Australia may be a nation where the winter wardrobe is widely highlighted by the striped scarves in the colours of your chosen AFL (Australian Football League) team – and yes, having it on is just about mandatory if you don't want to be a social pariah – but that doesn't mean that a considerable chunk of the population isn't also tuning in for the highlight of the cycling calendar, the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes.

In the nation, which has a population of 28 million, national broadcaster SBS said more than six million tuned in to watch the men's and women's editions of the French Grand Tour, which ran from July 4-26 and August 1-9 and was delivered free to air by a commentary team led by Matthew Keenan, but also including key cycling figures such as Cadel Evans, Caleb Ewan and Grace Brown.

The Total TV reach – a tally of individuals reached for the minimum period of 60 seconds for TV and 15 seconds for Broadcast Video on Demand – for the two races combined was 6.15 million. That was 5.21 million for the 21-stage men's race won by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and 1.51 million for the 9-stage women's race won by Demi Vollering (FDJ United - SUEZ).

That compares with a Total TV Reach of 5.57 million last year, with 5.19 million for the men's race and 1.8 million for the women's race, according to figures put out by the broadcaster in 2025.

That signifies an increase in the men's race, which overlapped with the FIFA World Cup for two weeks, but a decline in the women's race, which perhaps shouldn't be a surprise, given that in 2025 there was the additional draw of Sarah Gigante. The young Australian was, at one point, threatening to take a podium spot, finished second on the Queen stage and also came sixth overall.

SBS Sport also said its Tour de France third-party platform performance grew by 450%, with 660 million views on SBS Sport social media platforms across both races. That included a 405% increase for the Tour de France and an 812% increase for the Tour de France Femmes.

The SBS report follows news from broadcaster France Télévisions that 23.2 million in France watched at least a minute of the Tour de France Femmes coverage, while 45.6 million viewers watched at least a minute of the men's race.

The viewership numbers come at a time when calls are increasing for the delivery of live coverage across all stages of the women's race – with three broadcast live in 2026 – which would bring it in line with the broadcast of the men's event.

Support our unrivalled coverage of the Tour de France Femmes and women's cycling by subscribing to Cyclingnews. In return, you get unlimited access to high-quality journalism, with breaking news, race analysis, and expert insight from inside the women's peloton. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.

Eddy Merckx's health condition is improving, Belgian media report, as the 81-year-old all-time great of the sport returned to riding a bike outdoors for the first time in months.

Merckx confirmed the news with an Instagram reel showing footage of himself and daughter Sabine out on a sunny afternoon's ride, with Merckx himself using an e-bike to amble along a bike path, likely somewhere near his home in Belgium.

The 81-year-old fell heavily in December 2024 and fractured his right hip, needing a full replacement in an operation the following day.

However, the rehabilitation process has been anything but straightforward, with six different operations needed, the latest in April due to a persistent bacterial infection and the prosthesis not attaching to the bone. At one point, he also reportedly had a minor stroke.

Since then, the Belgian has been on the road to recovery. Despite being unable to attend racing in person, he continued, as ever, to follow professional cycling closely, tipping Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) for victory in the Tour de France before the race start in Barcelona.

Merckx told newspaper La Dernière Heure after the Tour that his condition was improving, and that has continued to be the case. After a spell back on the bike on the rollers, he has now headed outdoors, too, for more rides.

"I hope I can ride a road bike outside again someday, but I shouldn't complain, because I've come a long way," he said in an interview with HLN last week.

Watch the Clásica San Sebastián 2026 as Remco Evenepoel aims to make it four wins in Northern Spain's most iconic race.

As ever, the Clásica San Sebastián 2026 follows a familiar route to recent editions, with seven categorised climbs packed into 221.1km of racing. The peloton will face just over 4,000 metres of elevation gain throughout the day, a profile that should in theory only the strongest climbers and puncheurs in contention for victory. The toughest ascent comes at Erlaitz, the climb averages 11%, with ramps reaching as steep as 17%.

Remco Evenepoel will start among the favourites as he bids to add a fourth Clásica San Sebastián title to his palmarès, although questions remain over how fresh his legs will be following the Tour de France where he placed second. Quinn Simmons represents Lidl-Trek’s strongest chance of victory, while Jhonatan Narváez of UAE Team Emirates-XRG will fancy his chances. British hopes rest with Ineos Grenadiers’ Oscar Onley, who returns to competition for the first time since his crash at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Follow along as we bring you all the streaming information you need to watch Clásica San Sebastián 2026, including details on where to watch for free.

Watch Clásica San Sebastián 2026 for free

The Clásica San Sebastián 2026 is available to watch for free on RTBF Auvio (Belgium), RTVE Play (Spain) and EITB Directo (Spain).

Abroad today? Use NordVPN to unlock your free stream — more on that below.

How to watch Clásica San Sebastián 2026 from anywhere in the world

Not in your usual country for the Clásica San Sebastián 2026? A VPN can help you keep up with the action.

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) can change your device’s location, allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions on streaming services and access your usual coverage from anywhere. They also add an extra layer of security when using public Wi-Fi.

NordVPN is recommended by our office-mates at TechRadar for its strong stream unblocking:

How to watch Clásica San Sebastián 2026 in the UK

The Clásica San Sebastián 2026 will be shown on TNT Sports in the UK,

The easiest way to watch this is via HBO Max with plans including TNT starting at £25.99/month. Alternatively, you can add the channel to your Sky, EE or Virgin Media package.

How to watch Clásica San Sebastián 2026 in the USA

In the USA, Clásica San Sebastián 2026 will be broadcast on FloBikes.

FloBikes broadcasts a multitude of races in the USA and will show this year's race from Spain. Prices start at $39.99/month.

How to watch Clásica San Sebastián 2026 in Canada

It is a similar story in Canada, FloBikes will be broadcasting the Clásica San Sebastián 2026.

In Canada, the streaming service is available for CA$49.99/month and carries virtually the entire road cycling calendar, including this month's Vuelta a España.

How to watch Clásica San Sebastián 2026 in Australia

Unfortunately, Clásica San Sebastián 2026 will not be shown in Australia.

If you're from a country where it is being broadcasted and you are visiting Oz right now use NordVPN to unlock your stream.

Clásica San Sebastián 2026: Profile

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

A VPN is essential for streaming the biggest UCI WorldTour events across the globe. You may think the cycling season is winding down after the Tour de France, its thrilling climax on the Champs-Élysées, and Tadej Pogačar securing his fifth yellow jersey.

Check out the best VPN deals at NordVPN.

However, plenty more is to come, including the Tour de France Femmes (1-9 August), Vuelta a España (22 August-13 September), and the UCI Road World Championships in Montréal, Canada. (20-27 September) A VPN ensures you won't miss a single turn of a wheel.

But why should you get a VPN to watch the live cycling? And which are the best VPNs for streaming? Cyclingnews is here to offer some guidance.

First, you might be asking: what exactly is a VPN? It stands for Virtual Private Network, a type of software you can install on your computer, phone, or even a smart TV to help keep your online activity secure.

It works by hiding your real location, encrypting your internet connection (there’s more going on behind the scenes, but that’s the basic idea), and allowing you to enjoy your cycling streaming subscriptions from anywhere as if you were at home.

Luckily, our tech wizard experts at TechRadar and Tom's Guide know everything there is to know about VPNs. They’ve tested hundreds of them, and we’ll be leaning on their expert opinions as we take a look at some of the key benefits of VPNs when it comes to streaming cycling or any other of your favourite sports online.

Benefits of a VPN for streaming cycling

Use a VPN to watch your usual cycling streams from anywhere

The biggest advantage of a VPN for those looking to stream TV is that it allows you to do so from anywhere.

What if you’d been on holiday or on a work trip during the Tour de France and missed out on what was one of the most exciting finales ever seen at the Tour?

A VPN will allow you to access your usual streaming coverage from another country, so you never have to miss a moment like Mathieu van der Poel holding off the peloton to take the win in Paris.

Pretty much all streaming platforms these days are geo-restricted – in other words, they work only in the host country. For example, Peacock TV, which holds the exclusive live streaming rights to the Tour de France in the United States through to 2029, only works in the US. If you try to watch from abroad, you’ll find yourself geo-blocked.

A VPN gets around this by re-routing your connection through a remote server, which replaces your device’s IP address (a sort of unique digital passport). The best VPN providers will have server options in pretty much every country in the world – often multiple servers – so when you connect through one of them, it will appear that you are in that country.

Heading on holiday or spending time away from your home country doesn’t mean you have to be locked out of the services you subscribe to and pay for. It’s a good way to make sure you’re getting full value out of your subscriptions.

Use a VPN to improve picture quality

Another advantage of a VPN is improved streaming quality for live events like cycling or football.

Your internet provider may advertise high speeds, but in reality, performance is often reduced by throttling, especially during peak times or when streaming in high definition.

A VPN masks your activity by routing your connection through its servers, making it harder for your ISP to throttle your speed based on what you are doing.

Use a VPN to stay safe while streaming

While unblocking region-locked content is a huge perk of a VPN, ironclad digital privacy remains its true superpower. Let's face it: in today's hyper-connected landscape, cyber anxiety is real. Plenty of tools can disguise your location, but a quality VPN acts as your primary digital shield, locking your personal data against hackers and data brokers.

By wrapping your internet traffic in heavy-duty encryption, a VPN renders your online activity totally unreadable to outside eyes. Sensitive information like passwords, banking details, and credit cards stay strictly off-limits, which is critical the moment you connect to unsecured airport, cafe, or public Wi-Fi networks.

Best VPNs for watching cycling

TechRadar and Tom's Guide both recommend NordVPN as the best VPN. It's one of the most affordable and ranks among the top VPN's for unblocking streaming services. There are plenty to choose from, and below you'll find the top-rated services from our tech-savvy colleagues, showing the current deals and recommended packages from each provider.

These are some of the best VPN offers currently available, and perfect for uninterrupted live cycling viewing in 2026 and securing your VPN service for 2027 and beyond. So you can subscribe now knowing you've secured a great VPN deal.

Below you'll also find all the best VPN deals from other providers with pricing relevant to your location.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

This article discusses suicide. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please reach out for support. In the UK, call Samaritans on 116 123. In the US & Canada, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In Australia, call 13 11 14 to reach Lifeline. Help is always available.

Men’s mental health is now a major issue. Over 75% of suicides are by men, and sadly, a large proportion of men are still reticent to talk about their internal struggles. In professional sport, it is now recognised that the pressures of performance, securing income and the impact of injuries can all lead individuals down a dangerous path. Mental health associations and campaigners are working hard to encourage men to open up.

One of these campaigners is Martin Hills, a 51-year-old cycling guide who, on June 9, 2026, began a post on his personal Facebook page with these words: "Five years ago I decided to take my own life." By telling his story, we hope to shed some light on how individuals can find themselves on this path, share Martin’s story of how he managed to handle his feelings, and encourage anyone struggling with similar issues to seek help. He finished his first sentence with "With support, I very narrowly avoided going through with it."

With our social media feeds saturated with folk posting ‘living their best life’ content, the juxtaposition of this post truly made an impact on his close friends, family, and many acquaintances across the cycling industry.

Hills is a lifelong cyclist. Growing up in a very rural village on the edge of Dartmoor in southwest England, he was a popular teenager in a very active cycling community there. He was very detail-oriented, researching and sharing information with his friends about the latest developments in those exciting days when mountain biking emerged worldwide in the 1990s.

He was an active member of the local Cycling Touring Club, whose twice-weekly group rides were among the few activities for the village's youth. Together with best friends Julian Duquemin and Dayle Guy, they inspired the next generation of cyclists in the village, with some, like mountain biker Llewelyn Holmes, going on to represent Team GB, and several others working in the cycling industry to this day.

He enjoyed the competitive side of the sport, taking part regularly in the local off-road racing scene, and many summers were spent working in bike shops like the iconic Hot Pursuit in the nearby market town of Totnes, mainly to fund or get discounts on always-needed spares.

As an adult, Martin then moved into mountain bike guiding, working across Europe for over two decades. In 2010, he launched the Singletrack Safari business, offering bespoke guided MTB/Enduro off-road cycling holidays in the stunning mountains of Andorra.

His company was featured in several leading mountain biking magazines, a partnership with leading MTB brand Commencal (based in Andorra) was established, and the pipeline of bookings grew nicely. Hills was travelling regularly from his home in the UK to Andorra, leading rides, identifying new ride leaders and trails, and truly living his best cycling life.

In January 2020, everything changed. The first reports of the Coronavirus were circulating, and on March 11, the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic. The travel and tourism industry entered a near two-year shutdown, with all bookings cancelled, refunded, or deferred. As an international travel operator, Hills faced an uncertain future. However, he was determined to keep things together. Then the floor fell out of his world when his long-term relationship came to a sudden end.

His partner at the time was an avid mountain biker. Living together in North Wales, with some of the UK’s best off-road riding on their doorstep, their relationship - and wider friendship group - was built around riding in the local area. Following the end of their relationship, Hills struggled with the prospect of going riding and encountering his former partner and their shared friendships. His greatest passion became his greatest fear.

“It was a totally unexpected and devastating end to my long-term relationship, which came completely out of the blue, and that relationship was centred around bikes. I became terrified of riding a bike, they became a trigger. It just wound me into a complete twisted panic," he said.

Over the next few months, Hills suffered a complete mental collapse. He said he felt trapped, hopeless, and isolated. He felt he could not forgive himself for what his depression made him think; he convinced himself that he had had a life of poor life choices, which had led him down this road. And at this point, his thoughts turned truly dark.

“I made careful plans and gave a lot of thought to how to manage my death. I prepared my house to make sure everything was in order. I drafted a letter of explanation for my family and friends and made an informal will. Finally, I made sure that my remains would be found by the emergency services," he said. At his lowest, Martin was convinced there was no way out. That he is here to tell this story is a measure of how far he has come, and why he now speaks so openly about it.

Shockingly, this is a thought process that many middle-aged men in the UK, like Hills, go through. According to data from the Men's Minds Matter non-profit, 76% of contemplated suicides in the UK are by men, and one man dies by suicide every two hours.

This alarming phenomenon is not limited to the UK; in the USA, three-quarters of suicides are by men, with 39,000 taking their own lives each year. In Australia, the ratio is the same, with suicide being the leading cause of death for men aged 15 to 44. These figures are profoundly disturbing.

This crisis has also been identified in professional sports, including cycling. Several major studies have recently been commissioned to identify the triggers and warning signs of growing issues, and to understand why men remain quiet on these issues. Several high-profile cyclists have shared their challenges, and we are now seeing several large cycling federations put in place robust infrastructure for athletes and recreational cyclists to access, helping address this issue.

High-profile sportspeople like Fabian Cancellara talking openly about these issues is seen as a key enabler for men to feel it would be OK to reach out and seek help and support.

Cancellara was a high-level athlete, a team leader, Classics winner and time trial world champion. Now, as the owner of Tudor Pro Cycling, he sees the pressures his riders face and makes a concerted effort to ask his riders if they are happy. Tudor are trying to compete at WorldTour level, but are also trying to help and support their riders as much as possible.

"I see how tough being a rider in modern cycling really is," Cancellara said. "Science is important, but at the end of the day, we're all human, and that's important for us; we need to protect our riders."

Ricardo Scheidecker is the Head of Sports at Tudor and a vital cog in the team, managing the riders and staff, their performance, results and their well-being.

"I worked outside of cycling for several years and soon realised that successful companies are always centred around their people. If you don't help your people, you're not going to get the best out of them, and you're not going to be successful. In cycling, you have to care about your riders and about your staff too," Scheidecker explained.

"We try to do this in a very constructive and human way, because we consider the psychological impact on the athletes," he added.

"We've seen more and more examples of riders who were huge talents but ended their careers because they didn't have the support to help them deal with all their needs and responsibilities. We cannot be like that as a sport, and Tudor definitely won't be like that. We have to protect our riders from burnout."

In August 2025, Cyclingnews published a piece on mental health issues in the pro peloton, and that 76% figure re-emerged, with author James Witts stating that there is evidence that over a quarter of professional riders battle with mental health issues during their career, with riders like Tom Dumoulin and Bradley Wiggins sharing their challenges in recent years.

Mark Cavendish was diagnosed with clinical depression in August 2018. At the launch of the 'Mark Cavendish: Never Enough' Netflix special in 2023, the 35-time Tour de France stage winner described his battle with the Epstein-Barr virus and how a subsequent diagnosis of clinical depression left doctors worried about the prospect of self-harm.

“The irony is that you feel so alone if you suffer when, in fact, everyone is probably there thinking they are alone. If you talk, you would be surprised how much you have got in common. It is an understanding that there is a ladder in the middle of that spiral down, and you can get on that ladder and climb up," Cavendish said. "It doesn't matter where you're at. It's keeping that hope and good people around you."

According to a recent report, titled Prevalence of anxiety and depression in former elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Adam Runacres and Zoe Marshall, the causes of poor mental health are complex and multifaceted but are thought to be a combination of social factors such as occupation, socioeconomic status, education level and physical factors including age, sex, body mass index and low physical activity levels.

Consequently, elite athletes were long thought to be immune to mental health disorders due to their high physical activity levels and superior physical fitness. Runacres and Marshall’s in-depth study and interviews with many athletes turned this thinking on its head, and they discovered that the prevalence of both anxiety and depression in former elite athletes was over twice that of the general population. They went on to cite a large-scale study of 1,620 current elite athletes who shared that they were three times more likely to have a subclinical mental health condition compared with a non-elite control group.

There is one major barrier when trying to counter this issue: only one in four men who experience anxiety or depression seek help or try to get treatment for it. This is changing, and with more high-profile athletes being open about their mental health, it is reducing the stigma.

The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy recently reported seeing unprecedented levels of inbound approaches by men suffering from mental health issues, and an increasing number now seek help to cope.

The sporting world is reacting to this, putting in place much better resources and infrastructure to help athletes identify, accept and seek help for their mental health challenges.

In 2021, the International Olympic Committee introduced the Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool (SMHAT), which is designed to help team doctors detect and prevent mental illness early, ensuring a safer environment for professionals.

Many of the world’s cycling federations have also reacted, and their websites are well stocked with resources, contacts and partner organisations that can help athletes and recreational cyclists with their mental health issues. Full information about the SMHAT protocol is available in several languages on the UCI website.

USA Cycling offers a Mental Health Grant that aims to ensure financial barriers do not prevent athletes from receiving professional mental health support. Eligible athletes can receive up to $2,500 per year to support their mental health.

In the UK, the British Cycling Federation announced in 2021 that it would be providing Mental Health First Aid England courses, offering low-cost, accessible training to British Cycling members and volunteers. The British Cycling announcement was clear on the aims of this partnership:

“With the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic with regards to both physical and mental health, it is more important than ever that more people know how to identify when someone is experiencing ill health – and how to support them.”

For Hills, that help came by total chance, but it was life-changing.

“Unexpectedly, I met a complete stranger who really understood what I was going through as she had dealt with mental health issues herself. It seemed easier to talk to a stranger than someone I knew, and before I knew it, I was telling her everything, and we quickly became friends. She made me feel…I don’t know…of worth, maybe? She certainly proved that life can suddenly switch direction in a positive way, and that not all surprises are negative," Hills said.

Hills contacted his local doctor, who connected him with a mental health first-aider, who he found incredibly supportive. They knew how close he was to taking his own life, placed him on a list of at-risk patients, gave him a suicide prevention plan, and called him daily to check in, to talk, and to give him a real connection. Happily, this began to work, and he started to see the value of life, and his recovery began. He recently shared that the first aider, to whom he spoke daily and who saved his life, remains anonymous.

As his recovery continued, his new friend, also a passionate mountain biker, convinced Hills to get back on the bike, and he began to rediscover his passion for cycling. His guiding business began to recover, and bookings resumed; he started a new relationship; and he began restoring and rebuilding some of his earliest bikes, classic Saracen and Kona mountain bikes from the mid-1990s.

Sadly, in early 2025, his dear friend’s mental health issues re-arose and although seemingly in a good place to her friends and family, she took her own life. Although devastating for Hills, it was a trigger for him to want to do something to try and help those suffering with their mental health.

