Karl Vannieuwkerke: “I like watching the women’s race just as much as the men’s race”
Last Sunday the Tour de France had its end point on the Champs Elysées. But that wasn’t the case for Long live the bike. The talk show crew stayed in France and added an extra week to it with the first Tour des Femmes. “The logic itself”, says presenter Karl Vannieuwkerke. CyclingFlash went to Diksmuide just before the start of the Tour for an extensive conversation with one of the faces of the VRT.
Karl Vannieuwkerke was given an additional task at the VRT this year. Due to the – forced – retirement of Michel Wuyts, the 51-year-old West Fleming was asked to take over his role as commentator in the spring. Although Vannieuwkerke did not immediately give in when he received the offer.
“I didn’t see it coming either,” he says. “In 2001 I was already a commentator, then together with Mark Uytterhoeven. I was still green behind the ears then. After that I did some competitions with Michel, but not too much. And for a while I was co-commentator with Renaat and Michel in a number of grand tours. But my strength lies in presenting, I thought. That was one of the reasons why I did not immediately jump out of my seat when Pieter De Windt (editor-in-chief Sporza, ed.) made the proposal to me a year and a half ago.”
One of?
“In addition, I already had a fairly full agenda. Another question was whether my decision had consequences for what would happen to Michel Wuyts. This appeared to not be the case. Michel had to retire and if I didn’t, Pieter would knock on other people’s doors. He also had a clear plan: Ruben (Van Gucht) the women’s competitions, Renaat (Schotte) the grand tours. They also divide the cyclocross season. I would then be outplayed in the big one-day races with José. ‘I think you can and you will be the only one with whom the comparison with Michel will not be made‘ it sounded.”
To which you quickly agreed?
“The question came in March 2021. I let it sink in for a month. In April, after a broadcast of Long live the bike, raise the round, I talked about it with José De Cauwer. He didn’t know anything yet. I told him the story and asked for his opinion. He didn’t say anything at first, but grabbed me and gave me a pager (a kiss, red). ‘You’re going to do that, aren’t you?’ I knew enough with that.”
Did you like it?
“We had fun, yes. And received a lot of great reactions, also from riders. The interaction between José and me turned out to be a success.”
Have you consciously or unconsciously adopted things from Michel Wuyts? Or just not?
“Each commentator has his own style. And you don’t really want the stamp Michel glued on, but subconsciously things sneak in anyway. Michel has given colorful commentary all these years. Things linger in the collective memory. Personally, I do have a less compelling style than Michel, I think. Which is also my strength at the table.”
“Show empathy, listen and pick up on what’s happening. I never sit at the table with a written preparation. In 25 years I have never used an autocue. But keywords and themes. My editor-in-chief then anticipates. He notices that I catch up on a conversation and I move a block. He then moves into the direction.”
How important was it to you that De Cauwer stayed on board?
“Perhaps I would not have done it without José. We’re the same two, aren’t we? We quickly see something, know where it is going, understand each other. And the interaction works. We also notice this in the reaction of the viewers. José has been given more space than before because I am more trained in listening by moderating at the table. There is a greater interaction.”
What are the greatest capabilities of De Cauwer for you?
“First and foremost his memory. That is very noticeable. You would think, the older you get… But he doesn’t leave anything behind. Both his long- and short-term memory is almost intact. I’m even jealous of it. The disk of my short-term memory is sometimes full too quickly. He also has strong opinions, but does so without downing anyone. He is respected for that. As a sports director, he was a people manager, hey. He brought that experience with him in his role as co-commentator.”
Sometimes you are accused of being overly chauvinistic…
“I have no problem with that. Is involvement important? If the Red Devils are playing against France, why shouldn’t the commentator be for the Devils? If Wout van Aert leads the way in the Tour with Mathieu van der Poel, that is something else. But when he’s out with Benoît Cosnefroy, don’t you have to support him? You have to get that experience with people.”
“That’s relative, by the way. Fans hear what they want to hear about their rider. I remember commenting on tennis matches between Kim and Justine. Afterwards I received emails from the Clijsters camp that I was too much of a Justine fan, but I received almost similar messages from the Hénin camp.”
Karl Vannieuwkerke during his Tour preparation with our RIDE magazine in hand – photo: © Nico Dick
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Do you take into account that part of your audience is Dutch?
