tin can! It has long been studied by theatrical psychology that an audience can be held for a long time only by a variety of emotions and variations in tempo. If everything goes on the same hysterical note from start to finish, it destroys the perception of the material. Well, to put the finishing touches, I’ll quote a great artist from a century ago, whose legacy is much more unconditional than the product that my colleagues and I are creating: “I’m not a piece of gold for everyone to like.” Fortunately, most of the audience is happy with what I bring to them.
— Why do you think we have absolutely no promotion for the stars of cycling, freestyle, skiing, athletics, swimming, and even biathlon? After all, Isinbaeva, Zaitseva and Chepalova are exceptions to the rule.
- For the same reason that for many years in our country, those who seek to make capital rushed to either resell something, or “spend money,” or, at best, get something out of the ground, but did not do anything, For example, knowledge-intensive industry oriented to the long term. Pump in money here and now, from the types that occupy 95 percent of the space of sports publications - this is the goal. And for personalities from other disciplines to gain nationwide popularity, we need to work on this, we need to want this.
“Sport is a great phenomenon from an aesthetic point of view”
- “Giro”, “Vuelta”, “Tour de France” - they are so long that they do not fit into the modern TV format. Is it possible to change them to suit the television network?
— Road racing, especially multi-day racing, is not even a series, it’s an epic, a genre. The public is brought up on this, and small forms, on the contrary, do not suit them - they always expect mountain stages, five-hour broadcasts from start to finish. Especially when good weather, it is extremely telegenic - a great journey, a great adventure. But, of course, a lot depends on the commentator - you need to captivate, you need to know a lot and see a lot, helping others to see. Our audience was initially unprepared for this format, but over the years the audience has formed and continues to grow. As for the modification of stages, yes, it occurs, but in an evolutionary way.
What is emotionality? Acoustic pressure? Is the fairground barker emotional? Yes, it is empty, like a tin can!
— Do track cycling races have an advantage over road cycling as a television spectacle?
— What does sports television lack to be more popular in Russia?
- It's not about television. Here we return to where we started - sport, as an indispensable part of everyday life, must take hold of the mass consciousness and, as a consequence (pardon the funny turn), the bodies of these same masses. Sports culture guarantees an inspired interest in sports spectacle, just as aesthetic education in childhood helps to perceive real art throughout one’s life. Sport, by the way, is a great phenomenon from an aesthetic point of view.
— Is Russia a sports country, in your opinion?
“She’s trying to become one.” When sports become an integral part of the lifestyle of the majority, we can happily say that the goal has been achieved.
- Lapta, towns... Just kidding. There is simply such a term “national sports” - those that historically developed in a certain territory, like Spanish pelota. Football is also football at the polar stations in Antarctica. Hockey, biathlon. Ski racing is not because it has huge TV ratings, but because millions of people take up skiing every winter.
— Are there people in the world of sports whom you sincerely admire?
— There are so many of them that the list could be published as a separate brochure.
— What sporting event in last years has become the most important for Russia?
- I won't be original. Not “has become”, but “will become”. Olympics. The status of the Games in the world of sports as a whole is exceptional.
Eurosport TV channel commentator Sergei Kurdyukov, after a busy cycling summer, is preparing for emotional winter reporting. Sports.ru talked to one of the most meticulous and, perhaps, less popular commentators and found out how long his preparation for the broadcast lasts, whether there is any benefit from communicating with fans on Twitter, whether it is necessary to criticize Dmitry Guberniev and whether Valery Karpin will be able to manage a large cycling team .
Season
– I liked each stage race this season in its own way. But the Vuelta surpassed all the others in terms of drama, although it would be unfair to say that it was the most eventful. At other races there were also super loads, a fight for life, and beautiful stages. Dramatic and tragic, unfortunately, too. Overall, the super stage race season turned out to be the most impressive in recent years.
One of the main themes of the season is the delay in resolving the “Contador case”.
– When the races were going on, I thought almost nothing about it. Between races, yes, there was time to think. Of course, the situation turned out to be strange and, what can I say, stupid. Because Alberto’s disqualification could redraw the protocols that were filled out more than a year ago.
Was there tension within the peloton about this?