“Her suicide was the impetus I needed to commit to a plan that had been forming in my head. In 2026, I would undertake an epic bike ride to raise funds for Men’s Minds Matter, to create awareness of the mental health struggles so many of us battle with every day. It would represent my personal journey with mental health, and along the way, I want to talk very openly about my mental health experiences and difficulties, to help encourage other men not to suffer alone silently," he said.

Starting in June 2026, Hills will be cycling over 4,000 kilometres across Europe, solo and unsupported. He is riding from the northernmost point of mainland Wales – the lighthouse at Talacre – to the southernmost point of mainland Spain – the lighthouse at Tarifa.

He is undertaking this journey on the 36-year-old mountain bike that he owned as a teenager, a rare 1990 Kona Explosif. It is a special bike that has been renovated and tweaked by the legendary English bike-builders Mercian Cycles. The team at ORTLIEB have also supplied him with their best front, rear and frame-mounted bike bags.

Hills' bike and equipment weigh around 43kg, and he will have to ascend over 30,000m on the trip to southern Spain, as well as endure one of the hottest European summers on record. His route takes him through three mountain ranges across Wales, across to London, and on to Dover in north-east France. He will then head southwest to Bordeaux, up the Pyrénées into Andorra, down to Barcelona, and then parallel the southern Spanish coast, past Valencia and Seville, to Tarifa, the southernmost tip of mainland Europe, where he will finish.

Rather than be fully clad in Lycra, he has decided to take on the ride in semi-casual clothing, as he wishes to be approachable and open to everyone he meets on this journey. He believes this is a vital part of telling his story to the strangers he meets along the way and of ensuring he takes his time to experience the flora, fauna, landscape, and people he encounters on this epic journey.

A stranger on a bike truly saved Hills' life. If he is able to do the same for someone else through this ride and the fundraising for Men’s Minds Matter, the many hours in the saddle will all be worth it.

“This truly is the biggest, most challenging, and most important event of my life – and anything people can do to sponsor and support me means the world to me personally. Together we can genuinely help save lives. We can help men who are suffering and suicidal – men who are in the same place I was just a few years ago.”

If you would like to follow Martin Hills’ journey and updates, check out his ‘My Singletrack Mind’ accounts on Instagram and YouTube. He is hoping to raise over £5,000 for the Men’s Minds Matter charity during his journey; donations can be made here.

This article discusses suicide. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please reach out for support. In the UK, call Samaritans on 116 123. In the US & Canada, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In Australia, call 13 11 14 to reach Lifeline. Help is always available.

Watch the 2026 Tour de France Femmes as Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Kasia Niewiadoma, Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser head the cast of favourites doing battle for the yellow jersey.

The race runs from August 1, with its Grand Départ in Switzerland, until August 9, when a grand finale in the hills around Nice concludes what is set to be a spectacular week of racing.

Along the way, the riders of the women's peloton tackle a host of challenging stages, including the hilly opener in Lausanne, a 21km time trial in Dijon, more hills in the Loire, and a historic summit finish atop Mont Ventoux.

As ever, the best riders in the world will are present to battle over the four jerseys, eight stage wins, and more glory besides. Along with Ferrand-Prévot, Vollering, Niewiadoma-Phinney and Reusser there is also Elisa Longo Borghini, Cédrine Kerbaol and Isabella Holmgren to watch in the competition for top spots overall.

Beyond the GC battle, big names to watch include Lorena Wiebes, Elisa Balsamo, Zoe Bäckstedt, Lotte Kopecky, Kim Le Court-Pienaar, and world champion Magdeleine Vallieres.

The Tour de France Femmes is the biggest event on the women's cycling calendar, mirroring the men's race in importance every July. Many fans – diehard and casual – will be tuning in from around the globe to witness the cream of the crop of the women's peloton do battle, with the wide interest helped by the fact that, in many countries, the Tour is fully free to watch.

Want to know how you can tune in from wherever you are? Cyclingnews has all the information you need on how to watch or stream the Tour de France from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, as well as how you can watch for free, plus how to use a VPN to get your usual coverage from anywhere in the world.

Watch Tour de France 2026 for free

Yes, the Tour de France Femmes is available free-to-air in a number of countries, including Australia, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain, to name just a few.

• SBS on Demand (Australia)
• France TV (France)
• RTBF Auvio (Belgium)
• RaiPlay (Italy)
• RTVE Play (Spain)
• NOS (Netherlands)

Today at the Tour de France Femmes

• Stage 8: Sisteron - Nice
• Start time: 13:40 CEST / 12:40 BST / 07:40 ET
• Finish time: 17:43 CEST / 16:43 BST / 11:43 ET

Stage 8 is the longest day out, with 171.9km from Sisteron to Nice. It is labelled a flat day and while it will definitely not carry the degree of bite of Friday's Mont Ventoux stage there are four categorised climbs, though with all being category 4 the sprinters will be hoping this is their chance. When it comes to sprinters, of course it's impossible to look past Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) who is wearing green and has already won two stages.

However, for the sprinters to get a chance, the teams will have to keep the break under control and also hope that the overall riders don't try and steal the thunder. Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) in yellow has a lead of just 15 seconds on Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) and 39 seconds to Marlen Reusser (Movistar) so with such a tight battle no chance will be looked past and time bonuses could become crucial.

How to watch Tour de France Femmes 2026 from anywhere in the world

Away from home during the Tour de France Femmes? A VPN can help you keep up with the action.

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) can change your device’s location, allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions on streaming services and access your usual coverage from anywhere. They also add an extra layer of security when using public Wi-Fi.

NordVPN is recommended by our office-mates at TechRadar for its strong stream unblocking:

How to watch Tour de France Femmes 2026 in the UK

TNT Sports and HBO Max will broadcast the Tour de France Femmes 2026 in the UK.

TNT Sports has broadcast every race of the 2026 road cycling season and will continue to provide coverage of the Tour de France Femmes. You can get access to multiple features on their platform, including multiview and key moment recaps from each stage.

How to watch Tour de France Femmes 2026 in the USA

In the USA, the 2026 Tour de France Femmes will be broadcast by NBC Sports, with every stage available live on Peacock.

How to watch Tour de France Femmes 2026 in Canada

FloBikes will once be your go-to streaming service if you are looking to stream the 2026 Tour de France Femmes in Canada.

How to watch Tour de France Femmes 2026 in Australia

Australian cycling fans have it best, with free-to-air coverage of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes on SBS, which broadcasts every stage in full.

Coverage is available via satellite TV, as well as online through the SBS On Demand streaming service.

Tour de France Femmes 2026 — Schedule

Support our unrivalled coverage of the Tour de France Femmes and women's cycling by subscribing to Cyclingnews. In return, you get unlimited access to high-quality journalism, with breaking news, race analysis, and expert insight from inside the women's peloton. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch Stage 21 of the Tour de France as the peloton heads into Paris for the finale of 2026.

Stage 20 saw Richard Carapaz prevail from the breakaway to claim his second stage victory in three days, holding off a late attack from Remco Evenepoel to take the win. Behind him, Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro crossed the finish line hand in hand, all but securing the yellow and white jerseys respectively heading into the final stage.

Stage 21 has unfortunately been shortened from 133km to just 89km due to policing shortages caused by wildfires in France. Despite the reduced distance, the route still includes the cobbled climb of Butte Montmartre, where Wout van Aert outsprinted Pogačar to win in Paris last year.

The sprinters will be hoping the race stays together this time around, but the puncheurs will be eager to add one of cycling's most prestigious stage wins to their palmarès. Can Pogačar go one better and cap off his Tour with a victory in Paris, or will a Classics specialist such as Mathieu van der Poel or Mads Pedersen deny him once again?

Follow along as we bring you all the streaming information you need to watch Stage 21 of the Tour de France, including details on where to watch for free.

Watch Stage 21 of Tour de France 2026 for free

Stage 21 of the Tour de France is free to watch in multiple countries across the world.

In Australia, you can watch for free on SBS on Demand with English commentary.

S4C (Wales/UK), France TV (France), RTBF Auvio (Belgium), RaiPlay (Italy), RTVE Play (Spain) and NOS (Netherlands) will also have full coverage at no cost.

Abroad today? Use NordVPN to unlock your free stream — more on that below.

How to watch Stage 21 of Tour de France 2026 from anywhere in the world

Not in your usual country for stage 21? A VPN can help you keep up with the action.

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) can change your device’s location, allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions on streaming services and access your usual coverage from anywhere. They also add an extra layer of security when using public Wi-Fi.

NordVPN is recommended by our office-mates at TechRadar for its strong stream unblocking:

How to watch Stage 21 of Tour de France 2026 in the UK

Stage 21 of the Tour de France will be shown on TNT Sports 1 with coverage beginning at 14:30 BST.

The easiest way to watch this is via HBO Max with plans including TNT starting at £25.99/month. Alternatively, you can add the channel to your Sky, EE or Virgin Media package.

You can also watch for free on S4C in the UK with commentary provided in Welsh.

Can't watch live? Channel 5 will have free-to-air highlights at 21:00 BST tonight.

How to watch Stage 21 of Tour de France 2026 in the USA

In the USA, Stage 21 of the 2026 Tour de France will be broadcast by NBC Sports, with the live streaming available via Peacock. An encore presentation of the final stage will be shown on NBC at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Peacock plans start at just $10.99/month with a multitude of live sport available, including the Tour de France.

How to watch Stage 21 of Tour de France 2026 in Canada

FloBikes will broadcast Stage 21 of the Tour de France in Canada.

FloBikes is available for CA$49.99/month and carries virtually the entire road cycling calendar.

How to watch Stage 21 of Tour de France 2026 in Australia

In Australia, Stage 21 will be available via free-to-air broadcaster SBS.

Coverage is available via satellite TV, as well as online through the SBS On Demand streaming service.

Stage 21 Schedule

Stage 21 of the Tour de France will take place on Sunday, July 26 with a start time of 17:50 CET / 16:50 BST / 11:50 ET and an expected finish time of 19:46 CET / 18:46 BST and 13:46 ET.

Stage 21: Profile

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Alpe d’Huez is a terrible climb. It’s still enjoyable if you’re into that sort of thing, but it’s extremely monotonous, and a prime launchpad for watt-watching efforts. I truly believe you can get much the same experience by riding Alpe du Zwift and using your imagination. Without the throngs of fans by the roadside it feels sterile, not aided by the aspect, meaning it gets baked by the afternoon sun in its entirety. It's far better to ride down the Alpe, and ride up the Col de Sarenne instead.

The lesser known back way to the Alpe d’Huez ski resort is being used as an ascent for the first time in the Tour de France this year, as the penultimate ascent on stage 20 this Saturday. The stage is a beast, 170km in length with the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier all coming before the hors catégorie Sarenne in the final 25km.

The Col de Sarenne was last used in 2013 as a descent, complete with hastily-added hay bales after much consternation about the danger the route presented. In order that you may be familiarised with this new col, I spent a hot afternoon in June riding it, on a beautiful loop from Alpe d’Huez and back.

It is a truly sensational climb. A real climber's climb: narrow, undulating, with distinct phases and spectacular views. There are some horrible pitches that are hidden by the stats: 12.8km at 7.5% sounds easier than the Alpe’s 14km at 8%, but the Sarenne pitches up to 14% for its steepest 100m stretch, and its final 4km are at 9%, with the ultimate hairpins pitching up to 12% just to wring every joule of energy from your legs. I loved it, and I massively underestimated it.

Softening up

My route up the Sarenne began differently to that which the Tour will trace, based as I was in Alpe d’Huez for some other work engagements. While the Tour heads down the more or less totally straight valley road from La Grave, I came at it from Bourg d’Oisans. After an arrow-straight highway, descending to deprive you of precious metres of elevation, you enter the belly of the beast via a spectacular gorge, split by a river and a large Alpine highway.

Two very manageable ramps get you to Mizoen when the climb begins, but from my point of view, with an ascent of Alpe d’Huez in my legs from the day before, I was glad things weren’t too severe to begin with. This way is you get two short descents and a couple of refreshingly cool tunnels to steady the ship before things begin in earnest. You also get to see the full height of the dam that holds back Lac du Chambon, which you then have to ride across. Don’t look down, but don’t look up either as things head relentlessly skywards from here on in.

Dam busters

The Sarenne begins in earnest just after the dam. You’re faced with a rusty, cubist building overlooking the expanse of water, at which point you turn left and have to tackle three ramps up to Mizoen, all over 11% and topping out, according to my Strava trace, at just over 13% on the initial pitch. It’s a very sustained 2km of effort, and while it’s very early in the climb to act as a launch ramp if the race is still together, it will reveal very early who has the legs.

These ramps also mark a distinct change in feel – from here on in it feels much more Pyrenean than Alpine.

Mizoen and the kilometre beyond it offers the first of two places to get some life back into your legs or, in the case of a race, a prime place to pick up a willing satellite domestique for a tow if the stars align. The end of this relatively flat stretch is marked by a short, sharp descent which slingshots you into another pair of ramps and hairpins, the first of which tops 15% before sending you onwards on a proper full width, two lane road to Clavans-le-Bas.

Mizoen to Clavans-le-Bas is certainly the least interesting part of the ascent. A larger road, surrounded by nondescript woodland that hides what’s to come. From Clavans-le-Bas comes the second, longer section of flat-ish (2-3%) for about a kilometre and a half past grazing cows (at least when I did it) and a very timely eau potable sign with a trough to soak my sun-addled head before things really get serious.

The woodland zone

From Clavans-le-Bas to the summit there is no let-up, but the scenery is divided neatly into two parts. The first wends its way through beautiful woodland, with Alpine flowers blooming in every verge. I’m not too proud to admit I was in the box a little bit at this point, and so didn’t take any photos. My one memory, besides thinking ‘Hell, this is hard work’ is that I imagined the honey from here would be really excellent; I expect I was craving sugar.

The woodland does offer welcome shade before what is quite an exposed final section, but with that comes a stillness and a noticeable increase in humidity, not aided by the numerous roadside streams, which occasionally spill out onto the road.

From the woodlands and beyond the road surface is markedly terrible. The road is wide enough for a single vehicle, and terribly pockmarked. Patches of fresh, unset bitumen sprinkled with gravel are dotted every few metres, and cause immediate wheel slip out of the saddle, and cause hitchhikers to cling to your tyres. It’s not a descent I would relish, even as someone who usually cherishes Alpine descents. Given the increased focus on rider safety these days, I think if the route had gone down the Sarenne again this year there would have been uproar.

A giant boulder and the final ascent

The problem with the woodland, pretty though it is, is that there is a lot left to the imagination. It feels placid amongst the trees, secluded but not lonely and isolated. If, like me, you have the elevation profile on your computer you’ll be left wondering when things will change. Abruptly, signposted very easily for anyone watching the race on television, the treeline gives way at a stone house perched under a comically large boulder. It’s an obvious metaphor, but from here on in you are the house, and the mountain is the boulder.

The upper slopes of the Sarenne are exposed, oppressive, and considering you’re only a handful of kilometres, as the crow flies, from the relatively large Alpe d’Huez ski resort, they feel extremely isolated. Even compared to the single lane up the Col d’Aspin in the Pyrenees it feels ancient. It doesn’t impose with grandeur in the same way as the upper reaches of the Col de l’Iseran, it’s much prettier than that, but there is the same feel of being totally out of reach.

The main issue, beyond the gradient which never lets up and the surface which is truly awful, is the fact you can now see the top, and the ten hairpins that lie between you and the end. The first six come in quick succession, but the central portion of much longer straights and fewer hairpins is much more mentally challenging. I was glad to have to stop and take photos at this point.

Four kilometres from the top is where the trees give way, and it’s a real grind. From a race perspective anyone who is dropped here will be able to see the race slipping away from them for almost the entirety of the rest of the way, sapping morale still further. The final couple of hairpins are short, steep, and spit you out onto what feels like a false flat for the last few hundred metres to the high point.

Unlike the climb to Alpe d’Huez, which doesn’t seem to finish anywhere but rather diffuses into an ugly resort leaving you without any real sense of achievement, the Sarenne does at least offer a definitive finish point. It’s nondescript, marked with a sign and a modern triangular hut next to some concrete ruins, but it is a finish line nonetheless and extremely welcome.

While the peak ends here, the stage does not. Like me, riders then have to descend down the balcony road to Alpe d’Huez before tackling a few final hairpins to a finish line that feels a little manufactured, especially given it will have hosted a finish just 24 hours previously. Logistically it makes sense, but from a drama perspective I’m not so sure. The descent to the resort is beautiful, but far from flat and in dire need of resurfacing, or in some places just surfacing; it’s gravel, in places, and offers a taste of the danger of what descending the Sarenne would be like.

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

Racing up Alpe d'Huez can be either a career-defining moment or a dizzying experience. The D211 is the official name of the road that zigs and zags up the mountain and to the ski resort at the top, 1,120 metres (3,670 feet) gained from the base at Bourg d'Oisans in just 13.8 kilometres (8.6 miles).

The D211 is most famous for its 21 switchbacks, firmly back as a protagonist on stage 19 at this year's Tour de France, but a 3.7km section will also play a decisive role in stage 20 as the final segment of a mountaintop finish circuit following the Col de Sarenne ascent.

Never before has the peloton had to conquer both sides of the legendary Alpe d'Huez at one Tour de France, this year climbing the 'back' route via Col de Sarenne for the first time. It is only the third time the mountain has featured twice in the same Tour – consecutive stages featured in 1979 and then double ascents on a single day in 2013. The legend continues to grow, 73 years after the Alpe hosted the first-ever mountaintop finish at the Tour.

It also means that never before have the ravenous fans of the Tour had to negotiate both sides of the mountain in the same weekend. To that regard, 'D' stands for diligence when it comes to making plans to find the right position on the D211 for the Friday and Saturday doubleheader.

It is late in the logistics process to find accommodations anywhere close to the top, or bottom, of Alpe d'Huez, but for those in France who still plan to visit the Tour's final weekend, Cyclingnews shares some insights and resources so you can get to your perfect spot to watch more history in the making by the pros this year, and formulate a strategy for a future trip.

Base of the mountain

Be aware that road closures and detours began last weekend in the Oisans region for the L'Etape du Tour de France. 16,000 recreational cyclists registered to ride the same 170km route as stage 20 of the Tour from Bourg d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez via the Sarenne climb.

Then two days later on July 21, the Isère Escapes took place from Bourg d'Oisans, a free event for cyclists to pedal up the 21 hairpin turns of Alpe d'Huez, with the D211 closed to vehicular traffic in both directions for this event, 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

The village of Bourg d'Oisans, with a population of 3,000 full-time residents, could not be busier. Locals may not like the traffic, but it is all good for business. Local restaurants and stores are already packed, and the main hotel is full.

Chrystelle Bruinsma-Sert, who leads management of Hotel de Milan in the centre of town, says the 90-year-old hotel was all booked up within a 24-hour period last year when A.S.O. announced the 2026 route. And they don't have to leave the building, as the game room has a window seat to the switchbacks, albeit binoculars will be needed, and the corner location provides a front row seat to the stage depart on Saturday.

"The day of the announcement was crazy. It started with Europeans booking rooms, then people from the U.S., Australia, Tasmania, and other places. We have one guest from Norway staying three weeks to ride, and one from New York City will be here for 14 days. Cycling is truly worldwide," Bruinsma-Sert said, the fully-renovated hotel with 37 rooms, suites and apartments having been a family business for 42 years.

"For me, the Tour is something special to have the world passing in front of your house."

She said winter is their busiest season for proximity to multiple ski resorts in the area, but cycling is now a close rival. Her main concern, however, for this week will be how to get staff to the hotel for work, saying "it will be complicated and difficult" for them to access the hotel.

Top of the mountain

Alpe d'Huez has been a stage town 32 times, a popular destination because of the challenging climb as well as the abundance of spectator facilities at the top, namely accommodations. Among 20 hotels and a wide variety of private apartments, there are more than 32,000 tourist beds in the mountain village.

