diff --git a/internal/protocol/gopher/gopher_test.go b/internal/protocol/gopher/gopher_test.go
index 4e7dc3c..004b0b9 100644
--- a/internal/protocol/gopher/gopher_test.go
+++ b/internal/protocol/gopher/gopher_test.go
@@ -145,19 +145,31 @@ func TestGopherResumeSaveMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	proto := NewProtocol()
 	u, _ := url.Parse("gopher://127.0.0.1:" + strconv.Itoa(port) + "/page")
 
+	// progress is signalled every time the download loop calls
+	// req.ProgressCallback — which happens *after* a successful
+	// writer.Write. Reading from it is therefore a deterministic
+	// barrier waiting for the first byte to land on disk.
+	progress := make(chan int64, 1)
+
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
 	go func() {
 		_, dlErr := proto.Download(ctx, &core.DownloadRequest{
 			URL:    u,
 			Output: outPath,
+			ProgressCallback: func(current, total int64, speed float64) {
+				select {
+				case progress <- current:
+				default:
+				}
+			},
 		})
 		errCh <- dlErr
 	}()
 
-	// Cancel mid-download. The slow server keeps the connection open
-	// long enough for the cancellation to fire between reads.
-	time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond)
+	// Wait until the first byte has been written to disk, then cancel.
+	// No fixed sleep — this is robust against slow CI schedulers.
+	<-progress
 	cancel()
 
 	dlErr := <-errCh
@@ -243,16 +255,25 @@ func TestGopherResumeDownload(t *testing.T) {
 	u, _ := url.Parse("gopher://127.0.0.1:" + strconv.Itoa(port) + "/foo")
 
 	// First attempt: send only the first line, then cancel.
+	// progress signals after the first writer.Write, so waiting on
+	// it replaces the previous fixed sleep with a deterministic barrier.
+	progress := make(chan int64, 1)
 	ctx1, cancel1 := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	errCh := make(chan error, 1)
 	go func() {
 		_, dlErr := proto.Download(ctx1, &core.DownloadRequest{
 			URL:    u,
 			Output: outPath,
+			ProgressCallback: func(current, total int64, speed float64) {
+				select {
+				case progress <- current:
+				default:
+				}
+			},
 		})
 		errCh <- dlErr
 	}()
-	time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
+	<-progress
 	cancel1()
 	cancelReady <- struct{}{}
 	<-connReady