– I wouldn’t say that the thought of this constantly put pressure on the riders. They did their job, and did not guess what the court's verdict would be. Moreover, the meeting was constantly postponed.
The best Russian stage racer, Denis Menshov, had an ambiguous season. Do you think he will still have opportunities to compete for the podium?
- Firstly, he already had them, at the same Vuelta. In the last days of the race, it was clear that if it had not been for the loss at the beginning - largely offensive and arising out of nowhere - then, at a minimum, he would have stood on the podium. Denis could aim for victory under certain circumstances, although the route was not suitable for him, just like at the Giro... But there is a move. Thank God, he is still at the age and condition when he can think about the future, and not be consoled by memories.
This year, the American HTC disappeared, two Belgian teams merged, as well as RadioShack and Leopard Trek. Maybe it's time for teams to create their own Champions League and stop asking sponsors for money?
“This is a very risky recipe that can be crowned with both colossal success and catastrophic failure.” The movement towards self-sufficiency is known to have conflicts with the UCI. But there are so many different poles here, each has its own truth, and not everything is determined by economics. It seems to me that there is no need to make sudden movements; we need to develop a more perfect system through dialogue and joint efforts. And the breakups and mergers of very strong teams are, among other things, a reflection of the unstable situation in the global economy.
Reports
How long does it take you to prepare for your reports?
– About the same amount as the report itself, sometimes more. Not everything is used, but you have to be aware of everything that is happening to understand where everything comes from; You learn many important things only before the start. Some moments need to be analyzed, some thoughts need to be compared with the thoughts of colleagues. Draw a portrait of a racer who gives a reason to talk about himself. This is not only a process of collecting facts, but living in the rhythm of a race.
Is it possible to work out a stage well in a multi-day race without preparing for it at all?
– You can spend a whole multi-day race like this, that’s not the question. The question is what is more interesting when you are in the know. All journalism is based on curiosity. In addition, you want to have a certain plot in order to direct the next report, and it should not repeat the previous one - otherwise you will not hold people’s attention. Of course, you can work on old stocks and current results. But then you will degrade, not develop. After all, we work for people. But it would be dishonest to cut corners with oneself.
Were there reports where you didn’t have time to prepare and had to improvise?
– I improvise all the time, it’s part of the live broadcast. And much of what is prepared in advance remains completely unclaimed. It all depends on how the race goes.
Do you feel the load? Do you get tired by the third week of big races?
- But of course! Long timing, impact on the voice. If you don’t learn to distribute yourself correctly, you won’t last long in this craft. But I always tell myself: this is not comparable to what the messengers endure. And so - emotional, mental and physical stress... Yes, all this takes its toll. A super multi-day race is in any case the biggest workload for a commentator. Sometimes it’s also the World Championship.
Most sports do not provide such length commentary. And those that have a similar length are incomparable in emotional intensity, the number of objects of attention, and the changeability of the situation. There, 90 percent of the time events happen in a measured manner. And in cycling - remember what the riders said in the first week of the Tour: for four hours you rush at an average speed of about 50 and you don’t have the right to lose concentration for a second. Commentators also have something similar.
And here’s another important thing: you definitely need to find an opportunity to move. “Practice” is, of course, a strong word; against the background of important series of reports, there is neither time nor energy for full-fledged training, I’ll catch up later - but to stop burning my brains and work my muscles for a while, to breathe - for me this is necessary.
In your reports you present almost all racers as heroes.
- Because that's how it is. I always worry about the messengers; I look at any situation, first of all, from the position of a driver who does a hellishly hard job, who, as a rule, has a short life, and the likelihood of leaving a great mark in the history of the sport is small for a number of reasons... I I simply don’t feel like I have the right to be a cold arbiter.
Fans
- Definitely, yes. The geography of the audience and its activity are expanding. Feedback only confirms this... Given the modern oversaturation of various spectacles, this is a very good symptom. We will try to ensure that growth does not stop.
You constantly communicate with fans on Twitter. Do you like this dialogue?
- Differently. More often I like it than not. The possibility of contact in real time is created; at the same time, I get a certain cross-section of preferences, which is interesting to the fans. This is an additional emotional background - our virtual stands almost turn into real ones. Although something in the style of banal trolling, which is already sick and tired of the forums, may appear in the message column.