Tourism thrives the most in winter for the ski slopes and connectivity to resorts of Vaujany, Oz-en-Oisans, Villard-Reculas and Auris-en-Oisans. This ski mecca has a total of 250km of slopes, 135 marked runs for skiing, two snowparks and one ski/boardercross facility.

The Alpe d'Huez Grand Domaine ski area uses 70 ski lifts to connect the resorts in winter, the first one built in 1936. In summer, trails snake across the alp for hiking and mountain biking.

It is this network of chair lifts and walking trails that are being promoted for spectators to gain access to finish areas of stages 19 and 20. In fact, the tourism and business professionals who work at Alpe d'Huez will have access to three gondola lifts from Allemond on July 24 and 25.

Be aware that the two roads leading to the top of Alpe d'Huez will have major restrictions, with the Col de Sarenne closed entirely to vehicular traffic from July 16 to July 25. Both roads are also closed to people riding bicycles for much of the Tour's final weekend.

People with confirmed accommodations at the top of the mountain will have specific instructions for outbound traffic flow on the weekend, with a warning from the Oisans Tourisme department that "roads will be saturated".

"With regard to the two successive arrivals at Alpe d'Huez, traffic will be heavily disrupted in the area between Friday 24 and Sunday 26 July, 2026," the Oisans Tourisme department said in a press release.

The following updates have been provided by Oisans Tourisme:

• Saturday, July 18 to Sunday, July 26, D211 will be closed every night, from 22:00 p.m. to 06:00 a.m.
• Thursday, July 16, 14:00 p.m. to Sunday, July 26 at 11:00 a.m. - The Col de Sarenne will be closed to motorised vehicles
• Friday, July 24, 18:00 p.m. to Sunday, July 26 at 11:00 a.m. - The Col de Sarenne will be closed for bicycles
• Thursday, July 23, 22:00 local time to Sunday, July 26, 0:00 a.m. - Road D211 will be prohibited, including for bicycles

Ski lifts provide direct access

Ski lifts from Auris-en-Oisans will have three chairlifts accessible to pedestrians and connect directly to Alpe d'Huez. These operate from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time.

The tourism officials say this location is "the simplest and most comfortable way to attend the grand finish of each Tour de France stage at l'Alpe d'Huez". The three lifts from Auris-en-Oisans - Auris Express, Les Louvets, and Alpauris - will be open "specially opened for the occasion to allow for a calm and pleasant crossing".

Check on road restrictions to access Auris-en Oisans as well. The road between Rochetaillee and Bourg d'Oisans will be closed from 2:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the road between Livet and Bourg d'Oisans will be closed 6:30 a.m. to early evening.

The road between Valbonnais and Bourg d'Oisans will be closed from 12:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, the road between Pont de Dulles and la Paute will be closed from 6:30 a.m. to late evening.

It takes an estimated 30 minutes to make the one-way journey. There is a fee to ride the lifts, starting at €8.50 per adult for a round-trip lift ticket. Walking from Auris-en-Oisans to Alpe d'Huez is 5.5km with 220 metres of elevation gain, and takes an estimated two hours, 15 minutes.

There are other aerial connections to Alpe d'Huez, but some locations require multiple chair lifts or gondolas to reach the race. Details of all the connections, as well as road restrictions to reach the resorts, are outlined by Oisans Tourisme online.

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

While on the tech hunt at the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team hotel in Barcelona before the start of the Tour de France, shortly before I spotted Remco Evenepoel's new Shiv TT bike in the back of an open van, something else caught my eye and sent me down a rabbit hole later that evening and over the course of the days since.

I noticed an open cardboard box with a shipping label on the side detailing its original contents: Mitopure powder, softgels and gummies.

The label showed that it had been shipped from a well-known car company in the USA, to an employee of the team in Austria.

Initially unfamiliar with Mitopure, I later learned that it is a trademarked, highly pure form of a substance called Urolithin A, manufactured by Swiss company Amazentis – part-owned by Nestlé Research Centre – and marketed under the brand name Timeline.

Notably, that Timeline brand name was handwritten on the box, too, alongside the name of another of the team's employees.

What is Urolithin A?

In short, Urolithin A is naturally occurring substance derived from pomegranates, that is claimed to speed up the clearing of damaged mitochondria, potentially improving mitochondrial function and recovery.

Cyclingnews members will perhaps recall Tim Lawson referencing it in our premium feature on supplements too:

• Ergogenic edge or empty promise: How do we know what's really inside cycling supplements

But to dig a little deeper, I spoke to David Bailey, a man whose career spans the English Institute of Sport, three years at the Nestlé Research Centre, and a trio of titles as Head of Performance at BMC Racing, Bahrain McLaren, and nowadays NSN Cycling Team.

He explained that Urolithin A is a naturally occurring byproduct produced in your gut from the breakdown of a group of polyphenols called Ellagitannins, which are found primarily in pomegranates but also in raspberries. However, only some people can produce it in meaningful amounts, depending on their gut microbiome, genetics and diet, and thus, supplementation can be beneficial to those who can't.

In Amazentis' preclinical work – using rodents – Bailey explains that they showed that it had a "potent effect on mitophagy," the process that clears out damaged mitochondria, and given that as you age your mitochondrial function declines, this could have a positive impact on slowing the effects of aging.

This was in around 2021, long after Bailey had left Nestlé, but the company consulted him on its potential application in elite cycling.

"When I joined them, I was between teams," he explained. "I had a lot of contacts, and I made connections with other teams, and a number of teams tried it.

"There would be a potential case used for it at the back end of a Grand Tour, where you're dealing with three days of mountain stages, high calorie turnover, high, high physiological stress," he continued, but later added that, "it's still a bit of an unknown."

Is it legal?

In short, yes. Mitopure is NSF Certified for Sport; something that Bailey himself made happen.

"That was the first thing I told them. I was like, 'teams will not take this on board unless you can guarantee...' Well, you can never guarantee against contamination, but you go through the batch testing process," he said.

This certification, according to the NSF Sport website, verifies that products do not contain any of 290 substances banned by major athletic organizations, the contents of the supplement actually match what is printed on the label, there are no unsafe levels of contaminants in the tested products, the product is manufactured at a facility that is GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) Certified and audited annually or bi-annually based on grade for quality and safety by NSF.

Which teams are using it?

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe denies that they have ever used Mitopure products.

"The team is not using Mitopure at the moment," the team's press officer explained when asked for comment, and later reiterated his statement by saying "the supplement you mention was neither used, nor is it currently in use."

Bailey said he understands one team from his initial round of outreach is still using it. It's not Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, for clarity, but he requested that the team name be kept off-record.

Perhaps most tellingly is that Bailey confirms that his own team, NSN, isn't using it: "As a weighted marginal gain in nutrition, it's a bit of an unknown," he explained. "There's no point rolling that out until you've got your ducks lined up with fueling – carbohydrate intake – or things that are well established like caffeine, creatine, bicarbonate use. Those things are the ones that we know there's clear evidence for."

I also spoke to Sam Impey, former performance nutritionist at British Cycling, as well as the team known today as Jayco AlUla, and who is now Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Hexis, a brand that supports numerous WorldTour teams with their fuelling strategy and tracking. He explained that he's unaware of any team using it.

So, does it actually work?

Bailey calls it an unknown. Impey concurs, saying, "It's a postbiotic that might have benefits, but the evidence base in high-performing athletes is not there. We know way less about how this works and how to use it than ketones."

Clinical trials in older non-active adults showed that supplementation improves muscle strength, endurance, and biomarkers of mitochondrial health, suggesting that it may be an effective ergogenic aid in other populations, but how that then translates to elite athletes is highly speculative.

As Bailey puts it, "The guys racing the Tour de France are freaks. They have a natural adaptation – more so than you and I. We all have an ability to mitigate the oxidative damage that you get, and they will have even more, which is why they're able to do it day in, day out.

A few examples of trials exist, and two shared with me by Bailey loosely suggest potential, but neither are cut and dry.

The first, titled 'Effects of Urolithin A supplementation on performance and antioxidant status in academy soccer players during preseason: a pilot randomised controlled trial concludes that six weeks of supplementation improved aerobic endurance and some measures of jump performance in elite academy players, while preserving aspects of antioxidant status, but caveated that confidence limits were broad, and that the study "potentially support UA as a feasible and well-tolerated intervention in athletic populations," and that it warrants further research.

The second, titled 'Evaluating the Impact of Urolithin A Supplementation on Running Performance, Recovery, and Mitochondrial Biomarkers in Highly Trained Male Distance Runners' found that "Four weeks of daily UA supplementation facilitates recovery by downregulating inflammatory pathways and indirect markers of muscle damage. However, despite a reduction in rating of exertion and increased aerobic capacity, UA supplementation did not further enhance performance in highly trained male endurance athletes."

Evidence vs opportunity

Without clear evidence that Urolithin A offers a performance gain, you'd be forgiven for wondering why teams would risk giving it to high-performing athletes on the world's biggest stage.

But despite not using it for his own team's riders, Bailey presents a sound argument.

"Scientific research moves at a glacial pace. So, you know, working in sport for you know 20 years of my life, I learned that you can't really wait for them to figure it out, and you have to make a call."

That call is probably made by weighing up the known risks against the potential upsides, and when the upside is a shot at winning the Tour de France, it's likely a hard one to ignore.

Each year, when the Tour de France rolls round, the tech team at Cyclingnews heads to the Grand Départ before the race and, as we affectionately describe it, do a tour of hotel car parks. More specifically, we meet each team in turn, often in a somewhat random order, and eye up their bikes to create our mega Grand Départ tech gallery.

This year, with stage 1 being a team time trial, we spent the whole of Saturday bouncing from bus to bus, pulling together our team time trial tech gallery.

Most teams are very accommodating. Both Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG kindly dug out their respective leaders' road and time trial bikes for standalone galleries; Lidl-Trek provided iced coffees, NSN let us have a nosey about the mechanics' truck, and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe kindly (albeit accidentally) left us a van door open. Oops/thanks.

But as well as all that, while we're in and amongst the action, we get to see some unusual stuff. Things that are either out of place, downright cool, or just simply funny.

This gallery is where you'll find those things. I've rounded up 30 images of just that: silly things, new things, and a photo of a saddle that looks like a curious emu.

Cycling, and the Tour de France, has a storied history with watch brands that goes back years. Tudor has its own team nowadays, but there’s been Festina in the past, and a longstanding partnership with Tissot and ASO.

Big Luxury Brands such as Richard Mille have established a strong presence in professional cycling through sponsorships and partnerships with top riders; therefore, high-end timepieces are more visible in the peloton than ever before.

Both Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel are sponsored by Richard Mille while they are riding. However, beyond their partnership with Richard Mille, both riders are well known for being genuine watch enthusiasts, so they have built impressive personal collections over the years by themselves.

The longer I have followed the world of watches in professional cycling, the more I have realised that many riders are passionate collectors or own remarkable timepieces, beyond ‘just’ Rolex models that often take the headlines. For many professionals, a watch is far more than a luxury accessory; it often marks a significant milestone such as a major race victory, the signing of a new contract, or another important chapter in their lives.

Looking back through cycling history, fascinating timepieces have been part of the sport for decades. Even during the era of Greg LeMond, remarkable watches could be spotted on the wrists of professional cyclists. For example, at the 1990 Tour de France, LeMond was wearing a Cartier Santos on the final podium and during the time trial.

Throughout the years, several of the sport’s biggest stars have rewarded their teammates with luxury watches after major victories, too. One of the best-known examples is Mark Cavendish, who reportedly gifted each of his lead-out teammates a green Rolex Submariner when he won the green jersey at the 2011 Tour de France. The gesture perfectly illustrates how a fine watch can become a lasting symbol of teamwork, gratitude, and a career-defining achievement.

With that in mind, here are the ten most interesting watches spotted during the opening week of the 2026 Tour de France.

Tadej Pogačar’s Richard Mille 64-01 “Tourbillon Colnago”

We start with the most expensive watch spotted, worn by Tadej Pogačar. It’s worth noting that UAE Team Emirates became an official partner of Richard Mille in February 2021 on a multi-year deal that continues to this day.

Pogačar is also a personal brand ambassador for Richard Mille, beyond the team partnership. He regularly wears the ultra-light RM 67-02 (the same model as Mathieu van der Poel and the one that caused him to bleed profusely from the wrist during Paris-Roubaix) during races, but at this year's Tour he got a new model, the so-called “Colnago Edition”. This watch is limited to 50 pieces and is worth an estimated $1,000,000.

This new model combines cycling with the highest level of watchmaking artistry. By fusing the aesthetic and technical codes of Richard Mille with the visual cues of the Italian bike brand, the RM 64-01 Tourbillon Colnago is a new masterpiece to those who appreciate the often divisive aesthetics of Richard Mille watches. In simple terms, the skeletonised construction has been manufactured in such a way that the supports for the movement resemble the tube shapes of a Colnago frame.

Despite being a brand ambassador for Richard Mille, Pogačar has an extensive collection of watches from other brands that we can see him wearing when not racing.

One of them for example is a Rolex Daytona Platinum, with a current approximate market value of $165,000, a watch also spotted on the wrist of Tom Pidcock. Pogačar also owns a Rolex Green Submariner “Starbucks”, estimated to cost $15,000, and was spotted with a black Cartier Santos (around $9,000) recently, perhaps as a nod to Greg LeMond.

Mathieu van der Poel’s Richard Mille 67-02

Mathieu van der Poel was wearing one of his RM 67-02s at the start of the Tour, a watch we see on his wrist at every race and something that caused quite a stir at last year’s Tour given the price of the model.

Since early 2025, Van der Poel has been an official ambassador for Richard Mille, like Pogačar. The partnership is also showcased on the brand’s official website.

One of the key advantages of the RM 67-02 as a watch for cyclists (if one absolutely must wear a fabulously expensive watch while riding) is its exceptionally slim profile and ultralight weight. Weighing just around 32 grams, the RM 67-02 is crafted from Carbon TPT® and titanium. Combined with its highly shock-resistant movement, it is perfectly suited to the demands of professional cycling, whether on the road, over cobblestones, or on rough off-road terrain.

The current market value of the Richard Mille 67-02 varies depending on the specific athlete edition (for example, Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar, or tennis star Alexander Zverev). Standard examples typically trade on the pre-owned market for around €220,000 to €320,000, while highly sought-after or limited editions can command upwards of €450,000.

The Richard Mille RM 67-02 regularly worn by Van der Poel is widely estimated to be worth around $300,000 on today’s market, although the exact value depends on the specific configuration and current market demand.

Away from Richard Mille, Mathieu van der Poel has also been a passionate watch collector of other brands. His personal collection includes several timepieces from Audemars Piguet, including both the iconic Royal Oak and Royal Oak Chronograph. He also owns a number of Rolex watches, with a particular preference for gold sports models, like his yellow gold GMT-Master II, or the Everose Gold GMT-Master II “Root Beer”. He also owns a Rolex “Sprite”, and the iconic stainless steel Daytona “Panda”.

Based on the watches he has worn publicly, the estimated value of his private collection is likely in the region of $300,000 to $500,000, although the exact figure is, of course, unknown.

Jasper Philipsen’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph

Philipsen, arguably the second highest-paid rider at Alpecin-Premier Tech, also appears to have developed a strong interest in fine watches.

Unlike some of his fellow professionals, however, Philipsen never wears a watch during races. It is only away from racing - or before and after a stage - that he is seen wearing one of his collection.

Over the past few years, he has been seen in a decent variety of options, including a classy Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Panda”, a Rolex Submariner Date with green bezel, a Tudor Black Bay Chrono, and also a Rolex GMT-Master II “Batman”.

Ahead of this year’s Tour de France, Philipsen was once again seen with an eye-catching watch. During his arrival at the airport, the Belgian sprinter was photographed by a fan wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding Chronograph, with a handsome green dial. This is further proof that luxury watches have become a visible part of modern professional cycling culture.

This model currently commands a market value of approximately $60,000 to $70,000 depending on its condition and completeness.

Quinn Simmons’ Tudor Black Bay Chrono “Panda”

Quinn Simmons has frequently been spotted wearing a popular two-tone Rolex Submariner (two-tone in this case meaning a combination of two different materials; in his case, gold and steel). However, at this year's opening event, he wore an understated Tudor on a leather strap. It was a Black Bay Chrono with “Panda“ dial. Such Tudor models are estimated to be about $4,000 to $6,000 depending on condition and age.

Mauro Schmid’s Rolex Yacht-Master 40

As a Swiss rider from the home of fine watchmaking, it seems appropriate that Mauro Schmid also wears a high-end Swiss timepiece. And what else could it be but a Rolex?

During the Tour de France opening event in Barcelona, Schmid was spotted wearing a Rolex Yacht-Master 40 with a platinum blue dial. The watch, which can also come with a slate grey dial with light blue accents, is perhaps the most elegant sports models in Rolex’s current collection, at least in this writer's opinion.

The Rolex Yacht-Master 40 has an official retail price of around $13,200. On today’s market, however, it is typically valued at approximately $14,000 to $16,000, depending on its condition and completeness.

Clément Russo’s Breitling Superocean Heritage Automatic

French cyclist Clément Russo was also spotted wearing a nice watch during the TDF opening event. This time, however, it was not a Rolex, but another prestigious Swiss timepiece from Breitling.

At first glance, the watch was not easy to identify from the available photographs. After conducting further research and confirming the model directly with Clément Russo, it turned out to be a Breitling Superocean Heritage Automatic with a blue dial.

The Superocean Heritage combines the brand’s renowned dive-watch heritage with a modern, sporty design. It has an official retail price of approximately $5,500, while pre-owned examples typically trade for around $3,800 to $4,500.

Luke Plapp’s Tudor Black Bay Chrono “Pink”

Australian cyclist and big watch lover, Luke Plapp, was spotted wearing an eye-catching number during the Grand Dèpart this year, a Tudor Black Bay Chrono “Pink”.

The watch is one of Tudor’s most distinctive and sought-after modern releases. It was introduced as part of the brand’s collaboration with several high-profile ambassadors, including David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami (who play in pink), and musician Jay Chou.

Although many cycling fans believe the watch was created specifically to celebrate the Giro d’Italia and its iconic pink jersey, this is in fact a misconception. Nevertheless, the model has become particularly popular among professional cyclists and cycling enthusiasts alike.

It had an official retail price of approximately $6,350 and is currently estimated to trade on the secondary market for around $6,600 to $9,000 dollars, depending on its condition and completeness.

Luke Plapp has also been spotted in the past with several other timepieces over the years. Among them are an Omega Speedmaster “Olympic Edition” and a Rolex Datejust with the popular “Wimbledon” dial, perhaps indicating that Plapp has a penchant for watches with a sporting connection.

The exact value of his watch collection is not easy to determine, as it is unknown how many timepieces he currently owns. However, based on the watches that have been publicly documented, the value of his collection is likely to exceed $50,000.

Ben O’Connor’s Cartier Santos

Something different for a change: a Cartier.

Australian professional cyclist Ben O’Connor was spotted wearing a Cartier Santos as he rolled onto the TDF podium during the opening presentation. Judging by the bracelet and overall appearance, the watch appears to be an older vintage model rather than a current-production Santos. As a result, the exact reference number cannot be identified with certainty from the available photographs.

What is clear, however, is that it is a classy Cartier Santos, one of the most iconic luxury sports watches ever produced. Depending on the exact reference and condition, Cartier Santos models of this type are typically valued at between $3,000 and $10,000 on today’s market. With a gold component to the build, they can be significantly higher.

José Joaquín Rojas’ Rolex Submariner Date “Hulk”

As this list is not limited just to active riders, but rather focuses on notable timepieces spotted during the Tour de France opening presentation, José Joaquín Rojas also deserves a place among the top ten.

The former Spanish professional cyclist, who ended his racing career in 2023 and now serves as a sports director for Movistar, has been a passionate watch enthusiast for many years. His collection reportedly includes a Rolex GMT-Master II, a Rolex Daytona Steel, and he has also previously been spotted wearing a Hublot.

In Barcelona, however, Rojas was seen wearing one of the most iconic discontinued Rolex sports watches, the Submariner Date “Hulk”. Unlike the newer Submariner “Starbucks”, which features a green bezel and a black dial, the “Hulk” combines a green Cerachrom bezel with a matching green dial.