“Yes. If Belgians and Dutch are at the forefront, we focus on both. That also applies in Vive le Vélo by the way. Quite a lot of Dutch people are involved.”
It’s that you start it yourself. Is that necessary? Nothing against Marijn de Vries or Bram Tankink, for example, but are there no Flemish alternatives?
“We are always looking for chemistry at our table. Eddy Merckx recently asked me that question during a dinner. We have 28 episodes this year, which means 84 guests. I asked Eddy to fill in the names. He didn’t get very far. It’s not that obvious, while we’re open to new names.”
“Instead of two guests, we switched to three a while ago, of which always someone really as an analyst. If you have two guests who do not have an immediate link with the race, it is difficult to analyze the stage and that limits my questions as a presenter. After all, you don’t want to discredit your guests.”
What criteria must the analysts and other guests meet?
“We have to reach a wide audience for four weeks, but without really going away from the race. Actually, Marijn de Vries and Bram Tankink are good examples. Bram is super charming and occasionally funny, Marijn shines on the screen. They can articulate it beautifully, have an opinion and ensure interaction, which is also important. They also understand how it works.”
“In addition, analysts must also be committed to follow the course throughout the year. Also something that you don’t find with everyone. In short, it is many facets that come together and there are few people who bundle it all together. Eddy Planckaert? You can say what you want about Eddy, but I’m still a fan. Sometimes he gets too enthusiastic, but he does it well anyway.”
Do you determine the choice of the guests?
“I have my say in it, but our core editorial team consists of six people: two editors-in-chief, three editors and myself. We each make our lists and then brainstorm. With every analyst there should be a second and third guest, who don’t necessarily have much with course. From there it grows further and we try to make ideal combinations. I do have an important voice in that. Who do I see at my table, in function of possible themes. Although you should know that we only have the ideal combination in 40 percent of the cases. That in turn has to do with holiday plans or professional agendas of our guests.”
New this year: the Tour des Femmes. It’s great that VRT goes along with that story and stays on site for another week of Vive le vélo. You seem like a champion of women’s sport anyway.
“I don’t want to appropriate those credits. I pushed that a bit, first with tennis, then in cycling. But that went slowly. I myself have always found it logical, but it has taken time to grow. I quickly realized that the more attention women’s cycling got, the more professional the work would be and the more money involved. Today we have come to the point where I like to watch a women’s match as much as a men’s game.”
“Look, cycling is a sport where the physical difference doesn’t really show up when you see the men and the women riding separately. It’s about the tactical game. I like to refer to this year’s Tour of Flanders, where Lotte Kopecky rides the final as the men would have ridden their final. You don’t notice at that moment that it goes a few kilometers per hour slower.”
Vannieuwkerke during the presentation of Dwars door Vlaanderen – photo: Cor Vos
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Isn’t that true of all women’s sports?
“It’s a matter of time. I have a daughter who plays football in the first division. If I can, I’m going to support, but that’s because it’s my daughter. The level is not yet what it should be. But a European Football Championship that – like this summer – is broadcast live on TV helps. Girls are starting to identify themselves.”
How has that evolved at the VRT?
“That has also been a process. But I can say that the current management is fully committed to it. Everyone had the realization that we couldn’t go home immediately after the ride on the Champs Elysées on Sunday evening. That’s no longer the case. No, the VRT can certainly not be faulted in the women’s story. As long as it’s about quality. As I just said, the Super League in Belgian women’s football is not ready yet. Some sports owe it to themselves to make the top layer wider first.”
About you. I understand that you received a number of offers outside of VRT last year.
“I can’t deny that, although it doesn’t have to be an item right away. But I was employed by the public broadcaster for 24 years and changed to an independent status last year. So I was indeed available on the market and a number of other major media parties – without naming names – came to talk to me.”
But you remained faithful to VRT. From a financial point of view?
“Honestly? I could earn a lot more elsewhere than at the VRT, but I mainly wanted to make a substantive choice. Vive le Vélo is my child. I drew that from a white sheet. I didn’t want to just give up on that. Also in terms of content: when I present the setting of a football match, I do not want to be limited to three minutes during halftime due to the large blocks of publicity. Now it takes thirteen minutes. Then you can go deeper into something.”
Vive le Vélo, tonight at 9:15 pm on One.
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