The Giro Live on the Internet...for free

[Robert Merivel]

I've seen some live cycling events and a Motogp race this year on this site...

<http://goalfanzine.com/.
http://goalfanzine.com/

it was free. This site doesn't always work.

Anyone else have recommended sites that may work?

Gotta see the Giro.

 

[53x11 in DC]

I swear I'm not a shill for these guys, but just drop the $99 USD for a premium membership to cycling.tv. You get it all, and Brit commentators who exercise a helluva lot less hyperbole than the Versus crew. I love Paul, but I will bet my next paycheck that in the Giro, you will hear that someone is "SUFFERING LIKE HE'S NEVER SUFFERED BEFORE" on at least 12 of the stages.

It's a great value. Do it. The chance to watch all the races "as live" a few hours later lets you get your ride in and come back to a big bowl of pasta and your 21" HD monitor.

 

[Robert Merivel]

Is that a years worth of cycling on the net?

I'll check it out, thanks.

And versus has more commercials than cycling! Not to mention that lead in music...it was great at the first tdf, now, well, not quite the same.

 

[BroDeal]

Is that a years worth of cycling on the net?

I'll check it out, thanks.

And versus has more commercials than cycling! Not to mention that lead in music...it was great at the first tdf, now, well, not quite the same.

+1

Versus is nearly worthless these days. I think I have also grown tired of Phil and Paul's schtick. They rarely say anything inciteful or interesting.

Torrents may be the way to go. Not live but convenient.

 

[53x11 in DC]

Is that a years worth of cycling on the net?

I'll check it out, thanks.

And versus has more commercials than cycling! Not to mention that lead in music...it was great at the first tdf, now, well, not quite the same.

Essentially, yes... a great Euro calendar. $99 is an upgraded package with Giro and others - Worlds are extra on UCI feed, but still, a great deal.

I still typically watch TdF on Versus only because I can watch it alost 24/7 on the big screen at home. This year, I'll either be roadside or in some Alpine bar/hotel room watching it on France3.

 

[jaylew]

I also have a cycling.tv subscription. I love the fact that I can go back whenever I want and watch replays of any race in it's entirety.

That said, there are a number of places to watch online. Inside the official Giro d'Italia thread at the top of the page your question was asked and several options are listed there.

And 53x11 - I now much prefer the cycling.tv guys over Phil and Paul. I never did like Bob Roll.

 

[Robert Merivel]

Essentially, yes... a great Euro calendar. $99 is an upgraded package with Giro and others - Worlds are extra on UCI feed, but still, a great deal.

I still typically watch TdF on Versus only because I can watch it alost 24/7 on the big screen at home. This year, I'll either be roadside or in some Alpine bar/hotel room watching it on France3.

Will it be your first 'live' tdf? gonna take your bike? from start to finish? ride some of the climbs?
Sounds like a real adventure. good luck!

 

[lookkg386]

All I can say is god bless SBS in Australia

 

[Epicycle]

Cycling.tv has still not confirmed that they will show the Giro. They are still negotiating with RCS.

 

[quadsRme]

Great info

I've seen some live cycling events and a Motogp race this year on this site...

<http://goalfanzine.com/.
http://goalfanzine.com/

it was free. This site doesn't always work.

Anyone else have recommended sites that may work?

Gotta see the Giro.

thanks for the link. can't wait for the giro to start
There is also NHL hockey live on this link!!! I hope to watch the Blackhawks tomorrow night, at work......

 

[El Imbatido]

http://www.steephill.tv

nuff said

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Cycling.tv has still not confirmed that they will show the Giro. They are still negotiating with RCS.

Not sure if it's going to come off.

Those not wanting to buy a full year of Cycling.tv couldpurchase a "Giro only" package last year for $30. And they had a deal where you could buy the last 15 stages or so at a discount rate of I think it was $15. Not bad at all.

Rumor has been that NBC Universal would pick it up, but not confirmation at all so far.

 

[BroDeal]

Those not wanting to buy a full year of Cycling.tv couldpurchase a "Giro only" package last year for $30. And they had a deal where you could buy the last 15 stages or so at a discount rate of I think it was $15. Not bad at all.

Does cycling.tv work any better than it used to? I gave it a shot once but was less than satisfied. It has been a while though. Now I seem to hear varied opinions about it.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Rai are the National tv company the broadcasts all Italian cycling.
They have a dedicated sports channel called Rai Piu.
While it is normally geo restricted, there are links that will get around this.
I watched it on Sunday afternoon, waiting for the Giro Toscana and it's good quality; around a 600kb feed.
Rai will also have a feed from RaiTRE, their main channel.