Introduced in 2010 and discontinued in September 2020, the Rolex Submariner “Hulk” originally had an official retail price of approximately $9,050. Since production ended, it has become one of the most sought-after modern Rolex sports watches. As of July 2026, the model typically trades on the secondary market for around $19,000 to $22,000 depending on its condition, production year, and completeness. Its strong collector demand continues to drive its value upward, making it a true modern Rolex icon.

Paul Seixas’ Breitling Chronomat B31 Automatic 40

The watch on the wrist of French rising star (is he even ‘rising’ at this point?) Paul Seixas is a Breitling Chronomat B31 Automatic 40. The model is instantly recognisable thanks to its distinctive stainless-steel Rouleaux bracelet.

In July 2026, the Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling officially welcomed the 19-year-old French prodigy into the fold as a brand ambassador.

At the same time, Breitling unveiled the Top Time B01 Eddy Merckx on 1 July 2026, a special edition created as a tribute to the legendary Belgian cycling icon. With its newly announced partnership with Seixas, Breitling is using the Tour de France peloton to showcase the new models on the wrist of one of cycling’s brightest young talents. Seixas’ watch costs about €6,400.

Watch stage 6 of the 2026 Tour de France as the first big mountain stage of the race arrives early in the first week.

In what promises to be an enthralling day of racing, Stage 6 has all the ingredients to deliver. The first Hors Catégorie climb of the race is joined by three further categorised ascents, making for a relentless day in the mountains. The legendary Col du Tourmalet (17.1km at 7.3%) is the headline challenge, coming 130km into the stage. However, it is not where the race will be decided, with a further ascent to Gavarnie-Gèdre (18.7km at 3.7%) still to come before the finish.

On paper, this looks like another chapter in the battle between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. Vingegaard and his team will welcome the longer climbs, but that no longer appears to be a factor that particularly troubles the indomitable Slovenian. Tom Pidcock, Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel will also look to give good accounts of themselves, but this is already appearing to be a two-horse race.

So read on as we provide all the streaming details you need to watch Stage 6 of the Tour de France, including free viewing options.

Watch Stage 6 of Tour de France 2026 for free

Stage 6 of the Tour de France is free to watch in multiple countries across the world.

In Australia, you can watch for free on SBS on Demand with English commentary.

France TV (France), RTBF Auvio (Belgium), RaiPlay (Italy), RTVE Play (Spain) and NOS (Netherlands) will also have full coverage at no cost.

Away for stage 6? Use NordVPN to unlock your free stream — more on that below.

How to watch Stage 6 of Tour de France 2026 from anywhere in the world

Not in your usual country for stage 6? A VPN can help you keep up with the action.

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) can change your device’s location, allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions on streaming services and access your usual coverage from anywhere. They also add an extra layer of security when using public Wi-Fi.

NordVPN is recommended by our office-mates at TechRadar for its strong stream unblocking:

How to watch Stage 6 of Tour de France 2026 in the UK

Stage 6 of the Tour de France will be shown on TNT Sports 1 with coverage beginning at 12:30pm BST.

The easiest way to watch this is via HBO Max with plans including TNT starting at £25.99/month. Alternatively, you can add the channel to your Sky, EE or Virgin Media package.

Can't watch live? Channel 5 will have free-to-air highlights at 7pm BST tonight.

How to watch Stage 6 of Tour de France 2026 in the USA

In the USA, Stage 6 of the 2026 Tour de France will be broadcast by NBC Sports, with this accessible via Peacock.

Peacock plans start at just $10.99/month with a multitude of live sport available, including the Tour de France.

How to watch Stage 6 of Tour de France 2026 in Canada

FloBikes will broadcast Stage 6 of the Tour de France in Canada.

FloBikes is available for CA$49.99/month and carries virtually the entire road cycling calendar.

How to watch Stage 6 of Tour de France 2026 in Australia

In Australia, Stage 6 will be available via free-to-air broadcaster SBS.

Coverage is available via satellite TV, as well as online through the SBS On Demand streaming service.

Stage 6 Schedule

Stage 6 of the Tour de France takes place on Thursday, 9 July with a start time of 11.25am BST / 6.25am EST / 8.25pm AEST and an expected finish time of 4.29pm BST / 11.29am EST / 2.29am AEST (Friday).

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch the pro teams line up for a pre-stage presentation at the Tour de France and you’ll see few hairs on display from the waist down. Pros and most road cyclists shave their legs, at least during the shorts season, but why go to the bother?

There are a couple of straightforward answers and some more involved ones.

On a simple level, cyclists – or at least road cyclists – have always shaved their legs. It’s a rite of passage to show that you’re a ‘serious’ roadie to get rid of your leg fluff, as much as riding with clipless pedals. There's certainly an amount of this that is 'pro cycling cosplay' though; pros do it, so I will too.

It probably also looks better to see a row of cyclists at the start line with smooth, brown legs than hairy legs too, particularly alongside the skin-tight clothing that’s another signal that you’re serious about your riding. Smooth legs might help with heat dissipation too.

Beyond that, pro riders have a massage after every stage to relax their leg muscles, reduce soreness, speed up removal of waste products and increase the speed of recovery, ready for the next day’s racing.

A massage is much more comfortable for a rider with smooth legs than hairy ones and there’s less mess from the creams and oils used if there are no hairs for it to get stuck in. It’s better for the masseurs too; it's been said that massaging hairy legs is like massaging a cactus.

Then there are the crashes. It’s easier to clean a wound if there aren’t hairs in the way. If your legs are bandaged after a crash, it’s less uncomfortable to change dressings if they are not pulling hairs from your legs as they are removed. It should be easier to apply creams and other medications to promote healing and there should be less chance of infection.

And we all know how uncomfortable scabs can be as they start to flake off if they have hairs and grit stuck in them.

More aero too

These are all classic reasons why cyclists shave their legs, which have been given for generations. But with the increasing obsession with aerodynamics, another reason for cyclists to shave their legs has come to the fore: it’s more aero.

Back in 2014, Specialized put six particularly hairy legged cyclists in its wind tunnel, measured the drag, then shaved their legs and repeated the runs. Its results suggested that there was a time saving over 40km of up to 82 seconds from shaving their legs and an average of 70 seconds. That’s around ten times the time saving of just 28 seconds over 100km Specialized claims for an upgrade from the Tarmac SL8 to the latest Tarmac SL9.

That number sounds enormous and has drawn scepticism, but others have repeated the test, with similar results, although we’ve yet to try it ourselves. For example, this video from 2024 found a 13 watt advantage for a triathlete when he shaved his legs and arms.

But shaving your legs completely may not be as aero as shaving a pattern into your leg hair. The late Mike Burrows of Lotus bike and Giant TCR fame suggested that a mohican stripe of leg hair just ahead of your legs’ widest point might create a trip layer and make your legs faster still.

And back in 2018, Lotto-Soudal riders smeared ‘speed gel’ on their legs for the Critérium du Dauphiné time trial. This was claimed to disrupt the airflow and create a boundary layer, lowering drag. The team came third in the time trial and speed gel was promptly banned by the UCI.

Some cyclists go further and shave their arms. When Specialized tested this in 2014, it found the gains were around a quarter of those from shaved legs, so it might be worth keeping the razor out for a little longer and finishing the job.

The Tour de France is one of the most watched sporting events in the world, and that's partly because it's brilliant sporting theatre, but also because you can watch it for free in so many countries.

In the modern age of the most popular sporting events disappearing behind the paywalls of commercial TV companies, it's rare to find an event with such a wide presence across public service broadcasters.

The 2026 Tour de France, though, is going out for free in no fewer than 14 countries. Is yours included? Check out the full list below.

► Watch your usual Tour de France live streams from anywhere with this NordVPN deal.

Tour de France no longer fully free to watch in the UK

The 2026 Tour de France is no longer free to watch in the UK. After 40 years on terrestrial television, the Tour de France will no longer be available live in its entirety to the non-paying viewer from 2026. ITV, which took over the reins from Channel 4 in 2002, broadcast its final Tour this year.

There is, however, something of a reprieve in that the Welsh free-to-air channel S4C has secured a late rights deal and will broadcast seven stages live. Coverage, in the Welsh language, can be found on the S4C TV channel in Wales as well as the BBC iPlayer streaming service across the UK, and also the S4C Chwaraeon YouTube channel. The stages to be shown will be: 1, 2, 3, 18, 19, 20, 21.

For full live coverage of the Tour de France 2026 in the UK, TNT Sports and its streaming platform HBO Max are the major rights-holders, with all 21 stages live and comprehensive coverage that includes studio analysis and on-the-ground reporting. Subscriptions start from £30.99 a month, which does represent value for money for many cycling fans, but perhaps closes the door to a fair few casual viewers.

Watch the Tour de France for free on SBS in Australia

Fans in Australia have it pretty good; after enjoying the whole Giro d'Italia for free, you can now watch the entire Tour de France 2026 for free through SBS too.

► All 21 stages are on the main SBS channel and the easy-to-use streaming platform SBS On Demand (free, registration required).

Europe leads the way

Europe's passion for the Tour is remarkable. The Tour de France is available to watch for free not only in France, but also in Spain, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Luxembourg, and Portugal, and across two separate channels in both Switzerland and Belgium. Check out the full list of channels and streams further down the page.

Can I watch the Tour de France for free in the USA?

No. The USA is one of the countries without a free-to-air broadcast arrangement for the Tour de France. NBC is showing the 2026 Tour de France (available on cable plans), while live streaming is available via Peacock from $10.99 a month.

Watch your free Tour de France coverage from anywhere

Off on your travels this July? Heading somewhere with no free coverage, or without commentary you can understand? A VPN will get you your usual Tour de France coverage wherever you are in the world.

Virtual Private Networks are internet security software that effectively disguise your device's location, meaning you can bypass the geo-restrictions in place on all major streaming platforms. A VPN is a great tool to ensure you don't have to give up your usual viewing options while you're abroad, and it makes your devices far safer too.

NordVPN is the top of the range, according to our colleagues at TechRadar, and there's a great deal on right now.

► Full TV guide: How to watch the Tour de France 2026

Full list of free-to-air Tour de France broadcasters

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Fancy a quiz to get you in the mood for Le Tour?

The 2026 Tour de France gets underway this weekend, starting in Barcelona with a highly anticipated team time trial. It will be the 27th time that the men's Grand Tour has started outside of France since the first foreign start in 1954.

But how many Grand Départ host countries can you name?

We've given you a short but fair time limit of five minutes to complete the quiz, as several nations have welcomed the race more than once. But should you come unstuck, feel free to use a hint by signing in or registering via the button at the top right of the page.

Be sure to let us know how you got on, and make sure to keep an eye on our cycling quizzes page for more Tour de France trivia throughout the three-week race!

Bon chance!

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

US cycling fans can catch every moment of live Tour de France 2026 coverage on Peacock TV. The 113th edition of the Tour has already served up plenty of excitement, and we are only on Stage 6. The drama will only intensify as Tadej Pogačar fights to defend his yellow jersey against his peloton rivals.

The popular streaming service Peacock will be following all the action as this year's race unfolds. It's also currently offering a 12-month subscription for the price of 10.

That means you can lock down an entire year of live cycling coverage for just $109.99, reduced from $131.88, or $9.16 a month – the lowest price we've seen since Black Friday last year.

Save 17% when you sign up for a 12-month plan at Peacock TV.

The Peacock Premium plan is the most popular option, and as well as exclusive live coverage of the Tour, you can watch TV series, hit movies, and a load of other sports. It does include ads, and if you want to enjoy ad-free streaming, the Premium Plus plan is available for $169.99 with the same '12 months for the price of 10' deal.

If you're travelling abroad over the summer, you'll most likely find your Peacock TV viewing blocked by geo-restrictions.

The best way to continue your regular viewing as if you're at home and ensure you don't miss any of the action from the Tour is to use a VPN. NordVPN has discounted its highly rated VPN plans by as much as 75%, with a bonus of three free months on top.

Save up to $192 when you sign up for a NordVPN two-year plan at NordVPN.

The Complete Plan is the most popular option from Nord, and it works out at just $4.49 a month or $372.60 over the two-year period, when you take into account the extra three months.

NordVPV is a recommended choice when it comes to the best VPN services. Our expert colleagues at TechRadar have rigorously tested and independently verified all the major VPN services, and Norton scored a 4.5-star rating, praised for being one of the easiest and fastest VPN services, and the best overall choice.

If you're new to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), then this handy piece of internet tech simply allows your devices to appear as if they're located in your usual location. So wherever you are in the world, you can access your usual streaming services, allowing uninterrupted coverage of your favourite sports and TV shows.

A VPN also come with a host of privacy and protection benefits for your internet usage, which are very useful when travelling abroad and offer benefits that include additional safety when using public Wi-Fi, protecting privacy for remote work and financial transactions.

This is one of the best VPN offers currently available, and perfect for uninterrupted live cycling viewing in 2026.

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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

The 113th edition of the Tour de France starts this weekend, Saturday, July 4. The Grand Départ, Stage One of the Tour de France 2026, sees the return of the thrilling team time trial around the streets of Barcelona, Spain.

Our how to watch the Tour de France guide has all the information on viewing the three weeks and all 21 stages. However, if you find yourself travelling abroad over summer, you'll most likely find yourself blocked out of your at-home streaming services by geo-restrictions.

The best way to continue your services, viewing as if you're at home, and ensure you don't miss any of the cycling action is to use a VPN. NordVPN is the renowned internet security brand and has currently discounted its highly rated VPN plans by as much as 75%, and a bonus of three free months on top.

Save up to $192 when you sign up for a NordVPN two-year plan at NordVPN.

The Complete Plan is the most popular option from Nord, and it works out at just $4.49 a month or $372.60 over the two-year period, when you take into account the three-month FREE bonus.

NordVPV is a recommended choice when it comes to the best VPN services. Our expert colleagues at TechRadar have rigorously tested and independently verified all the major VPN services, and Norton scored a 4.5-star rating, praised for being one of the easiest and fastest VPN services, and the best overall choice.

If you're new to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), then this handy piece of internet tech simply allows your devices to appear as if they're located in your usual location. So wherever you are in the world, you can access your usual streaming services, allowing uninterrupted coverage of your favourite sports and TV shows.

A VPN also come with a host of privacy and protection benefits for your internet usage, which are very useful when travelling abroad and offer benefits that include additional safety when using public Wi-Fi, protecting privacy for remote work and financial transactions.

This is one of the best VPN offers currently available, and perfect for uninterrupted live cycling viewing in 2026.

2026 UCI WorldTour schedule highlights

• Tour de France, 4-26 July
• Tour de France Femmes, 1-9 Aug
• La Vuelta España, 22 Aug-13 Sep
• UCI World Championships, 20-27 Sep

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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

There is an overwhelming amount of scientific and anecdotal evidence that heat training works. So why doesn't every cyclist do heat training? In fact, one could estimate that only 10-20% of competitive cyclists heat train regularly. Perhaps you've tried a block or two of heat training before, but it can be difficult to stick to long-term. Science suggests that's where the greatest performance benefits lie, so why do we stop heat training?

Some athletes are scared of it – in a way, you can't fault them. The goal of a heat training session is to increase your core body temperature to at least 38.5° C for 30-60 minutes. Some sessions may be even longer or hotter, but the fact of the matter is, you are increasing your core temperature to flu-like levels.

Is this dangerous? I wasn't sure, so I went straight to the experts to learn about the intricacies of heat training. I spoke to doctors, physiologists, trainers, and athletes about the potential dangers of heat training. Anecdotally, heat training is like magic for many cyclists. But I've had many other athletes come to me saying that heat training didn't work for them, that it made them dizzy or fatigued.

There seems to be a fine line here, the border between physiological gains and pushing it too far. I asked experts about dizziness, fatigue, dehydration, iron levels, and even the effect that heat training could have on sperm count and fertility. The answers I found certainly surprised me.

Dizziness and fatigue

One of the most common concerns I hear about heat training is that cyclists start feeling dizzy partway through their heat training session.

This can be extremely off-putting especially if you've never experienced dizziness on the bike. Thankfully, most heat training sessions are done indoors on a stationary trainer, so there isn't a risk of crashing or riding off the road. However, dizziness is still a concern.

Aline Barre, Endurance Performance Lead at CORE (Body Temperature Sensor), said that "dizziness is a sign of overdoing it." If you're feeling dizzy, it likely means that your core temperature is too high, you are dehydrated, or you are pushing at too high of an intensity. When this occurs, lower your power, hydrate, turn on a fan, or step off the bike if you need to.

But sometimes, the fatigue hits after the heat session rather than during. Some riders end up with significant amounts of fatigue after heat training. Because they're riding in zone 1, they may think that heat training sessions are easy recovery sessions. While this may be true for experienced, heat-acclimated athletes, this isn't true for everyone. If you're new to heat training, or you've just begun a heat training block, your body might not be fully adapted to the demands of heat training yet.

The first adaptations occur after around five heat sessions, said Barre. These adaptations include, "decrease in heart rate, increase in sweat rate, and better performance in the heat. Female athletes may see more changes in heart rate, while males may see more changes in sweat."

Total heat adaptation takes 10-14 sessions, and Barre provided a beginner recommendation of "three weekly sessions for four weeks."

It's important to monitor your recovery and fatigue during and after heat training sessions. Dr. Kevin Sprouse, professional cycling consultant who worked for EF Education-EasyPost for more than a decade, said, "Heat training does have its downsides. Heat is an additional stress," on the body that, when used in the right dosage, "causes super compensation." Like any other training protocol, heat stress isn't necessarily the best thing for your body, but it can certainly improve your performance.

"Most things that are going to help you peak are things we don't want to do everyday or long term," said Dr. Sprouse. "If performance is the greatest concern, then you accept the trade off."

Professional cyclists don't do VO2 Max intervals and eat 150g of carbohydrates per hour 365 days a year. But in the right dosage, these are the kinds of practices that lead to significant improvements in performance. It all comes back to the basic training principle of progressive overload: you stress the body with a stimulus, then you allow your body to recover, and in that time it overcompensates and builds itself stronger.

Heat training-induced fatigue is not unlike any other form of overtraining. The biggest mistake that riders make, Dr. Sprouse said, is adding heat training on top of the training they are already doing. Heat training is a big stress on the body, so if you are already handling a heavy training load, the addition of heat training could push you over the edge. Instead, it's best to pull back on other aspects of training to allow room for heat sessions to fit into your plan.

Altitude training is more popular than ever, but still, most WorldTour riders are hesitant to heat train at altitude. Instead, many WorldTour cyclists do a block of heat training before altitude, then continue heat training in maintenance mode at the high-altitude camp. The difference we're talking about is five weekly sessions during a big heat training block, versus two to three sessions per week to maintain the benefits from heat training.

Another one of the most overlooked effects of heat training is sleep. Heat training can affect the quality of your sleep, and Dr. Sprouse said that he had seen many riders who struggle with sleeping during a heat training block. These riders were "always struggling with falling asleep," but a cooling mattress could be used to blunt this effect. In fact, Dr. Sprouse recommended a cooling mattress all the time, not only when heat training.

To maximise the benefits of heat training, you wouldn't want to jump in an ice bath immediately following an active heat training session. But you would want to cool your core temperature down before bed time, maximising sleep quality and day-to-day recovery.

The dangers of dehydration

One of the first things that you'll notice when you first start heat training is the changes in your sweat rate and volume. These physiological changes will make most athletes start sweating sooner, and end up sweating more in total. Despite the clean up job required, these changes are a good thing. Your body is becoming more efficient at cooling itself, starting that process sooner through sweat, and continuing to keep the body cool for long periods of time.

But with sweat comes dehydration, and this is one of the most common mistakes that athletes make when heat training. You will probably need to drink more than you think. In fact, you might need to drink more than you ever have before. There are no additional physiological benefits associated with dehydration during heat training, said Barre. Not drinking enough is needless suffering.

You can calculate your sweat rate in many different ways, and Barre said the best way to measure fluid loss is to "go onto a scale naked and measure how much weight you lost during the heat session."

