Tour of Qatar **SPOILER**

[Nearly there]

Apparently Cavs ill looks like he is gonna miss tomorrow

 

[ColinJ]

Apparently Cavs ill looks like he is gonna miss tomorrow

13hrs of sweat-drenched sleep hasn't shifted a fever that started on the plane over here. Really not feeling well today. Can't leave my bed.

A spokesman from Team Sky stated that no final decision has been made on his participation in tomorrow's race but that he was likely to start.

That doesn't sound like a great idea! I know he's a pro, and he's young and strong but it can't be healthy to push yourself really hard that soon after an illness.

 

[Hip Priest]

That doesn't sound like a great idea! I know he's a pro, and he's young and strong but it can't be healthy to push yourself really hard that soon after an illness.

It does seem a little risky, but I'm sure Sky know what they're doing. He'll probably spend all day in the wheels taking it easy.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Cav twitted he was at the starting line an hour ago, and sky also stated he is going to race.

 

[ColinJ]

Time to fire up Eurosport player to see when the coverage is!

 

[ianrauk]

Time to fire up Eurosport player to see when the coverage is!

HERE you go Colin

 

[ColinJ]

HERE you go Colin

Oh, cheers Ian - I've got 10 minutes to make myself a bite to eat and a nice mug of tea!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

So Cav starts but doesn't go for it today. I guess he is hoping he will recover over the course of the race and go for a couple nearer the end. Good showing by young Adam Blythe. Boonen in some early form though. He needs a good season.

 

[dragon72]

Looks like Boonen might have made that stopover in Colombia after San Luis after all...

 

[ColinJ]

Not exactly scenic, this race, is it! If all the stages are like that and there isn't enough wind to split the peloton, I think I'll just be watching the last 5-10 km each day!

I wasn't happy with Eurosport Player today. When I signed up for it, it was streaming at 1.8 Mb/s so the picture and sound quality was okay. Today, I was only getting 0.4 Mb/s so the picture was distinctly low-res, buffering & stuttering every 5 or 6 seconds and the sound was choppy. I will have to get to the bottom of what is wrong because I can't watch my favourite races like that! I don't mind if it takes the duration of Qatar and Oman to sort it out, but I want it working properly by the time my analogue satellite system goes off air after Paris Nice.

 

[ianrauk]

Not exactly scenic, this race, is it! If all the stages are like that and there isn't enough wind to split the peloton, I think I'll just be watching the last 5-10 km each day!

I wasn't happy with Eurosport Player today. When I signed up for it, it was streaming at 1.8 Mb/s so the picture and sound quality was okay. Today, I was only getting 0.4 Mb/s so the picture was distinctly low-res, buffering & stuttering every 5 or 6 seconds and the sound was choppy. I will have to get to the bottom of what is wrong because I can't watch my favourite races like that! I don't mind if it takes the duration of Qatar and Oman to sort it out, but I want it working properly by the time my analogue satellite system goes off air after Paris Nice.

It's not Eurosport player, it's your broadband service.

 

[ColinJ]

It's not Eurosport player, it's your broadband service.

Well, I'm not getting the 8+ Mb/s that I was promised, but the first thing I did when I saw how crap the picture was, was to shut down the player window and run a broadband speed test. I was getting 6.5 Mb/s which ought to be enough for the Player to function properly!

PS I just plugged my laptop in and used that to watch a replay of the end of the stage - no stuttering, and the picture was clear enough this time to actually recognise Boonen, and see his teammate raise his arm in the background when he saw that Boonen was going to get the win.

My desktop computer is 12 years old and obviously not quick enough to cope with running Eurosport Player properly. The laptop was laughing at a 1.8 Mb/s streaming rate while the desktop was choking on 0.4 Mb/s!

Phew - panic over! Missing my favourite races for the first time in 20 years would have been awful ...

 

[Edge705]

[quote="

I wasn't happy with Eurosport Player today. When I signed up for it, it was streaming at 1.8 Mb/s so the picture and sound quality was okay. Today, I was only getting 0.4 Mb/s so the picture was distinctly low-res, buffering & stuttering every 5 or 6 seconds and the sound was choppy. I will have to get to the bottom of what is wrong because I can't watch my favourite races like that! I don't mind if it takes the duration of Qatar and Oman to sort it out, but I want it working properly by the time my analogue satellite system goes off air after Paris Nice.[/quote]

Colin I signed up for eurosport player for last years TDF had the same issue I think quite a lot of subscribers are cyclists as any other time eg motor cycling it plays fine. I cancelled my subs and settled for ITV 4 afternoon coverage shame cos its very good value for money IMO

 

[normgow]

Try :-
http://www.sports-livez.com/channel/ch-8.php
for tour of Quatar coverage

 

[ColinJ]

Colin I signed up for eurosport player for last years TDF had the same issue I think quite a lot of subscribers are cyclists as any other time eg motor cycling it plays fine.

Oh, well I hope that doesn't happen to me or I will be really peeved!

I cancelled my subs and settled for ITV 4 afternoon coverage shame cos its very good value for money IMO

Aargh - now you've got me onto the subject of Freeview! I was all set to start watching Film 4, ITV3/4, Dave and so on when we had the big digital switchover in September, only to discover that we in Hebden Bridge are treated to 'Freeview Lite' which has those channels (and others) missing!