You can use either Steephill or Cyclingfans to take the Eurosport English audio feed and link to Italian pics. This will be David Harmon and Sean Kelly. Easily a match for Phil and Paul, IMO.

If you take a look at this other site, you will see the first Giro schedule, plus a nice little warm up for friday.
http://www.myp2p.eu/competition.php?competitionid=&part=sports&discipline=cycling

I had cycling.tv, in it's first couple of years. It was cheap and had a lot of "free" races. However, as the market is directed at you guys, the prices have sky rocketed and there is little free.
Yes, it is still prone to malfunction. This year, their Het Volk coverage was BLANK.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I think it's better than last year, and the year before. But there have been two problems so far this year. First was in the early stages of the TOC, but that was free, as Amgen webcast it for free, and CTV apologized for any mishaps. The other was when they had overloads at I believe the Ronde.

I have two complaints about them. The first is that they need to put up in big letters that it's high bandwidth broadband only. If you're working on sketchy connection, you'll get a lot of glitches and drops, and they shouldn't even allow dial-up of any sort - you'll get a postage stamp sized picture that cuts out. The other "complaint" is in the past they used to sell one-day only service for like $2. This was a great deal when you wanted to watch, say, the stage up Zoncolon, or Angliru But they don't offer it anymore.

I believe they are owned by NewLion, who, well, I've worked contract for, as I work in broadcasting, and some webcasting, which is the future. So far NeuLion is getting it's feet wet in a lot of puddles it seems to me. But everywhere you look webcasting is still infantile. I did have a guy from Turner Broadcasting tell me something I believe though. In 5-10 years webcasting is going to be HD quality streamed to your TV, and available everywhere. Believe it.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

You can use either Steephill or Cyclingfans to take the Eurosport English audio feed and link to Italian pics. This will be David Harmon and Sean Kelly. Easily a match for Phil and Paul, IMO....

I had cycling.tv...This year, their Het Volk coverage was BLANK.

Thanks for the verification, wasn't sure if that was the case.

Agree on Harmon and Kelly, once you get used to Sean's accent (those of us on this side of the pond). I still like P&P, but I think Phil is close to retirement. I loved him for years, and it was magic to hear him call a sprint (same with the Duffers - David truly was the best), but I think he's a little long in the tooth and making more mistakes each year, and Paul's exaggerations grow a little tiresome. In a few years these guys may be moved out of the booth and into doing just interviews and packages (profiles on athletes and historical pieces) which is where I think they may be better off for us in the long run.

Yes, anyone broke should look into Steephill.tv for all free coverage. They don't have the VOD replay that CyclingTV has, but it's decent quality live coverage from lots of sources.

 

[Animal]

I did have a guy from Turner Broadcasting tell me something I believe though. In 5-10 years webcasting is going to be HD quality streamed to your TV, and available everywhere. Believe it.

I believe it. The BBC iPlayer (georestricted to those who pay the license fee! ) offers hi definition streaming of the past 30 days worth of BBC output, and it's superb. They have a monstrously powerful set of redundant servers, and you can watch in "full screen" mode and it looks great.

When cycling.tv can offer such quality, I'll buy in.

 

[James Jordan]

All I can say is god bless SBS in Australia

I will second that.

All those raving about Cycling.tv must be from the US as it sucks the big one here in Australia. Most of the good stuff cant be shown here, even if you pay for the premium service and the link is so slow you can download the eurovision coverage quicker and you don't get all the hangs and crashes.

 

[53x11 in DC]

Will it be your first 'live' tdf? gonna take your bike? from start to finish? ride some of the climbs?
Sounds like a real adventure. good luck!

Actually, my 7th live TdF! First stage ever was Sestrieres in '99. Went in '00, '01, '03, '04, '05 and '07. Never go start to finish. Try to get 4 or 5 stages of interest in each year (mountaintop finishes, Champs, TT's, etc.). Usually stay in the Briancon area for Alpine stages, different spots in the Pyrenees. I do bring the bike, and haul my ar.se over the climbs at a third of the speedof the peloton!

Back to business - couple points: cycling.tv has had VERY few hiccups in comparison to previous years (Het Nieuwsblad notwithstanding). This year, I have watched, in great clarity (the monitor, not my brain) KBK, P-R, G-W, E3 Schelde, every stage of the ToC, every stage of the ToRom, Amstel, F-W, L-B-L and a few others. I'd say that's a pretty good run of events!

I was surprised to hear of the issue with showing the Giro. Let's see how it plays out. I gotta believe they'll get it done. They've been in this situation in the past and pulled it off.

 

[53x11 in DC]

I will second that.