Weigh before and weigh after, it's extremely simple. "Avoid more than 2% body mass loss during heat training," said Ross McGraw, CEO of CORE. That can take a few practice sessions to calculate, but the math is simple.

Most riders have a sweat rate of 1.5 to 2 litres per hour, but this can vary. During heat training, the "goal is to replace 150% of your fluid loss during and after the session," McGraw said. That means if you are losing two litres of fluid during a heat session, you should replace it with three litres of fluid over the next few hours.

We cyclists also know the importance of carbohydrates, and that applies to heat training despite most sessions lasting less than 90 minutes. "Carbohydrate needs are higher at higher core temps," Barre said, and we actually use, "10-20% more carbs in a heat session." Barre recommends always fueling during and or after a heat training ride due to higher carbohydrate oxidation.

There can be other changes to your physiology as a result of heat training. CEO of Nix Biosensors, Meridith Cass, said that your "sweat can begin having a lower sodium concentration with heat adaptation." Sweat rate and volume also varies between sports and environments, so you can't always use the exact same hydration protocol. A pro's hydration plan at the December training camp will not be effective during the hottest mountain stage of the Tour de France, for example.

If and when you experience dehydration, it's best to lower your exercise intensity and take on fluids with electrolytes. It's quite difficult to overconsume electrolytes while sweating and exercising intensely, but the other side of the spectrum is the extremely dangerous threat of hyponatremia. This is caused by under-replenishing electrolytes, mostly likely because you've been drinking pure water.

It is a, "safer bet to hedge on the higher electrolytes side," Cass said.

This made me think about the consumption of salts and potential effects on our overall health. With consistent training and exercise, consuming electrolyte-rich drinks isn't a concern. But there was one other topic that I had yet to explore. It took me weeks of research to find an expert on the subject, but I'm glad I did.

Does heat training affect fertility?

You may have heard the news that repeated sauna exposure decreases measures of sperm health and motility in men. You may also have heard that multiple weeks of intense cycling training causes similar effects on sperm health. Do you see where I'm going with this?

While we don't have a study that shows a direct link between active heat training and sperm health, "we can extrapolate from what's out there. The question is: does that matter?" Dr. Sprouse has seen countless studies on heat training and sperm health, but he did not at all seem concerned about a potential link between the two.

Anecdotally, there are millions of cyclists, men and women, who are having kids. A certain percentage of the population may struggle to get pregnant, but there doesn't seem to be a strong link between this group and heat training. If there seems to be an issue, the effects of heat and cycling on sperm health are, "entirely reversible. The spermatogenesis cycle is about 60-90 days," meaning that you can cease heat training or cycling for a few months if you're having difficulties conceiving, said Dr. Sprouse.

That is good news for any and all cyclists who dream of having kids in the future.

Is heat training worth it?

Heat training is like any other form of competitive sport training – when applied correctly and in the right dosage, heat training can help you smash your PBs and achieve your peak fitness level. But if you happen to overdo it, you will suffer the consequences.

It's just like strength training, VO2 Max intervals, or altitude training. If you go to the gym twice per week and complete a cycling-specific programme, you will probably make some significant strength gains. But if you start going to the gym every day and lifting the heaviest weights possible, it won't be long until you are burnt out or injured.

The same goes for heat training. Follow the right protocol at the correct intensity and volume, and it's more than likely that you'll make significant fitness gains. There currently isn't any evidence that going 'bigger' with heat training causes additional gains. The sweet spot seems to be three to five heat sessions per week for two to three weeks to build heat adaptations, or two heat sessions per week long-term to maintain those physiological adaptations.

In fact, you could argue that heat training is even better than altitude or strength training. Some riders respond to altitude and gym work better than others. But there are actually some riders who don't respond at all. Altitude training has actually made some riders worse, so much so that they refuse to go to altitude camps in the future. CORE has tested hundreds of professional cyclists, and there have been plenty of non-responders to altitude. But those same riders were all responders to heat training. Everyone that they have ever tested responded positively to heat training. Mads Pedersen, for example, generally doesn't train at altitude but can be found riding in a CORE suit.

That is the reason that many of the world's fastest cyclists are heat training. Why else would Tadej Pogačar or Remco Evenepoel be sitting on an indoor trainer on a warm and sunny day in Spain? They could be riding around in the mountains, but instead, they are wearing a sauna suit in the backyard, spinning away at 200w and making gains from heat training.

Watch the 2026 Tour de France as Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) goes for a fifth yellow jersey.

Key rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was forced to abandon after a crash on stage 15, which meant Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) jumped up to the runner-up place in the GC standings and now looks set to clinch the position ahead of Pogačar's teammate Isaac del Toro.

The overall battle may be all but decided as the final day of racing for the 2026 Tour de France unfolds in Paris, but the final opportunity to claim a stage win should still be charged. Riders are facing a course which could lean in a number of directions, and there will a;sp be little time to linger in celebratory mode given it is a shortened 88.7km day of racing in Paris. The original run-in from Thoiry to the French capital has been cut out amid pressure on resources due the wildfire situation in the nation.

It is a day where the sprinters could be in with a chance, after a stretching of the distance from the Butte Montmartre to the finish line on the Champs-Élysées. Though, they won't have it easy, not given that Classics riders like Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) could also take advantage of the launching point and even overall leader Pogačar might want to add just one more stage victory to his already staggering tally of five this edition.

It is set to be a day of racing that keeps the excitement alive until the final kilometres unfold and the stage victor, jersey winners and podium placers get a chance to celebrate after 21 days of brutally tough racing from Barcelona.

The Tour de France is one of the biggest annual sporting events in the world, and attracts all the best riders, as well as millions of fans across the planet, with plenty of casual fans tuning in from around the globe. The wide interest is helped by the fact that, in many countries, the Tour de France is fully free to watch.

Want to know how you can tune in from wherever you are? Cyclingnews has all the information you need on how to watch or stream the Tour de France from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, as well as how you can watch for free, plus how to use a VPN to get your usual coverage from anywhere in the world.

Watch Tour de France 2026 for free

Yes, the Tour de France is available free-to-air in a number of countries, including Australia, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain, to name just a few.

• SBS on Demand (Australia)
• France TV (France)
• RTBF Auvio (Belgium)
• RaiPlay (Italy)
• RTVE Play (Spain)
• NOS (Netherlands)

In the United Kingdom, ITV does not hold free UK streaming rights this year. TNT Sports has exclusive rights to provide full coverage of the Tour de France, but there will be free daily highlights on Channel 5 and some free stage coverage in Wales via S4C.

How to watch Tour de France 2026 from anywhere in the world

Away from home during the Tour de France? A VPN can help you keep up with the action.

VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) can change your device’s location, allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions on streaming services and access your usual coverage from anywhere. They also add an extra layer of security when using public Wi-Fi.

NordVPN is recommended by our office-mates at TechRadar for its strong stream unblocking:

How to watch Tour de France 2026 in the UK

With ITV no longer holding cycling broadcast rights, the 2026 Tour de France can instead be streamed on TNT Sports and HBO Max in the UK.

TNT Sports has broadcast every race of the 2026 road cycling season and will continue to provide coverage of the Tour de France. You can get access to multiple features on their platform, including multiview and key moment recaps from each stage.

There will also be free daily highlights shown on Channel 5 or via their streaming service.

For Welsh viewers they can watch seven stages for free via S4C with Welsh commentary. These include stage 1, 2, 3, 18, 19, 20 and 21.

How to watch Tour de France 2026 in the USA

In the USA, the 2026 Tour de France will be broadcast by NBC Sports, with every stage available live on Peacock.

There will be bonus encore presentations on NBC for the middle weekend, available without a Peacock subscription - stage 14 on Saturday, July 18 at 3:00 p.m. EDT and stage 15 on Sunday, July 19 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

How to watch Tour de France 2026 in Canada

FloBikes will once be your go-to streaming service if you are looking to stream the 2026 Tour de France in Canada.

How to watch Tour de France 2026 in Australia

Australian cycling fans have it best, with free-to-air coverage of the 2026 Tour de France on SBS, which broadcasts every stage in full.

Coverage is available via satellite TV, as well as online through the SBS On Demand streaming service.

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

It'll be news to nobody here in the UK that the sun has currently got his hat on.

It's currently 31° Celsius at Cyclingnews HQ in Bath, and temperatures are predicted to soar to the high-30s (around 100° F) for most of England in the coming days, likely hitting all-time highs since records began.

With a Red Weather Warning for 'Extreme Heat' in effect across the country, it's imperative to stay safe when going about your day-to-day business, and that might counterintuitively mean staying indoors.

Aside from a dunk in the sea – I wish I had taken up surfing as a kid – there are worse sports you can do in conditions like these. However, it's important to remain vigilant if you do choose to venture out.

As a cyclist, you're often in direct sunlight for multiple hours at a time, working hard. You might not feel as though you're sweating as much as when you go for a run or work out in the gym, but that's probably because the sweat is doing its job of cooling you down by evaporating, and thus you must remember to replace the fluids and electrolytes you're losing.

There are plenty of other things you should be doing to keep yourself safe, too. Here are nine things to think about.

Sun cream

The first line of defence against the sun's harmful rays is a good quality sunscreen with high SPF rating. The higher SPF the better, along with a liberal approach to application. Our advice is to get a sport-specific sunscreen, or at least something that's sweatproof, but don't forget to reapply every couple of hours.

Start - and stay - hydrated

You wouldn't start a long car journey with an empty fuel tank, and the same should apply to your hydration and fuel when cycling in hot weather. By drinking plenty of fluids in the 24 hours leading up to your ride, you have more fluid to help you sweat, and a bigger buffer before the wheels start falling off.

But this needs to be approached sensibly. Too much water without also eating real foods or at least supplementing electrolytes can lead to hyponatraemia, which is when the body's balance between water and sodium is disrupted and becomes overly diluted.

Alternate water and electrolytes

Connected to the above, it's important to add electrolytes to at least one of your bottles, but it can also be beneficial carrying a bottle of plain water.

Your body's natural cooling mechanism is to sweat, which takes heat away from the body as that sweat evaporates. If you feel the heat rise a little too far, pouring some of that water over your neck, back, arms or legs can help accelerate this evaporative cooling effect.

Avoid cotton, wear white

Compared to modern polyester apparel, cotton t-shirts and older cycling jerseys are pretty poor at aiding breathability and providing the sweat-wicking properties that help with your body's natural evaporative cooling techniques.

Also, on days where the sun is beating strongly, avoid black or dark clothing that absorbs the sun's radiation, and instead opt for light colours or white that can reflect the sun's rays.

Time your ride, plan your route, and avoid the hottest part of the day

This is a two-in-one tip, and it falls squarely under 'avoid the heat at all costs'. In short, if you can avoid riding during the hottest part of the day, you should.

But even if getting out at 6 AM isn't feasible, you can adapt your route to ride roads that are likely to be shaded by tree cover or tall buildings, rather than heading out onto your nearest moor where roads are exposed and primed for baking in the afternoon sun.

Plan your stops

Connected to the above, consider whether your ride needs a stopping place, either at the roadside in the shade to reapply your suncream, at a petrol station for a top-up of water, or at a cafe with air conditioning to give you a chance to cool down.

Do a bit of research on places to stop, shops that'll be open, cafes that will let you lock your bike up, or ice cream vans that'll serve you up a Solero.

Take a leaf out of the pro peloton's book

Before hot race days, most pro cyclists will cut the leg off a pair of stockings, stuff it with ice cubes, tie a knot in the top and pop it inside their jersey against between their shoulder blades. This not only acts as local cooling for an area that sits in direct sunlight, but as the ice melts, the water covers the torso and evaporates, helping to keep the core temperature down.

Ice drinks

We've all heard of putting our bottles in the fridge the night before we head out, but a pro tech tip that takes this one step further is replacing that drink with an ice slushy, which does an excellent job of cooling your core temperature from the inside.

And since we don't care much for average speed on our training rides, you could even swap out your plastic bottles for stainless steel insulated bottles and keep those slushies cold for your entire ride.

Pre cooling

Pre-cooling, such as drinking an ice drink before you depart, or wearing an ice vest like the pros, can help delay the effects of the heat, simply because starting cooler means it takes your body longer to reach the sorts of temperatures that can cause issues.

This may help on shorter efforts, but it won't make much of a dent on longer rides.

Adapt to the heat in advance

It's obviously too late for anyone facing the heat this week, but as a learning ahead of next time, if you want to be able to ride well in hot weather, you'll need to adapt.

Examples of ways to do this include frequent low-level exposure to heat, such as saunas and hot baths, but also include riding indoors with the fan turned off. Of course, this should all be approached with extreme caution, because done incorrectly, it can carry the risk of hyperthermia.

TNT Sports, the UK broadcast rights holder for the Tour de France, has announced that cycling's biggest race will maintain its presence on free-to-air television in the country after signing a multi-year deal with 5.

The deal largely covers highlights packages, although the UK-based stages of the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ in the UK will be shown live on 5.

Free-to-air broadcasting of the Tour came to an end with last year's race after TNT Sports' parent company Warner Bros Discovery secured the exclusive rights to the race. ITV, the long-term free-to-air broadcaster, has now stepped away from cycling.

That meant that the Tour, along with much of the rest of the cycling calendar, would only be accessible to people paying a £30.99 per month subscription fee, up from the £6.99 price for GCN+ just two years ago.

On Wednesday, however, TNT Sports announced that some coverage would remain on free-to-air television between 2026 and 2028. Highlights of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España will be broadcast on Channel 5 during that period, with highlights of the Giro d'Italia to follow from next year.

The deal will also include live coverage of the UK Grand Départs of both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes in 2027.

"The Grand Tours are the most prestigious cycling events in the world, watched and adored by millions, and we are delighted that 5 will be their new free-to-air home in the UK," said the president of 5, Reemah Sakaan.

"Our daily highlights show for the Tour de France will be available to everyone at 7pm each evening this July and we'll also have daily highlights through both the Vuelta a Espana and the Giro d'Italia for the next three years, plus next year we'll have live coverage of the Tour de France's historic return to the UK.

"The Tour de France kicks off an incredible summer of sport on 5, adding to the rapidly expanding range of premium sport we have for people to watch, including the best of the action from the Commonwealth Games this summer.

"This new deal with TNT Sports reflects our long-term commitment to bringing brilliant coverage of the world's best sporting events to millions of viewers and providing access to premium audiences for advertisers."

'Expanding the reach of elite cycling across the UK'

In October 2024, TNT Sports signed a deal with Tour de France organisers ASO to become the exclusive broadcaster of the Tour de France until 2030. The broadcaster already held the air rights to the other Grand Tours as well as many other races throughout the season.

Now, for the next three years, at least a portion of the cycling calendar will remain accessible to fans around the country.

"This partnership with 5 represents a major step forward in expanding the reach of elite cycling across the UK," said EVP of Warner Bros Discovery Sports Europe, Scott Young.

"As the Home of Cycling, we are committed to bringing fans closer to the biggest races in the world across both men's and women's cycling, and this agreement ensures even more viewers can experience the drama, emotion and storytelling that define Grand Tour racing.

"By combining a strong free-to-air highlights offering with our comprehensive live coverage, we are delivering unprecedented access to the sport across every platform. Cycling is one of the most compelling sports in the world, featuring extraordinary athletes and unforgettable moments, and it's important that those stories are shared with the widest possible audience.

"Expanding reach and engaging new audiences across our rights portfolio remains a key strategic priority, and partnerships such as this play an important role in achieving that ambition."

The FIFA World Cup 2026 begins this week and is an incredible 104-match feast of soccer action in North America. However, for us cyclists, the real show starts in Barcelona, Spain, in July with the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2026.

The World Cup will be in its final stages when the world's best cyclists, including defending champion Tadej Pogačar, take to the start line of the 113th edition. Stage One of the Tour de France 2026 starts on Saturday, July 4 with an always exciting team time trial around the Catalan capital.

Viewing Le Tour and all the best sporting action, including the FIFA World Cup, can mean multiple streaming subscriptions. If you find yourself travelling abroad over summer, you'll most likely find yourself blocked out by geo-restrictions.

The best way to continue your services, viewing as if you're at home, and ensure you don't miss any of the cycling action is to use a VPN. Norton is the renowned internet security brand and has currently discounted its highly rated VPN plans by as much as 70%.

Save up to $192 when you sign up to a Norton VPN two-year plan at Norton.

We think these Norton VPN deals are some of the best we've seen. These deals are limited-time offers and run from June 11th to June 24th.

Norton is a recommended choice when it comes to the best VPN services. Our expert colleagues at TechRadar have rigorously tested and independently verified all the major VPN services, and Norton scored a 4-star rating, praised for being one of the easiest and fastest VPN services.

If you're new to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), then this handy piece of internet tech simply allows your devices to appear as if they're located in your usual location. So wherever you are in the world, you can access your usual streaming services, allowing uninterrupted coverage of your favourite sports and TV shows.

A VPN also come with a host of privacy and protection benefits for your internet usage, which are very useful when travelling abroad and offer benefits that include additional safety when using public Wi-Fi, protecting privacy for remote work and financial transactions.

This is one of the best VPN offers currently available, and perfect for uninterrupted live cycling viewing in 2026.

2026 UCI WorldTour schedule highlights

• Critérium du Dauphiné (Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), 7-14 June
• Tour de Suisse, 17-21 June
• Tour de France, 4-26 July
• Tour de France Femmes, 1-9 Aug
• La Vuelta España, 22 Aug-13 Sep
• UCI World Championships, 20-27 Sep

Below you'll find all the best Norton VPN deals with pricing relevant to your location and currency.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes this week, the French stage race being one of the key warm-up races for the Tour de France and a major event in its own right.

Here are all the details you need to follow the race on live streams and TV channels in the US, UK, Canada and the rest of the world.

While Tour de France favourites Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard won't be tackling the 1,208km race between Vizille and Brison, instead taking other routes to the Tour de France, a host of major names will be lining up.

Home favourite Paul Seixas is perhaps the most heavily anticipated rider in the lineup. The Decathlon CMA CGM starlet will face a fierce fight for supremacy, however.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG duo Isaac del Toro and João Almeida, Netcompany Ineos trio Carlos Rodríguez, Oscar Onley, and Kévin Vauquelin, Lidl-Trek pairing Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso, and Visma-Lease a Bike leader Matteo Jorgenson are among the others to watch.

Key stages to watch include the final three stages with summit finishes at the Plateau de Solaison, the Grand Colombier, and Crest-Voland.

There are broadcast options for the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the UK, USA and Canada, as well as free live streaming options around Europe.

Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 Free Stream

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is being streamed for free in France, Australia, Belgium, Spain and Italy. Channels are as follows:

• France TV (France)
• SBS on Demand (Australia)
• Sporza / RTBF Auvio (Belgium)
• RaiPlay (Italy)
• RTVE Play (Spain)

If you're not in your home country right now, geo-restrictions will likely be an issue for you. But you can still access your usual streaming services by using a VPN.

How to watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country while the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is on, you may think you'd struggle to watch the race due to geo-restrictions in place for different viewing regions. But a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to access your usual streaming services.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar rate NordVPN as the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

How to watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the action across multiple TNT Sports channels, with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in the USA

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will air live in the USA on NBC Sports via Peacock. The Tour de France and Vuelta a España will also be broadcast on the platform later in the year.

A subscription to Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month or $109.99/year.

How to watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish for, costs CA$49.99 a month.

How to watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes via cycling's major broadcaster in the country, SBS.

All stages will be aired live online on their streaming platform, SBS On Demand. SBS is a free-to-air broadcaster, and SBS On Demand is free to use with registration.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women for the second women's Grand Tour of the season., with the race heading towards a big GC finish in the mountains and a first visit to the Colle dell Finestre later in the week.

Elisa Longo Borghini is aiming for a third win in a row on home ground in Italy, but she'll face stiff competition from a host of big names. Demi Vollering, Marlen Reusser, Niamh Fisher-Black, Marion Bunel, and Anna van der Breggen are also on the list of GC contenders.