"Katyusha", Guberniev and Karpin
Fans sometimes reproach you for not criticizing Katyusha, whose season, frankly speaking, did not quite work out. Do you have anything to object to them?
– When there are mistakes, I will always state them. But the genre of my reporting does not involve half-an-hour delving into problems or lengthy critical analyzes. There is a race going on, not a reporting and election conference. My genre is mostly sports performance. We play it out together with the drivers, coaches, mechanics, operators, everyone has their own role. And people gather around screens and on roadsides to watch the vibrant spectacle. And in order, naturally, to cheer, most often for our own people.
Filling the ether space with a barrage of critical arrows is simply not my style. This applies not only to Katyusha. Of course, I can express my position regarding this or that problem. But I will always with great pleasure praise someone who deserves praise. I have too much respect for a person on any sports track, because I know this work.
How do you rate the Katyusha season? To some extent, performing at the Tour de France with a Russian team is not the best idea.
– As for the Tour, it was an experiment, if you like. Probably premature. Perhaps it is too early to field an entirely Russian cast. The new multi-day core in Russian cycling has not yet been formed, young people are just growing up... It was a leap over the step. And during this jump they stumbled. Where there was a more balanced lineup, like at the Vuelta, the team managed to perform well. Feeling the feasibility of their ambitions, people worked differently.
During one of the stages of the Vuelta, you remembered Valery Karpin, the head coach and general director of the football team Spartak. They said that the Spanish fans treat him very well. Would you personally like him to work as a manager in Russian cycling?
– Well, it’s up to him to decide (laughs). It would certainly be an interesting experience. But it seems to me that he now has a different vector, a different chapter in his life. Although interactions between the sporting worlds are always welcome.
By the way, did you talk with your colleague Dmitry Guberniev about the famous events during the break of the Spartak - CSKA match?
- No, we didn’t talk. It's funny, but I was completely unaware of the situation. After this episode, they started calling me in the morning from different media outlets, and the day before I had a lot of work (I’m not only on air - I write, I take photographs), I slept for quite a long time... “What do you think about the scandal with Dima?” “What scandal? I just tore my eyes out!” Then they helped me get into the swing of things. Well... Probably, if I had even talked to him about this, it would have been completely banal. I can imagine. A lot of different things happen in the life of a commentator. On-air positions are perhaps the most vulnerable ones, and one must walk carefully through this minefield. No one is immune from all sorts of troubles.
Something else struck me. That giant “yellow shaft” that this mega-event raised. When even fairly serious media outlets milked this story for a week - well, I don’t know... The parties have grievances against each other - let them sort it out among themselves. Humanity is full of much more serious problems that are touched upon only once a month, in passing, in the “This is interesting” section. It is much easier to completely impose pop approaches. Well, okay, this is a topic for another conversation.
Sergey Kurdyukov organizes performances on the agency’s official website. Order a presenter, athlete, commentator, as well as invitations to the holiday. Call +7-499-343-53-23, +7-964-647-20-40
Welcome to the official website of sports commentator Sergei Kurdyukov. He was born in 1968. Since childhood, he was fond of cycling, and a little later, in his youth, skiing and kayaking. It was then that his knowledge of various types sports, which Sergei later uses in his career.
Personal achievements
His journalistic career on television began more than a decade ago. And for 11 years now, Sergei has been working on the Eurosport TV channel, where he is a successful and sought-after sports commentator. Over the years of work, he managed to comment on almost all sports - biathlon, bicycle racing, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, football, hockey. And in all cases, Sergey shows high-quality professionalism and knowledge of the matter. This is because he is constantly in the learning stage, systematically deepening his knowledge and learning the latest news from the Internet.
Sergei also has his own preferences. Most of all, he likes to comment on winter sports, which is what he does most often. Thanks to his professional and responsible approach to work, Sergei became widely known among Russian fans. His comments are always appropriate and competent, and his spoken phrases are immediately remembered by listeners.
Nowadays
Now Sergey is one of the most successful and sought-after Russian commentators. Extensive and multifaceted knowledge different types sports make him a universal commentator who is able to show “aerobatics” in any match or championship. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling and reading. More detailed information Read about Sergei Kurdyukov on the official website.