All those raving about Cycling.tv must be from the US as it sucks the big one here in Australia. Most of the good stuff cant be shown here, even if you pay for the premium service and the link is so slow you can download the eurovision coverage quicker and you don't get all the hangs and crashes.

Yep - US-based. I get 1200-1400bps feeds, which, blown up on a 21" monitor, is pretty damn good clarity. Think about our options over here - ZERO live tv coverage, instead having to wait until Sunday nights to watch wrap-up shows on Versus filled to the brim with commercials. I am forever grateful for them having ANY coverage, but I do like Cyc.TV and their commentators.

As you'll see in my last post, I've had a good run this spring with them.

 

[53x11 in DC]

I think it's better than last year, and the year before. But there have been two problems so far this year. First was in the early stages of the TOC, but that was free, as Amgen webcast it for free, and CTV apologized for any mishaps. The other was when they had overloads at I believe the Ronde.

I have two complaints about them. The first is that they need to put up in big letters that it's high bandwidth broadband only. If you're working on sketchy connection, you'll get a lot of glitches and drops, and they shouldn't even allow dial-up of any sort - you'll get a postage stamp sized picture that cuts out. The other "complaint" is in the past they used to sell one-day only service for like $2. This was a great deal when you wanted to watch, say, the stage up Zoncolon, or Angliru But they don't offer it anymore.

I believe they are owned by NewLion, who, well, I've worked contract for, as I work in broadcasting, and some webcasting, which is the future. So far NeuLion is getting it's feet wet in a lot of puddles it seems to me. But everywhere you look webcasting is still infantile. I did have a guy from Turner Broadcasting tell me something I believe though. In 5-10 years webcasting is going to be HD quality streamed to your TV, and available everywhere. Believe it.

AdH - the ToC mishap was primarily a feed issue from the broadcaster, wasn't it? They were just pulling the feed from the local cameras, who, due to the weather, couldn't get ANY feeds. C.tv is just a conduit for someone else's broadcast.

As far as the buy-it-by-the-drink fir $2 a race. That was nice, but if you think about it, I've seen about 20 races already this year. If I throw in the Giro, I'm at 40 days of racing. By the end of the year, I'll be over 50 days of racing, bringing me under $2 a day anyway...

Can't wait for the Turner vision to come true!

 

[peloton]

if you want unreliable quality, poor customer service and people stealing your money, then Cycling TV is made for you.

 

[53x11 in DC]

if you want unreliable quality, poor customer service and people stealing your money, then Cycling TV is made for you.

wow - what a douchey comment. Now I may be seeming like a Cyc.tv salesperson, but in actuality, I am a person who has been following cycling since 1982, when I got my "coverage" via 2-month-old Winning magazines I'd purchase in a bike shop in Nashua, New Hampshire.

To think that I'd see the day that I could kick back on a weekday while working from home and catch almost 2 hours of live streaming coverage (in good quality, little breakup) of T of R, Scheldepris, Fleche, etc. It would have never seemed remotely possible.

Can all the f-ing angry *****ers just be thankful for what we do have? How miserable do you all need to be?

I'm looking forward to the days AdH describes, of HD races on the desktop. Til then, I'll be glad to shell out 100 bones a year for what they give me. It's not stealing if you willingly pay. It's stealing when someone hijacks a broadcast illegally and then shoots it out all over the net.

 

[peloton]

wow - what a douchey comment. Now I may be seeming like a Cyc.tv salesperson, but in actuality, I am a person who has been following cycling since 1982, when I got my "coverage" via 2-month-old Winning magazines I'd purchase in a bike shop in Nashua, New Hampshire.

To think that I'd see the day that I could kick back on a weekday while working from home and catch almost 2 hours of live streaming coverage (in good quality, little breakup) of T of R, Scheldepris, Fleche, etc. It would have never seemed remotely possible.

Can all the f-ing angry *****ers just be thankful for what we do have? How miserable do you all need to be?

I'm looking forward to the days AdH describes, of HD races on the desktop. Til then, I'll be glad to shell out 100 bones a year for what they give me. It's not stealing if you willingly pay. It's stealing when someone hijacks a broadcast illegally and then shoots it out all over the net.

CyTV has renewed my subscription even when I tried to cancel it before my subscription ran out. I did not want to continue, I sent them emails, and still those f***ers charged me. That's stealing where I come from. Still waiting to get my money back.

 

[53x11 in DC]

CyTV has renewed my subscription even when I tried to cancel it before my subscription ran out. I did not want to continue, I sent them emails, and still those f***ers charged me. That's stealing where I come from. Still waiting to get my money back.

That a good reason to be pi$$ed off - fair enough. I guess I've just been growing with them over the years and watching the big improvements along the way. Never tried to cancel, so I can't speak to your situation!