The race opened with a flat sprint stage in Ravenna, while the stage 4 mountain time trial to Nevegal shook up the GC standings. The hills come on Wednesday's stage 5, while later in the race, be sure to watch the queen stage 8 over the Colle delle Finestre.

The Giro d'Italia Women is being broadcast all over the world, with TV coverage and live streaming options in the UK, US, and Canada, so read on for all the details on how to watch the race wherever you are in the world.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia Women 2026 for free

The 2026 Giro d'Italia Women is free to watch in Australia and Italy.

In Australia, the race will be free with English commentary thanks to SBS.

You can also catch the race for free live on Italian national broadcaster RAI.

Abroad? You will need NordVPN (75% off) to unlock your free stream wherever you are in the world.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia Women 2026 from anywhere in the world

If you're outside your usual country when the Giro d'Italia Women is on, you might think you can't watch the race, but you'd be wrong. A VPN is a nifty piece of internet security software that lets you tune into your streaming services from abroad, and allows you to do so with complete confidence.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but for a VPN that's brilliant at streaming and is also TechRadar's pick for overall best VPN in the world, we'd recommend NordVPN.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia Women in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TNT Sports is your linear option while live streaming is available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max. Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia Women in the USA

The Giro d'Italia Women is being aired by HBO Max in the United States. Plans start from $18.49 per month for a package that includes live cycling.

If you're an Amazon Prime member, you might find it easier to sign up to Max via Prime.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia Women in Canada

For Canadian viewers, it is the usual FloBikes to watch the Giro d'Italia Women.

A subscription will set you back CAN$215.88 for the year or CAN$49.99 on a monthly basis. FloBikes customers in the US will be blocked from this one - they only have the rights in Canada.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia Women in Australia

As alluded to above, cycling fans in Australia can watch the Giro d'Italia Women for free through SBS.

Both races are being live-streamed on the SBS On Demand platform, which is a free service for those in Australia. If you are looking for linear coverage, each stage will be available on SBS Viceland.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

To save you time and so you already have the idea in your head whilst you're reading this article, the main thing I have learnt so far in a year and a half as a professional athlete is that less is more.

In 2024, I completed my final school exams, called A-levels in the UK, at my local sixth form. These exams normally lead you to start a university degree, an apprenticeship, or whatever journey you desire in post-compulsory education, which finishes at 18 in the UK. My schooling and formal education ended there, but of course, learning never stops; we learn new things every day. So what have I learnt over almost one and a half years in the professional cycling peloton, whilst also moving to, and living alone in, a different country at 18?

First of all, I can briefly yet completely summarise that learning another language is extremely difficult. As a typical British person who underwent five years of compulsory language education in secondary school - French in my case - I still can’t even string together a sentence in the language now. Therefore, learning Spanish since moving to Andorra has been a very painful process, but slowly I'm getting there (and I very much love life here in the mountains). Don't get me started on Catalan, though. It is the official language of Andorra, and looks similar to Spanish, yet it is completely incomprehensible to a poor Spanish speaker like myself.

I chose to move to Andorra for many reasons, but mostly because I believe it’s a great place for training: the many high mountain passes and flat valley roads, an endless number of people to train with, and a great support system, from physios to personal trainers, thanks to Movistar. But also, the more practical adult reason was that due to Brexit, it was much easier to gain residency here than to obtain a Spanish visa, for example.

So, fresh from the days of balancing school with cycling, I'm now solely focused on living a life where the everyday goal is to be the best athlete I can be. Time and energy seemed to be in much greater abundance than my previous days, which were filled with full-time education and exam revision, alongside training towards a professional contract and, of course, racing. Naturally, the extra time was an utterly lovely and blissful thing: to wake up at will, fuel the day's training, and leave for it whenever I felt like it. However, after some months of training and racing full-time, that extra energy became problematic.

I write this article in May, which has been a reflective month for me. Last year, just like this year, I focused the early part of the season on the Classics, took a few easy, restful days after that block, and then had a big, long period throughout May to train again for the next big goal. This year, it's the Giro d'Italia at the start of June. Of course, the normal thing to do nowadays when granted a long training period focused on one competition is to go to altitude. However, unlike last year, there is no altitude for me this year.

In 2025, I started my first-ever altitude block in Sierra Nevada, Spain, alone. I'm someone who loves the process – the day-to-day training – just as much or even sometimes more than the outcome, the racing. I'm the annoying athlete who is always pushing the coach's limits to increase the amount of training set on TrainingPeaks. I think this is for two reasons: one, because I love to be busy, years of balancing school work and cycling always meant there wasn’t much time for sitting down on the sofa, and now with all this extra time, sometimes it feels strange not doing something productive with it, such as more training.

And the other thing, as I have alluded to, is that I just really enjoy riding my bike. Therefore, when the concept of simply waking up and focusing on training every day – still a fairly new and idyllic phenomenon to me – was combined with being in an environment such as sleeping at 2,400 metres to reach peak performance, the feeling of reaching that goal of being the best you can be looms as near as it will ever be. It is extremely motivating to do everything possible to better that possibility. Because, of course, we always want more.

My time in Sierra Nevada was amazing. I enjoyed carrying out the smaller extra processes that take place at altitude, the sole focus of waking up and completing that day's training without any distractions and the heightened attention to fueling. However, I had been warned about how easy it was to overcook yourself or underfuel, or both. At altitude, the norm of my training became doing 20 to 30 minutes longer than my carefully planned TrainingPeaks session every day. For many reasons, mostly because I believed it was the appropriate thing to be ‘tough’ on myself to become better. But an additional factor became the boring concept of returning to my accommodation with nothing else to do that day other than eat and sleep.

Time is unimaginably in abundance when staying in the ‘centro de alto rendimiento’. Shortened to and commonly called the CAR, it is a surprisingly well-known building in the world of endurance sports. The translation of the CAR's name into English is 'the high performance centre'. You'd think the goal of a business's name should be to make the product sound a bit more exciting than it is; however, the CAR is truly unique in that the brand name describes the only activities available at Sierra Nevada in May. Not even the lone 90m squared supermarket is open in between the winter and summer seasons, so there is very much nothing to do other than 'high performance'.

On top of pushing the time to the boundaries of turning that session on TrainingPeaks yellow (an indicator on the platform that a training session has been completed to less than or more than 20% of the total time planned), most of the time, my power would be near the absolute highest watts it could be for zone two. Alongside those extra minutes and unnecessarily increased intensity, I continued to strictly follow the nutrition plan uploaded at the start of the week, and based on the week's upcoming training, without thinking about increasing that intake due to the extra calories I was burning.

Therefore, as you can imagine, training up there was going relatively badly, but that was easy to put down to the fact that I was doing altitude for the first time. It's expected to see much lower numbers; it’s normal to be finishing training every day completely wasted and empty, that is how peak performance will come. But, day-by-day, irrational choice by irrational choice, I was unknowingly digging myself into a big hole.

In the short term, there didn’t seem to be a sign of any problem. I had my first-ever WorldTour win in my first race post-altitude training, yet that month's period still hadn’t come. The success post-altitude turned out to be very short-lived. For the rest of the season, I struggled with fatigue, rarely had a good or normal day in training, and found myself ill much more than usual, which impacted my big goals and hopes for the season.

It felt like I was in a constant battle of trying to understand my body and failing. Sometimes fighting with logic, but most of the time, without logic, and in denial that the problem was so clear. I continued without menstruation for 10 months.

That point just made is why I wanted to share my experience of RED-S. Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport is a syndrome of poor health and declining athletic performance caused by an imbalance between food intake and exercise energy expenditure.

Thankfully, I can say my story with RED-S is quite short: after 10 months, in the off-season on holiday last year, I regained my period (the most telling sign for women), then followed more normal feelings in training and, in general, more normal sensations in my mood and overall energy for life.

I wouldn’t say I’m completely back to normal now. I still have an irregular menstrual cycle, still aim to get more healthy fats into my diet, and as I mentioned before, altitude is completely off the charts for me right now. With the general consensus that putting my body under that much stress again will do more harm than good, even if it is done in the opposite way to last year's doings.

But what did I learn, and what do I put it down to? Those careless and unfueled extra 20 to 30 minutes of training I did at altitude every day? I would say no, although they were likely the start of the problem. The real cause was the lack of logic in my brain that allowed me to justify the decisions and actions made at the altitude camp, and seeing immediate short-term results made those decisions a habit after that solo altitude camp. Until, of course, it clicked in my brain that what I was doing was not a recipe for long-term success, which, of course, in my case as a 19-year-old athlete at the time, should always have been the priority.

In some ways, and because I have to look for some positives in this situation, I would argue that experiencing this very steep learning curve in the first year of turning professional may be the best way to hopefully instill healthy attitudes and thinking going forward. Of course, provided that the learning curve provides lessons, which, for me, it definitely did, as I can say that my experience with RED-S is one I truly hope and believe I will never repeat.

So I share this to hope that what I have learnt can be taught vicariously to anyone willing to listen. Going forward, I am prioritising listening to my body and being patient with progress. I have almost gone full circle back to the start, and I am now considering restarting my studies online. Not because I reminisce on the days of school work and training, but because life, and the world also, is not and cannot be all about cycling. I now realise that for me, it is very important not to be solely reliant on one thing, mainly for perspective on that thing, but also to learn to find happiness and fulfilment in other things that aren’t cycling, because there will come a time when I am not allowed to cycle that day or that month. Or maybe I’m just back in Sierra Nevada in May again. But most importantly, I will be remembering that more is not always more. Less is more.

You can follow all the action from stage 19 and the queen stage of the 2026 Giro d'Italia at Alleghe with live streaming around the world.

The Giro d'Italia is winding towards its conclusion in Milan on Sunday, May 31, but there's plenty of action to come before then, including Friday's queen stage of the race.

Stage 19 takes the peloton on a 151km ride through the Dolomites from Feltre to Alleghe with six classified climbs standing in the way. Major tests include the first-category Passo Duran, HC Passo Giau, and the second-category Passo Falzarego, while the closer is another second-category climb.

Race leader Jonas Vingegaard will be looking to consolidate his maglia rosa lead ahead of his expected overall victory, while behind him, the likes of Felix Gall, Thymen Arensman, and Jai Hindley will do battle over the podium places.

Read on for all the details on how to watch stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia online, on TV, and wherever you are in the world.

Where to watch stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia for free

Stage 19 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia will be free to watch in Australia, Italy and Switzerland.

In Australia, it's free with English commentary thanks to SBS.

You can also catch the race for free live on Italian national broadcaster RAI and on Swiss streaming services RSI (Italian commentary) and SRF (German commentary).

Abroad? You will need NordVPN (75% off) to unlock your usual free stream wherever you are in the world.

How to watch Stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia 2026 from anywhere in the world

If you're outside your usual country when the Giro d'Italia is on, you might think you can't watch the race, but you'd be wrong. A VPN is a nifty piece of internet security software that lets you tune into your streaming services from abroad, and allows you to do so with complete confidence.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but for a VPN that's brilliant at streaming and is also TechRadar's pick for overall best VPN in the world, we'd recommend NordVPN.

How to watch stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Stage 19 of the Giro through TNT Sports and HBO Max. It will go out on TNT Sports 1.

TNT Sports is your linear option, while live streaming is available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max. Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia in the USA

Stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia is on HBO Max in the United States. Plans start from $18.49 per month for a package that includes live cycling.

How to watch stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia in Canada

For Canadian viewers, it is the usual FloBikes to stream stage 19.

A subscription will set you back CAN$215.88 for the year or CAN$49.99 on a monthly basis.

How to watch stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia in Australia

In Australia you can watch stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia for free on SBS.

Both races are being live-streamed on the SBS On Demand platform, which is a free service for those in Australia. If you are looking for linear coverage, each stage will be available on SBS Viceland.

Giro d'Italia stage 19 start and finish times

Stage 19 will start in Feltre at 12:30 local time. That's 11:30 BST, and 6:30 ET.

After 151km of racing, the stage is set to conclude at Alleghe at 17:12 local time – 16:12 BST, and 11:12 ET.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Buongiorno from Switzerland! Yes it’s the Giro d’Italia but our rest day hotel is in Switzerland ahead of the Swiss stage. I’m sitting here writing whilst overlooking the beautiful Lake Maggiore, the impressive mountains and a clear blue sky on my rest day, a peaceful moment before it all begins again for week three.

Week two is behind us and it was another really good week at the Giro for me. It kicked off with the individual time trial, which was amazing to see Filippo Ganna execute as perfectly as he did, beating everyone by almost two minutes.

But the TT was also extra cool for us because we had a special guest on the ground with TNT Sports and Eurosport, Danish racing driver Tom Kristensen, who is universally regarded as the greatest Le Mans driver of all time, and ‘Mr Le Mans’ as he’s nicknamed is a huge cycling fan. He joined us at dinner for two nights in Pisa and even on our morning run club, and it was really special for me, because I went to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with my dad, my granddad and brother back in 2005, which was the 7th time of the nine times that Tom won, so it was like worlds colliding for me. Might I add, aside from his sporting endeavours, what an excellent and humble man.

As I say, he's a big cycling fan and a rider himself, but there's another cycling connection with Le Mans this year, because Sir Mark Cavendish is going to be the official starter of the race this year, joining legends like LeBron James, Zinedine Zidane, Brad Pitt and Roger Federer in starting that iconic race.

So that was a really nice way to start the week for me personally, but the racing really delivered too. Those wins for Jhonatan Narváez and Alec Segaert really stood out as wins for breakaways and opportunistic racing. With Segaert, it actually wasn't a last-minute opportunity, because he'd been planning it, but still, you've got to get the timing right and get in the right move and ultimately have the legs to pull it off. I just love the thrill and excitement of riders racing like that.

And then that stage that Alberto Bettiol won, that was another absolute thrill, and so good to see. I remember doing a sit-down interview with Bettiol before the Tour de France when it started in Florence in 2024, and we were talking about how he's a rider who doesn't win that many bike races, but when he does win, he wins really big. His first pro win was the Tour of Flanders after all! And I remember him telling me that he was one of the last romantic riders, someone who senses the race and rides on instinct more than numbers or data or new technology, and I think his win on Friday was a really beautiful example of that.

We were back into the mountains on Saturday, and the views at the top of that climb were spectacular, I've never seen anything like it in my life. For us media and TV, we had to take the gondola up to the top, and the finish was at about 2,100m, but we went up even further to about 2,700m where there was still snow in the mountains. It was really amazing up there. From the top you could see the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Gran Paradiso, amongst others.

The stage itself was obviously also a big one, with Jonas Vingegaard going into pink, but actually what stood out for me was Davide Piganzoli, what a brilliant signing for Visma-Lease a Bike and what an incredible ride. I think that also showed how many extra little tactical things go on in a race like this, with Piganzoli's job to sit on Felix Gall and make sure he didn't give him any help. He's already had some great results himself, but he's also now showing what an amazing domestique he's going to be, and well, already is!

Then the week ended in Milan, and wow, what can I say about Milan? That chase on the city circuit was so exciting, and reminded us just how complicated it is to catch a break on a circuit like that. There were also a lot of questions about why certain teams did and didn't chase, and when I spoke to Decathlon's DS Luke Roberts about why they didn't get involved for Tobias Lund, he basically said that he didn't think they'd win, so why contribute? Which I thought was really interesting. Maybe it was a bluff, or maybe it says something about how they're shifting energy to their overall ambitions with Gall, but either way, it's a really good example of how the racing gets complicated and unpredictable this far into a Grand Tour

Obviously the other story that has made as many headlines as the breakaway win is the GC neutralisation. To give you a bit of insight, on the ground we also just have to piece together the info about what's happening, so on that day we just got a WhatsApp message in our Giro group about the five kilometre rule, and then I heard from someone else the times would actually be taken at 16 kilometres, so it wasn't really clear.

Stages like that do definitely leave you thinking 'how could this have been prevented?'. Obviously teams have tools like Veloviewer and can look at the course and the road surface, but you don't actually know what it's going to be like once the barriers are up or when you're going at over 50kph, so I'm not sure if anyone could have made the decision any earlier. It was also clear to me that it was a super stressful and intense day not just for the riders but for the directors too, who were trying to hand out bottles, service mechanicals, and make sure their riders got back to the bunch, all whilst navigating the twisty turny roads in Milan. The pressure must have been incredible.

A race of opportunity and adaptability

In some ways, the Giro is going into the final week as we might have expected, with Jonas Vingegaard in pink, but actually, there have been loads of unexpected winners and stories and things have changed a lot since Bulgaria.

In many ways, week two was the week of the breakaway, and that wasn't by accident. When Fredrik Dversnes took that win in Milan, I spoke to the Uno-X director Michael Blaudzun and he told me that they'd been planning and hoping to try and outsmart the sprinters and win from that break, and that's what they did. The whole breakaway rode it really smart, and in the end I wanted all of them to get the stage win. It was really a day that they all worked for and deserved, not just a fluke or a mess up from the peloton. Everyone loves to back the breakaway and they've really delivered in this Giro.

The other really big thing for me has been how teams whose Giro maybe hasn't gone to plan have managed to turn it around and still find success. UAE Team Emirates-XRG are obviously the main one, losing Marc Soler, Adam Yates and Jay Vine on day two, ending up without a GC rider, but they've turned it around and already won four stages. It's a really good display of how you can make a new plan and still fight for something, and the importance of determination and not giving up even when things go wrong. I think it’s a good lesson and mentality to have in life too.

Similarly has been Movistar, who came in with overall hopes for Enric Mas, which hasn't really worked out for him, but they've been amazing, fighting for so many stage wins and Mas taking second on that day behind Narváez. So many people I've spoken to – and me included – really want to see Movistar win a stage, because they've been racing so boldly and have so many strong riders, not just Mas but also Einer Rubio, Lorenzo Milesi and Orluis Aular.

The final standout team has definitely been Bahrain Victorious and the way they defended pink. I wrote in my column last week that I thought Afonso Eulálio could hold pink until the end of the second week, and he did, which was amazing to see – not just for him but for the whole team too, with Segaert winning, and Giro veteran Damiano Caruso getting to make his mark on the race again. A big hats off to them – and I'm not just saying that because Afonso very kindly gifted me his special pink glasses!

Obviously the riders being strong and motivated is probably the biggest part of winning, but I think another important thing on the mental side is the role of the sports directors. Teams having fresh ideas in the car, like Movistar with Matt White, is really important, but it's also about having DSs who can guide riders and give them the space to believe that they can do it. Maxime Bouet at Lotto Intermarché has been a good example of that, because their team has had a really disastrous Giro with illness so they're down to only four riders, but he's been keeping the morale high and keeping everyone in good spirits. And the result was that even without their leaders, Toon Aerts sprinted to second on that stage to Novi Ligure, because Bouet had told him even before the Giro that that could be a stage for him.

Another one that will be interesting to see this week is Unibet Rose Rockets with Wout Poels, who is the oldest rider in the race and could not only win the Rockets' first ever Grand Tour win, but also complete his set of GT stage wins. I know he works really closely with Jon Mould and they both have a lot of belief and faith in each other, and that is a big part of the reason why he's able to be up there fighting for wins.

The way I see it and from talking to the teams every day, the important thing is having everyone on board with the plan, and everyone buying into it and trusting each other. The whole team have to believe that it can work, and that's how you get your riders to give their full efforts and commitment.

Things are about to hot up

It's been a fantastic race so far, but the best part is, we still have a really exciting third week ahead of us, and I think things are going to keep hotting up. We still have a really hard week of racing, with no easy days, and the gaps really aren't big – especially when you consider that Vingegaard's biggest GC rival, Felix Gall, is a rider who is always good in the third week of a Grand Tour.

So I think we still have a big fight for the maglia rosa on our hands, with stage 20 and its two ascents of Piancavallo a day that could still shake everything up. I mean, Visma-Lease a Bike know more than anyone how things can change on the penultimate day, given they took the pink jersey on stage 20 in both 2023 and 2025, so it will be interesting how they approach this week. They're well aware that things can change dramatically, and it will also be a very different final week for them, coming in to defend the jersey rather than chase it. I think so far they've raced a really smart, calm and conservative Giro, but they're in pink now and all eyes will be on them.

