Geo restricted

Two weeks ago I was delighted to discover that RTBF, and to a lesser extent Sporza, was broadcasting the Belgian cycling season's openers in Gent and Kuurne live on the web. I saw a superb Juan Antonio Flecha finally getting his long overdue victory in the north, and Bobbie Traksel crossing the line first 24 hours later after a tremendous race in stormy conditions. One week later, however, I could no longer tune in to these livefeeds for Paris-Nice. All I got was a black screen and white imprint that says that the livestream can only be viewed on Belgian territory. "Geo restrictions" they call these. Copyright measures, broadcasting rights and what have you.

Luckily there are websites out there that offer the livestreams anyhow the entrepreneurial way, so I was still able to see the French stage race to the sun.

Traditionally, a couple of days later Tirreno-Adriatico takes off in Italy. La corsa dei due mari is the ultimate preparatory race for the first big spring classic of the season, Milano-Sanremo, scheduled for 20 March. And guess what? The Italians simply broadcasted the entire Tirreno on the internet via Gazzetta TV for the whole world to watch and enjoy. They even promoted the service for the upcoming big Italian races, including la Classicissima on Saturday and the Giro d' Italia in May!! Grazie mille!

Photo: Veteran warrior Stefano Garzelli, 36, took the overall Tirreno victory with some great riding in the final stages over last year's winner Michele Scarponi.

Links

Gazzetta TV
Tirreno-Adriatico
Stefano Garzelli