For English language viewers there are Australian options for some (many?) races on SBS. Haven’t used previously but was able to stream Paris tours with a VPN last week as a test measure
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Tim Cook could do what he did to MLS and fix this for us.
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I’m in the US and I have a VPN through my work and can log into it via several european countries including Germany. So is the idea I get a Discovery+ sub and then use my VPN to Germany and then I’m good to go?
Is all the cycling content already there?
Update: So, I tried it. Got a monthly sub. Logged in via VPN in Germany, refreshed and then everything was in German so I was in the right place. However, I didn’t get any sports content at all. Assuming because I have a US discovery plus account and they don’t offer sports content in US.
Next tried logging into my VPN in Germany and tried to open a discovery plus account via their German site. Tried to use Pay Pal to pay for it and got shot down saying “Nicht übereinstimmendes Zahlungsgebiet” which according to Google is Mismatched payment area so I can’t buy it with my US Pay Pal account. I’m assuming my US based credit cards will not work either.
Anyone else try this or have success doing something different than I did?
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It seems maybe early to try this experiment as they haven’t moved content from GCN to Discovery?
My thought was to make a uk paypal account but then fund it by sending it money from my US paypal account. Maybe use a fake physical address if required.
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It’s all there already. If I log into my VPN in germany and then go to Discovery + sports I see everything that was on GCN +.
If I try to view one it of course asks me to log in and my if I use my Discovery + login all the cycling (all sports for that matter) disappears after I log in.
Yep, this might be our only option unless Warner Bros comes up with an option for us.
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I’m not certain why people outside the UK and some areas of the EU are rushing to find a solution…and a potentially janky one at that.
There aren’t any races going on, outside of CX and there are other options available to watch those races. Nearly every single CX race is available on YouTube later on for the day of the race.
If we get to February or March and there is no solution, then looking at experimental options may be warranted…but for now, I would recommend just seeing how things play out.
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This is honestly promising. At least they are actively migrating the content over.
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Because indoor training season just began in much of the world and many people watch race replays while on the trainer. GCN+ made that really easy.
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I’m not sure if that’s actually happening. From mentions during races on GCN, it has sounded like Discovery Plus (for some markets) and Eurosport has always had some if not all of the same races available. Actually, I’m not sure how much they will need to transition for people in those particular markets, at least.
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Correct. In the UK, Eurosport Player has the same race content as GCN+, including ad-free. For the same price you could choose Eurosport (with all the other sports) or GCN+ (with the documentaries etc). Discovery+ is more expensive but has the same race content and their other non-sports content which I have no interest in. They’re pushing people to Discovery+, but Eurosport Player still works.
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I’m in The UK and Eurosport keeps pushing the subscription through Discovery+ at 6.99 to watch the cycling. I can’t see another alternative
got my $12.95 refund check in the mail today. I’ll will miss GCN+ (with a VPN). really hoping this is decent solution for us in the U.S.
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Has anyone here ever used the eurosport player with a VPN?
In the latest Escape Collective podcast they said they tried and were blocked due to billing address. They said they will keep trying until they find a way. The also said they made an editorial decision to talk about “unofficial” ways to watch racing.
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Peacock in the US gets you about 80 days of racing a year. In recent years they even offer the Euro feed for the Tour. It looks like Flo puts a lot of their races on Youtube shortly after the fact. Hopefully that continues. Hopefully WBD offers a US solution.
Regardless, I will find something. I am not watching blue bars or Family Guy reruns during my training.
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I have a somewhat different take on the situation;
Pre GCN the scarcity of decent footage made cycle races something to really look forward to. The Tour was THE annual event that you’d watched every year since childhood. Finding YouTube coverage of the Spring Classics was ace, especially with a Dutch/Belgian commentary to add to the mood. Cyclocross was a provincial winter sport, shrouded in mystery. You get the picture?
Then GCN came along and it was excellent. But as more and more races were watchable the excitement diminished. Latterly it became dull for me, I simply didn’t care who won.
However it’s a hard addiction to quit; you remember those gripping races and hope the next one will evoke that feeling. Occasionally it did but generally it was pretty boring.
So whilst it’s a sad day for GCN (I like those guys), I’m using this opportunity to kick the habit. It’ll gain me many hours over a weekend to go do actual bike riding etc.
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It seems obvious that someone is going to need to try this experiment with a uk paypal account. The question will be whether this works over VPN.
Question maybe some of you know - is the Breakaway show hosted by Orla Chennoui a GCN thing or a Eurosport thing?
I’ve grown to like Orla and Dan Lloyd and whoever else they bring in and I’ll miss them pre/post race if I can’t get their feed.
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I just tried making a uk paypal account and I’m blocked for not having a uk phone number.
Searching I see 2-3 pounds per month.