We've already had loads of different and exciting winners in this Giro, but if there's one thing I'd like to see in this final week, it would definitely be a stage win for Movistar. They've tried so many times, and riders like Milesi and Rubio have been so strong. We're used to seeing dominant riders and teams win, and obviously they work hard and deserve that, but it's always so special to see the teams and riders who are also out there grinding every day finally get rewarded with a win, so I'm hoping for that for Movistar this week.

Jonas Vingegaard is obviously starting this week in the driver's seat, but if this Giro has taught us anything so far, it's that there are opportunities there for the taking, and this final week has plenty of chances to throw some real excitement into the mix. I can't wait to see what happens!

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Grand Tour season is already in full swing with the 109th edition of the Giro d'Italia providing plenty of racing action. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) is in the iconic maglia rosa, and as he heads into the Queen Stage with a two-minute lead.

The Queen (Stage 19) is a brutal 151km test featuring 5,000 metres of altitude gain and five major climbs, including the Passo Giau, which is the highest point of the race at 2,233 metres.

Viewing the Giro, the Tour de France, and all the best cycling races, including the Tour de France Femmes and the Giro d'Italia Women, can mean multiple streaming subscriptions. If you find yourself often travelling for the summer, especially during the Tour running from July 4 to July 26, you'll most likely find yourself blocked out by geo-restrictions.

The best way to continue your services, viewing as if you're at home, and ensure you don't miss any of the cycling action is to use a VPN. We think these Surfshark VPN deals are some of the best we've seen, and with the additional bonus offers, it's a great time to sign up. These deals are limited-time offers, and run from May 25th to June 2nd.

Surfshark is a recommended pick when it comes to the best VPN services. Our expert colleagues at TechRadar have rigorously tested and independently verified all the major VPN services, and Surfshark scored a 4.5-star rating, praised for being one of the cheapest and fastest VPN services.

If you're new to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), then this handy piece of internet tech simply allows your devices to appear as if they're located in your usual location. So wherever you are in the world, you can access your usual streaming services, allowing uninterrupted coverage of your favourite sports and TV shows.

A VPN also come with a host of privacy and protection benefits for your internet usage, which are very useful when travelling abroad and offer benefits that include additional safety when using public Wi-Fi, protecting privacy for remote work and financial transactions.

This is one of the best VPN offers currently available, and perfect for uninterrupted live cycling viewing in 2026.

2026 UCI WorldTour schedule highlights

• Giro d'Italia, 9-31 May
• Giro d'Italia Women, 30 May-7 Jun
• Tour de France, 4-26 July
• Tour de France Femmes, 1-9 Aug
• La Vuelta España, 22 Aug-13 Sep
• UCI World Championships, 20-27 Sep

Below you'll find all the best Surfshark deals with pricing relevant to your location and currency.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Father's Day falls on Sunday, June 21, in the USA. If you're on the hunt for the best cycling-themed gifts for the most important man in your life, then an Amazon Audible subscription is the gift that keeps on giving.

Audible allows users to listen to professional narrators, celebrities, or authors bringing books to life. For the cycling-obsessed dad, Audible is loaded with practically every cycling book you can think of, including the best cycling biographies, cycling history, and training books. Audible also has all the best cycling podcasts, including Watts Occurring with Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, and The Cycling Podcast hosted by cycling journalists Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

Gift a Audible Premium Plus membership for Father's Day from as little as $15

If you fancy trying Audible too, you can sign up for a Free 30-day trial and enjoy access for yourself, totally free for 30 days. Audible members can choose one best seller or new release every month (Prime members get two), and you can listen to all you want from the thousands of included titles, from podcasts, audiobooks, and Audible Originals.

Sign up for Amazon Audible for $14.95 and get 30 days free.

After your trial, you can cancel or continue for $14.95 a month. An Audible subscription also offers exclusive deals and discounts, plus access to exclusive member sales and deals.

Below, I've selected some of my own favourite cycling titles. The prices reflect what they would cost as a standalone purchase – without an Audible Subscription.

Amazon Alexa owners can also listen via their Alexa device. If your dad is new to the digital world, you can also add an Amazon Alexa Dot from just $49.99, which adds to the benefit of not only an Audible subscription, but also allows for easy music listening, hands-free smart home control, automated daily routines and more.

Audible cycling titles include a plethora of reading, and I was happy to see my old colleague Andy McGrath's latest title on Tadej Pogačar, which is an excellent read. Tadej Pogačar: Unstoppable covers Pogi's meteoric rise, his victories and rivalries, while revealing more about the character behind the cycling domination.

McGrath's first outing as an author, God is Dead, is also included, and this title was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. Top name biographies from Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome, Peter Sagan, and Sir Bradley Wiggins mean you'll never be short of cycling-based listens.

As a dad, if I were gifted an Audible Subscription, I'd be very happy to receive it (just in case any of my children are reading this).

Ahead of this summer's Tour de France, many UK cycling fans were preparing for the prospect of no longer being able to follow the action on TV, after the demise of ITV’s free-to-air coverage last year.

The broadcaster decided not to renew their rights deal for the 2026 race and beyond, leaving Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), parent company of TNT Sports, as the exclusive UK rightsholder for cycling's premier three-week race.

However, for fans unwilling to part with their cash to watch the action, there may now be a glimmer of hope.

Speaking to a select group of media, including Cyclingnews, WBD's Executive Vice President of Production, Scott Young, all but confirmed that non-paying fans would be able to watch some of the action.

"I think you need to have a free-to-air product [for the Tour de France] and there will be a free-to-air product,” he explained.

"It could entail having a partner that will show parts of the Tour de France to a free audience, but we're just working through how much [of the race], what duration, frequency, we're working through all the elements of that," Young added when quizzed on what a free-to-air product could actually look like for viewers.

WBD already collaborates with free-to-air broadcasters for other major sporting events, such as the Olympics and FA Cup – English football’s main domestic knockout competition – with the BBC, and has held similar arrangements with ITV for rugby union and MotoGP. WBD also has Quest, a free-to-air TV channel within their portfolio that has previously aired cycling highlights.

However, Young would not commit to any further details on which broadcaster TNT Sports may end up teaming up with for the Tour, nor the specifics of any such arrangement, such as whether it would entail live coverage or just highlights packages.

The controversial price hike

ITV's departure from the UK cycling landscape in 2025 was marked as a major blow to the sport, with concerns raised about the impact a reduction in visibility could have on cycling's long-term health at all levels.

It coincided with the closure of Eurosport in the UK, and a subsequent rise in monthly subscription cost – from £6.99 to £30.99 a month, a 343% price hike – as cycling moved over to TNT Sports.

Addressing the criticism directed towards the UK’s now exclusive Tour de France broadcaster, Young said: “There’s lots of different ways to connect to an audience beyond the paywall. Companies like us and Sky invest in sport, and that's why sports like the Premier League have been going since day one behind a paywall. There’s clearly an audience in this market that accepts to pay for sport, and if you pay for your TV licence, you're effectively paying for sport.

“We need to have a relationship with free-to-air broadcasters to do exactly that, for us to continue to have the value coming in through the subscription so we can invest in sport and have a free-to-air partner so that a certain amount of that content is also accessible to people who choose not to subscribe,” he continued.

The broadcaster faced a second wave of criticism shortly after coverage moved to TNT Sports – and the resulting price hike – when its ad-free stream disappeared ahead of last summer’s Tour de France.

In response to this point of contention, Young was clear on WBD’s stance.

“I think as a commercial sports broadcaster, an ad-free product doesn't make a lot of sense.”

That being said, Cyclingnews understands that WBD is working towards a new solution for advertisement breaks during its cycling coverage, and is hopeful of restoring some form of flag-to-finish coverage option for major races in the near future.

As the days count down to this summer's Tour, and TNT Sports' first as sole UK broadcaster, Young is motivated by the responsibility that brings with it.

"I think it's really exciting, because I know we're going to commit to it. I know what we're going to deliver on the Tour de France is going to be extraordinary.

"It will elevate our coverage of cycling."

Have your say

When former Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley was asked to give his thoughts on La Corsa Rosa starting in Bulgaria in 2026 back in December, all he could come up with in the way of a description was "pretty random," and for the next five months until the actual start, that felt appropriate.

2,000km from the race's home nation, and yes, with some established cycling culture in the way of bike touring, but its lack of involvement in the professional ranks and uncertainties over road quality and the painfully long transfers – some 550km to cover in the three days – made it questionable as a choice. That is not to disrespect the 2.2 Tour of Bulgaria stage race, but without a Continental team or any male pros in the current peloton, the link between Bulgaria and the Giro was hard to see.

Of course, the reality of foreign Grande Partenza's is based more on financial deals and Bulgaria wanting to prove that it could pull off hosting a major sporting event. A political move, but also one to show off the cities and the stunning interior scenery, as a boost for the tourism board.

But when 250,000 people (as reported by La Gazzetta) lined the streets of the capital city, Sofia, and the roadsides were turned pink on Sunday afternoon, it suddenly didn't appear so random. In fact, the arrival of the Giro had visibly permeated into the common consciousness of the people, and the massive crowds, while a surprise to some, were certainly welcome.

Lidl car parks and fan-lined roads

Before these past seven days, all I knew about Bulgaria was Hristo Stoichkov and the party destination Sunny Beach, but there's much more to be seen.

Arriving in Burgas airport five days prior on a fairly empty evening WizzAir flight didn't exactly fill me with the feeling that the buzz for Giro was coming to Eastern Europe, but a small pink banner for the race in arrivals was a small sign of the madness to come.

As was the taxi driver, who drove a colleague and me to where we were staying in Ravda, asking us if we knew that the Giro d'Italia would pass by this town in a few days – granted, this only came after he'd kindly informed us that if we wanted a full English breakfast during our stay, we could simply ask any eatery in the town and name our time. A fair assumption.

But as the teams and riders arrived, the build-up was on, and one of the only teams to host a pre-race press moment, Lidl-Trek, had managed to mobilise the locals. A giant inflatable kit, eight of the top riders in the world and a few gazebos filled with red, blue and yellow merch in your local Ravda Lidl's car park, what more could you want?

If crowds at the supermarket event were big, then the hordes of fans who saw the riders out from the ancient town of Nessebar and welcomed them back into Sofia after three full stages shouldn't really have been a shock.

The highlights, however, were the four fans dressed as flamingos who greeted the breakaway on stage 2, all of the pink afros seen on the Vratnik Pass, and the recently married couple, who got to enjoy some photos with the peloton in the background.

I was in Tirana for the Albanian Grande Partenza 12 months ago, and this felt markedly different, with national elections in the Balkan state taking up most of the population's attention when the Giro came. Roads seemed quiet, and though it was much closer to Italy, just a short ferry across the Adriatic and with much more historic links, it didn't captivate the locals as it did in Bulgaria.

Whether a lasting legacy or inspiration for the next generation – aims which are thrown around for every foreign start – will actually materialise is hard to say, though it's perhaps a moot point now, as Sofia and Bulgaria won't be forgotten. But the road to the centrepiece ending was far from smooth, and part of that memory may be a sour one due to two big incidents.

Crashes take the shine off Grande Partenza

Nobody wants crashes, of course they don't, but a foreign host of a Grande Partenza especially doesn't want them to take away from the event of the racing. Questions are immediately raised over the road quality, road safety, and the capability of the host to protect the stars of the show.

Footed barriers and a sharp narrowing of the peloton from three lanes down to one on the opening day provided the perfect storm for a mass crash, with several of the challenging sprinters coming down in a pileup towards the front of the bunch, holding up most of the 184 starters.

With only 10 or so arriving at the line together, it wasn't quite what everyone was expecting, and though Bulgaria will take some of the blame for what happened, it's the organisers and the UCI who would have combined to create the potentially dangerous route to the line. One rider had to leave the race, but it was far from the total disaster it could have been if more of the group had come down at such high speeds.

But that's exactly the hit that the hosts took on stage 2, when a brutal crash on a wet descent, on a day which was 80% dry all the way into Veliko Tarnovo, saw one UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider slip out, causing around 30 total riders to hit the deck.

Not only this, but they then slip towards an exposed guardrail, with no protective padding, causing five riders in total to abandon across that evening and the next morning, with several broken bones and multiple concussions.

Awaiting the riders and sports directors for comment in the bus parking, they arrived in ones and twos after racing was surprisingly resumed, and all the chat among the pros was about how dangerous it was and how quickly it all happened.

But wet roads on a descent are far from a thing exclusive to Bulgaria, just look at last year's Giro and the mass crash on the wet downhill run into Naples for a recent example. Of course, on that occasion, no GC times were taken at the finish, and while that wasn't the case here – which CPA representative Jasper Stuyven said was what the riders requested – that again falls under the remit of the race director, not Bulgaria as a host.

But what it did do was create a negative atmosphere surrounding the host nation, with riders talking of their excitement for being a step closer to Italy – hopefully they are informed of just how dangerous roads in southern Italy get when they feel a drop of rain, as it's much of the same.

All in all, two crashes have left a slight blemish on an otherwise well-executed Grande Partenza, as I found it on the ground anyway. The Giro likely never will again, but I would certainly come back to Bulgaria, if not for the friendly people and great food, then the vast woodland landscape vistas that separate the coast of the Black Sea from its capital.

Who will challenge Jonas Vingegaard at this year's Giro d'Italia? Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our coverage of the Corsa Rosa. Enjoy unrivalled reporting from our team of journalists on the ground, including breaking news, analysis, and more, from every stage as it happens, plus access to the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.

Watch the 2026 Giro d'Italia for the first men's Grand Tour of the season. On Saturday, the peloton will endure a marathon 200 kilometre stage ending on the long climb to Piancavallo. It's the final mountain of the race before the pan-flat finale in Rome on Sunday.

Jonas Vingegaard remains the favourite for overall victory as the Dane looks to add his name to the select list of winners of all three Grand Tours. He now leads by 4:03 on Felix Gall, but lost the mountains classification jersey to Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) on Friday.

With Vingegaard unlikely to lose the overall, it's now up to riders like Thymen Arensman (Netcompany Ineos) to fight to get on the podium after being overtaken by Jai Hindley (Red Bull-ora-Hansgrohe) for third place behind Vingegaard and Gall.

It's the last chance!

The Giro d'Italia is being broadcast all over the world, with TV coverage and live streaming options in the UK, US, and Canada, so read on for all the details on how to watch the race wherever you are in the world.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia 2026 for free

The 2026 Giro d'Italia is free to watch in Australia, Italy and Switzerland.

In Australia it is free with English commentary thanks to SBS. You can also catch the race for free live on Italian national broadcaster RAI and on Swiss streaming services RSI (Italian commentary) and SRF (German commentary).

The Giro d'Italia YouTube channel is also showing stage 10 for free in Italy.

Abroad? You will need NordVPN (75% off) to unlock your free stream wherever you are in the world.

What time is the Giro d'Italia on today?

Saturday's stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia is 200 kilometres long and features two ascents of the 14.5km Piancavallo ascent in the second half, ending atop the climb.

Jonas Vingegaard will, of course, be expected to assert his dominance once again, but look to his rivals to give it one last go.

Check out our full preview here.

Stage 20 will start at 11:00 CET (10:00 BST, 5:00 EDT) and will finish at approximately 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST, 10:00 EDT).

How to watch the Giro d'Italia 2026 from anywhere in the world

If you're outside your usual country when the Giro d'Italia is on, you might think you can't watch the race, but you'd be wrong. A VPN is a nifty piece of internet security software that lets you tune into your streaming services from abroad, and allows you to do so with complete confidence.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but for a VPN that's brilliant at streaming and is also TechRadar's pick for overall best VPN in the world, we'd recommend NordVPN.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch the 2026 Giro d'Italia through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TNT Sports is your linear option while live streaming is available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max. Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia in the USA

The Giro d'Italia is being aired by HBO Max in the United States. Plans start from $18.49 per month for a package that includes live cycling.

If you're an Amazon Prime member, you might find it easier to sign up to Max via Prime.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia in Canada

For Canadian viewers, it is the usual FloBikes to watch the Giro d'Italia.

A subscription will set you back CAN$215.88 for the year or CAN$49.99 on a monthly basis.

FloBikes customers in the US will be blocked from this one - they only have the rights in Canada.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia in Australia

As alluded to above, cycling fans in Australia can watch the Giro d'Italia for free through SBS.

Both races are being live-streamed on the SBS On Demand platform, which is a free service for those in Australia. If you are looking for linear coverage, each stage will be available on SBS Viceland.

Giro d'Italia 2026: Stage start and finish times

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

The Giro d'Italia is far more than a bike race. It's a three-week celebration of cycling that showcases Italy's beauty and culture better than a plate of pasta, an Aperol spritz, or an Armani fashion show.

The 21 stages of the Corsa Rosa visit every corner and highlight every geographical detail of the 'Bel Paese.' The Giro covers the barren but beautiful roads of the south, climbs into the steep central Apennine hills, skirts the long coastlines, passes through historical towns and villages, and then high into the mountains in the third and decisive week of racing.

Race organiser RCS Sport loves to describe the Giro as 'The toughest race in the world in the world’s most beautiful place'. It is a marketing spin, but it also evokes the Giro's unique beauty. There is nothing like seeing the peloton ride through the snow-covered Dolomites, contest a sprint around the Bay of Naples or celebrate reaching the finish in Rome with laps of the Colosseum.

The Giro marks time as the Italian spring gradually becomes summer. Fields grow green, pollen fills the air, and red poppies invade the roadside. Italians traditionally change their wardrobe in May, swapping winter clothes for summer attire. Pink polo shirts and dresses are seen out on the streets as the colour of the maglia rosa, and La Gazzetta dello Sport inspire a new seasonal trend and celebrates the race.

Local authorities pay to host stage starts and finishes, and so encourage local businesses to get involved. Quiet piazzas are decorated with pink balloons and bunting. Shop windows are filled with old bikes, jerseys and anything pink. Pizzeria and restaurants create special dishes, and bars try to cash in on the sense of celebration with Giro-flavoured cocktails and gelato.

The simple joys of Italian life are easy to see when the Giro comes to town.

"Legendary Italian journalist Indro Montanelli wrote that 'The Giro has the power to transform every day into a Sunday.' He's right," La Gazzetta's chief cycling correspondent Ciro Scognamiglio tells Cyclingnews.

"The Giro unifies Italy during May, offers a great sporting battle and makes us briefly proud to be Italian. When the Giro comes to town, it's a day of celebration, and millions of people still watch the race go by from the roadside. School is out for the day, and factory workers are given a break to watch the race go by. It's a moment of aggregation and community."

For Giro d'Italia organiser RCS Sport, the Corsa Rosa is also big business.

Like the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia was created to sell newspapers and advertising and is still part of the influential RCS Media Group, which owns La Gazzetta dello Sport, other media titles and Italy's third most important television broadcaster, La7. Urbano Cairo, who learned about the media business as Silvio Berlusconi's personal assistant, has been the majority shareholder and CEO since 2016.

Like ASO and the Amaury family, who own the Tour, RCS Sport taps into national pride and uses political connections to prop up their money-making sports business. RCS Sport generates just a small percentage of RCS Media Group's revenue, but it is a strategic asset, with a turnover of €80 million and around €22 million in profit.

RCS Sport organises Milan-San Remo, Il Lombardia, the UAE Tour and other races, but most of its revenue is made in May thanks to television rights, stage hosts, and sponsors. While the Tour de France revenue is much higher at close to €250 million, RCS Sport has been deft at controlling costs and earning extra revenue since Urbano Cairo took over.

The 2026 Giro d'Italia will start in Bulgaria, a year after the Grande Partenza in Albania. Recent elections in Bulgaria have disrupted the preparations for hosting the Giro, and the teams asked for higher expenses due to another logistically complex start to the race, but RCS Sport has shrugged off any criticism. It's just happy to earn an estimated €10 million for the Grande Partenza and three stages in Bulgaria.

Entwined in Italian history

The Giro is entwined in Italian history, making cycling part of the history of the nation, its culture and its people.

The first edition was held in 1909, just 48 years after key regions were united to create Italy. This year's Giro is the 109th edition, with only the two world wars putting a stop to the race's running.

The history and events of the Giro d'Italia have been coloured and reported by the pink pages of the La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. Created in 1896, La Gazzetta built on the success of two cycling newspapers and launched just a few days before the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. In 1908, a rival newspaper was about to create an Italian cycling stage race, and so the Gazzetta owners and editors moved quickly and announced the creation of the Giro d'Italia for May 1909.

They didn't have the funding or an official route, but announced the race would cover 3,000km over eight stages and head as far south as Naples. Luigi Ganna emerged as the first overall winner, calculated on points rather than overall time, despite a series of punctures and misfortunes. He snatched victory on the final day in Milan thanks to a level crossing delaying his rivals and a horse taking out key rival Giovanni Rossignoli.

Over the years, great rivalries fired up the Italian tifosi during the Giro, helping to build the history of the race and sell hundreds of thousands of copies of La Gazzetta.

Costante Girardengo versus Alfredo Binda in the 1920s, Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi crossed swords before and especially after World War II. The 1946 Giro was a symbol of the Italian 'rinascita' or return to life, a year after liberation from the Nazis, a year after fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was hung in Milan's Piazza Loreto, near where stage 15 finishes this year.

The Bartali-Coppi duel of those years was one for the ages, with Bartali representing the Catholic conservatives and Coppi the modernisation of the nation. They inspired a cycling boom for a generation, with Felice Gimondi later cheered on as he took on Eddy Merckx in the late sixties. The tifosi again took cultural sides in the daily discussions as Giuseppe Saronni clashed with Francesco Moser in the late seventies and eighties. Saronni was the Lombardy-born big-city sprinter, while Moser was the son of a farmer from the Trentino mountains. Cycling has always represented more than just sport.

Marco Pantani first became the tifosi's hero in 1994, and peak 'Pirata' came in 1998 when Pantani won the Giro and the Tour, as bandanas and pirate flags were seen along every stage. It was the pinnacle of Italian cycling, with Pantani still remembered and evoked with 'rosa' tinted spectacles even today.

The Giro lost its air of innocence in the EPO-fueled 1990s, just like the Tour de France and the rest of the sport. In 1969, Eddy Merckx was sent home but largely forgiven for mysteriously testing positive for a stimulant, but the 1998 Festina Affair was a watershed moment. Pantani was considered a saviour in Paris, but his Icarus-like career arc ended a year later when he was disqualified from the 1999 Giro for a high blood haematocrit. He died of a cocaine overdose in 2004.

Other doping scandals followed as the Giro struggled for credibility. The 2001 race almost ended in San Remo after a mass search of team hotels. Other riders, including Ivan Basso and Danilo Di Luca, were suspended and disgraced before the likes of Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Egan Bernal, Primož Roglič and most recently Simon Yates won the maglia rosa.

The Giro director was once as famous as the Pope

La Gazzetta dello Sport officially registered the name 'Giro d'Italia' in 1922 and has made money from the sport ever since.

Highlights of the Giro were broadcast on Italian television as early as 1957, further boosting the fascination and visibility of the race. In 1953, non-sporting brands were allowed to sponsor teams, and Nivea sparked another business revolution in professional cycling when they sponsored Fiorenzo Magni's team. Other Italian industrialists and companies followed, with San Pellegrino, Carpano, Faema, Molteni, Salvarani, Scic, Sanson, Brooklyn, Del Tongo, Carrera, Polti, Mercatone Uno, Mapei, Saeco, Lampre and Fassa Bortolo all becoming long-time sponsors to promote their wares.

Armando Cougnet was the first race director of the Giro d'Italia between 1909 and 1947, with Vincenzo Torriani holding another long reign until 1993. He was followed by Carmine Castellano, briefly by former La Gazzetta journalist Angelo Zomegnan, innovator Michele Acquarone and then Mauro Vegni.

Torriani is remembered as the greatest 'Direttore', the real boss of the race, who struck deals with local mayors and politicians to host stages, with teams, riders and sponsors to make sure the Giro turned a profit. Torriani was famous for furiously waving his arms at riders, the tifosi and anyone who got in the way of the Giro from the sunroof of his race car; a cigarette was often hanging from his mouth, and his anger was expressed by Italian hand gestures.

The riders and teams would get their revenge when their domestiques ransacked a bar for drinks and rode away without paying the bill, shouting "Torriani will pay". Some bar owners even tried to invoice the Giro organisers, but Torriani, smart to the last, never paid up.

"Torriani was Napoleon, and he conquered Italy each May with the Giro d'Italia," respected former La Gazzetta journalist Claudio Gregori wrote on the 20th anniversary of his death.

"The Gazzetta editor Gino Palumbo once wrote that every Italian was able to recognise two people: the Pope and Vincenzo Torriani. It's true, Torriani was an icon of Italy. He knew how to build relationships and balance the books; he was full of ideas and courage, never scared or fearful of the consequences of his actions."

Torriani brimmed with Italian creativity and used the rivalry with the Tour de France to often shake up the Giro and innovate race formats. He is said to have invented the team time trial, mountain time trials, time bonuses and extreme mountain top finishes. During his years in charge, the riders were sent up the Stelvio, Monte Bondone and the Passo di Gavia in the snow. The riders often protested, as they still do today, but Torriani could count on the protection and influence of the editors and owners of La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The 1978 Giro started in Venice, with the opening stage raced on pontoons and finished in Saint Mark's Square. Nine years later, the Giro started in San Remo with one of the early stages, a time trial descent of the Poggio. Other stages finished in central Siena, like Strade Bianche does today, below the Leaning Tower of Pisa, inside the Verona Arena and at the Vatican. Torriani introduced the first 'Grande Partenza' from outside of Italy, and so the 1973 race started in Belgium and passed through seven countries to celebrate the creation of the European Union.

The true value of the Giro d'Italia

RCS Sport has learned that an Italian Grande Partenza generates far less revenue, and so the Giro has started abroad 15 times since the San Marino micro-state hosted the start in 1965. RCS Sport has tested the logistical limits of Grand Tour starts more and more in recent years, with Grande Partenzas as far away as Belgium, Denmark, Amsterdam, Ireland and even Israel in 2018. A Washington DC and New York Grand Depart was once discussed, with even an idea of starting in Japan briefly considered.

The Italian investment bank Ifis produced a report suggesting that the 2023 Giro d’Italia generated direct and indirect revenue of €2 billion. €605 million was said to derive from spectators attending the Corsa Rosa during the three weeks of the race, and a further €1.4 billion, based on the calculation of tourism spending by those who return or travel to Italy within 18 months after seeing the Giro d’Italia. Those calculations are somewhat theoretical, like declaring pizza as an asset against the huge Italian national debt, but they do indicate the intrinsic value of the Giro and its symbolism for the country.

In recent years, RCS Sport has cuddled up to the right-wing politicians currently in power in Italy to secure funding and sponsorship from state-owned agencies. The Italian Foreign Ministry has declared the Giro as an official global sports ambassador, using the race for 'sports diplomacy' and to promote the country. The cyclamen-coloured points jersey is again sponsored by the Italian Trade Agency.

RCS Sport moved the Giro finish from its home city of Milan to Rome in 2023 to earn a reported extra €1.5 million a year, and is always looking to cut costs and increase revenues. Even a fraud and internal financial misappropriation scandal had little effect on RCS Sport. A reported €17 million was said to have been taken from event accounts between 2006 and 2013, but only an internal accountant was found guilty, and little of the funds were ever recovered. Race director Michele Acquarone was sacked by RCS management but was later cleared in court.

RCS Sport flirted with the idea of joining the One Cycling project aimed at shaking up pro cycling's business model, with reports that their races could be sold to investors, perhaps even from the Middle East. However, Urbano Cairo knows how to run a business and knows the political, cultural and economic value of the Giro.

"Sell RCS Sport? No way. I'm not crazy…" he told Cyclingnews a few years ago, ever the salesman.

"I hope the Giro d'Italia can return to being the great race it was back in the 1970s. In every way, especially economically, so that we can invest and make it even bigger and better. It's got to get back to the level of the Tour de France."

Watch La Vuelta Femenina 2026, the 12th edition of the women's Spanish Grand Tour, as a host of top GC contenders do battle on challenging terrain around Spain, including a debut for the fearsome Alto de l'Angliru climb.

Read on for all the details you need to follow the race on live streams and TV channels in the US, UK, Canada, and the rest of the world.

The route of La Vuelta Femenina 2026 is based entirely in the north-east of the country and runs for 815km between Marín in Galicia and the Alto de l'Angliru in the mountains of Asturias.

The first stage was a rain-soaked 113.9km from Marín to Salvaterra de Miño, and impacted some of the contenders in the final half of the stage on the dicey descents. This first hilly day saw Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) spring from the front of a reduced peloton for the victory.

The second day of racing at La Vuelta Femenina offered no flat terrain across 109.8 kilometres from Lobios to San Cibrao das Viñas, where Rüegg crashed out of the race race and Shari Bossuyt took a surprise reduced-sprint victory. Franziska Koch finished second and moved into the race lead.

The third day of racing begins in Padrón, and the peloton will race for 121.2km along a lumpy course into the finish, where a reduced group could, again, play for a sprint finish in A Coruña.

A pair of decisive mountain day pack a punch for the final weekend with decisive finishes at Les Praeres and the Angliru.

A host of big names will be battling for glory at the race, even if 2025 champion Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ) won't be defending her title. In her place, look to the likes of Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Liane Lippert (Movistar), Juliette Berthet (FDJ United-SUEZ), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto) to challenge for the red jersey.

There are broadcast options in the UK, USA and Canada, as well as free live streaming options for La Vuelta Femenina.

Can I watch La Vuelta Femenina for free?

The 2026 edition of La Vuelta Femenina is free to watch in Australia via SBS. SBS is the major cycling broadcaster in Australia and you can watch via the SBS On Demand streaming platform.

The race's home nation of Spain will also offer free-to-air coverage via national broadcaster RTVE. Sporza in Belgium will also offer no cost access.

If you're not in your home country right now, geo-restrictions will likely be an issue for you. But you can still access your usual streaming services by using a VPN.

How to watch La Vuelta Femenina from anywhere

Traveling abroad during La Vuelta Femenina? Geo-restrictions can block coverage, but a VPN can help. It lets your device appear in another country so you can access your usual streaming services (as long as it follows the broadcaster’s terms), while also improving security and performance.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar rate NordVPN as the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

Where can I watch La Vuelta Femenina in the UK?

Fans in the UK can watch La Vuelta Femenina through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Live streaming is available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

Where can I watch La Vuelta Femenina in the USA?

La Vuelta Femenina will have live coverage in the USA on NBC Sports via Peacock.

A subscription to Peacock Premium (with ads and sports coverage) is $10.99/month.

Where can I watch La Vuelta Femenina in Canada?

Fans in Canada can watch La Vuelta Femenina on FloBikes.

A subscription to Flobikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish for, costs $39.99 a month or $203.88 for the year.

Where can I watch La Vuelta Femenina in Australia?

Viewers in Australia can watch La Vuelta Femenina via cycling's major broadcaster in the country, SBS.

All stages will be aired live online on their streaming platform, SBS On Demand. SBS is a free-to-air broadcaster, and SBS On Demand is free to use with registration.

La Vuelta Femenina - Need to Know

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Tune into the 14 rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Series from that begin in Korea on May 1 and run all year to the last round on October 2 in the USA.

Here are all the details you need to follow the race on live streams and TV channels in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and for the rest of the world check out the listings on the event website here

Contested across 14 events from May to October there will be 9 Cross Country rounds, 9 Downhill rounds and 6 Enduro rounds to decide who wins the World Cup overall in each discipline.

Alongside the tried and tested courses like Nove Mesto, Lenzerheide and Les Gets, this year's racing adds in brand new venues in South Korea, La Thuile (Italy) and Soldier Hollow (Utah) to spread the competition right around the globe.

The returning men's XCO champion is Christopher Blevins who will have a fight on his hands to hold off the likes of Charlie Aldridge and Luca Martin then in the women's field with Samara Maxwell not racing this year the favourites are Jenny Rissveds, Evie Richards and Nicole Koller.

In the Downhill competition Jackson Goldstone and Valentina Höll will be back to defend their titles and in the men's Enduro Sławomir Łukasik will be looking to repeat the success he had in 2025.

Read on to see broadcast options for the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia as well as how to watch for free.

UCI Mountain Bike World Series 2026 Free coverage

You can watch highlights of all the action for free on the UCI MTB World Series YouTube account.

If you're not in your home country right now, geo-restrictions will likely be an issue for you. But you can still access your usual streaming services by using a VPN.

How to watch the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Series from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country while the UCI Mountain Bike World Series is on, you may think you'd struggle to watch the race due to geo-restrictions in place for different viewing regions. But a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to access your usual streaming services.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar rate NordVPN as the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

How to watch the UCI Mountain Bike World Series across the world

Watch in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Series through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the action on TNT Sports, with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

Watch in the USA

In the US, the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Series will be on HBO MAX, which starts at $18.49 USD per month. This is the middle-tier “Standard” subscription that includes live sports.

Watch in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch the 2026 UCI Mountain Bike World Series on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish for, costs CA$39.99 a month or CA$203.88 for the year.

Watch in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch the UCI Mountain Bike World Series on STAN

To get access you’ll need a Stan Base subscription, which starts at $12 AUD per month AND the Stan Sport add-on, which is $20 AUD per month. This will give you access to live and on-demand racing, without ads. That’s a total cost of $32 AUD per month to watch the racing this year.

UCI Mountain Bike World Series 2026 event Schedule

Round 1 | May 1-3 | Race of South Korea, South Korea (Cross-country and Downhill)

Round 2 | May 22-24 | Nové Město Na Moravě, Czechia (Cross-country)

Round 3 | May 28-31 | Loudenvielle-Peyragudes, France (Downhill and Enduro)

Round 4 | June 11-14 | Saalfelden-Leogang Salzburgerland, Austria (Cross-country, Downhill and Enduro)

Round 5 | June 19-21 | Lenzerheide, Switzerland (Cross-country and Downhill)

Round 6 | June 26-28 | Val di Fassa – Trentino, Italy (Enduro)

Round 7 | July 3-5 | La Thuile – Valle d’Aosta, Italy (Cross-country, Downhill and Enduro)

Round 8 | July 8-12 | Pal Arinsal, Andorra (Cross-country and Downhill)

Round 9 | July 17-19 | Aletsch Arena – Bellwald, Valais, Switzerland (Enduro)

Round 10 | August 14-16 | Haute-Savoie, France (Cross-country and Downhill)

Round 11 | August 21-23 | Haute-Savoie, France (Enduro)

Round 12 | September 19-20 | Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah, USA (Cross-country)

Round 13 | September 25-27 | Whistler Mountain Bike Park, British Columbia, Canada (Downhill)

Round 14 | October 2-4 | Lake Placid Olympic Sites, New York, USA (Cross-country and Downhill)

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The video has gotten almost half a million views so far. The sentiment is almost universal for pro cycling fans: Paul Seixas, please don't sign for UAE.

Creator Kilian Willems (Killow on Youtube) has written numerous short songs about cycling, including a 2023 anthem about German Mieke Kröger, but the song he posted last month has gained enough momentum to go viral.

It has resulted in a recent interview with L'Equipe about the song and topic that is especially dear to French cycling fans.

Back in March, after Seixas finished second behind Tadej Pogačar in Strade Bianche, Cyclingnews published an article about rumours that had surfaced that UAE Team Emirates-XRG were interested in signing Seixas from the Decathlon CMA CGM team.

The topic provided the inspiration for the viral video by Willems, who is a longtime cycling fan in general, and of the team and their young new star.

"I made that like during the last month, I was just checking Cyclingnews every morning and be like, 'Oh, I hope nothing new happened there'," Willems told L'Equipe. "Now I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

"I have a history of writing songs about cycling topics," Willems said. "I had a few lines from the song stuck in my head at some point, and then I thought, 'OK, well, this will make for a fun video for Instagram'.

"I was visiting my parents at that time, and I had none of my recording equipment or anything that I usually have," he explained of the simple guitar and voice production. "I did not expect it to pop up like that at all."

Already the number one team for several years running, UAE Team Emirates-XRG have been so dominant they hardly need to thin down the competition by signing the only rider able to hold onto Pogačar's wheel in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Since the rumours surfaced in March, there have been reports that French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron was personally involved in ensuring that Seixas remained in the French team.

While Willems' song may not influence cycling transfers, he clearly hit a nerve with the topic - the Instagram post has almost 450,000 likes.

"It's just crazy with what confidence [Seixas rides] and with how little time to adapt. He just goes in these races. He's 19, but still, he gets the whole team like riding for him. And he shows no nerves, really. He's the captain now, and he delivers with results already. So that's quite impressive," Willems said.

"Then these first rumours started popping up - Team UAE is looking into signing Paul Seixas, or like his brother is training with them somewhere in Monaco - this would be so awful, because it would make it so much more boring.

"Please stay where you are. Other teams are fine, please. It doesn't have to be the same as Pogacar. Keep it interesting for us fans," he said.

Willems has more recently posted a more refined version of the song to his Youtube channel.

Full lyrics:
Paul Seixas, you're too good to just be Pogačar's successor.
Do you want to spend your winters riding zone 2 in the desert?
Do you want a Richard Mille watch or a statue in my garden?
And could you let my sculptor know if you'd like stainless steel or marble?

And how lame would it have been if we had Jonas and Pogačar on the same team?
And how cool to beat their ass on a Decathlon bike?
You're the next Hinault, the chosen one, but won't someone think of me?
Paul Seixas, please don't sign for UAE.

Paul Seixas, I'm so tired of afternoon naps in July.
Now there is finally adrenaline inside of me, when I look at the start list.
Do you want to take the crown and be a hero?
Or do you want to win your first Tour 'cause your teammates rode the Giro?

Don't sign for,
don't sign for,
Don't sign for UAE, Paul.

Don't sign for,
don't sign for,
Don't sign for UAE, Paul.

Paul Seixas, I made some calls and I am happy to declare,
that there's this castle in Versailles, the state of France would like to share with you.
Or you could run for president,
man, please just sign the documents.
If you stay with your team,
We'll name some islands overseas French Paulynesia.

Watch the 2026 Tour de Romandie for the next stop on the men's WorldTour following the conclusion of the spring Classics. The world's top stage racers are back in the spotlight for the six-day stage race in Switzerland.

Here are all the details you need to follow the race on live streams and TV channels in the US, UK, Canada and the rest of the world.

The 79th edition of the Tour de Romandie takes the peloton on a six-day, 851km route from the prologue in Villars-sur-Olon to the summit finish of Leysin. Along the way lie a series of challenging hilly and mid-mountain stages, with the race offering something for every type of rider.

Tadej Pogačar headlines the startlist, with the race one of the very few WorldTour stage races the Slovenian hasn't yet won. He'll face competition from double race winner Primož Roglič and his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Florian Lipowitz, while other major names heading to Switzerland include Antonio Tiberi, Lenny Martinez, and Carlos Rodríguez.

Stage 5 Preview

Sunday doesn't quite have the same elevation gain as Stage 4, but the final 14.5 km climb to Leysin will likely still fall to another Pogačar stage win.

The 2026 Tour de Romandie is being broadcast all over the world, with TV coverage and live streaming options in the UK, US, and Canada, so read on for all the details on how to watch the race wherever you are in the world.

Tour de Romandie free live stream

The Tour de Romandie is being streamed for free in the race's home nation of Switzerland for free on public broadcaster RTS.

🌎 Those away from home during Tour de Romandie will need a good VPN to watch the cycling. We recommend NordVPN — 75% off right now!

How to watch the Tour de Romandie securely from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country when the Tour de Romandie is on, you might think you can't watch the race, but you'd be wrong. A VPN is a nifty piece of internet security software that can lets you tune into your streaming services from abroad, and allows you do to so with complete confidence.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but for a VPN that's brilliant at streaming and is also TechRadar's pick for overall best VPN in the world, we'd recommend NordVPN.

How to watch Tour de Romandie in the UK

In the UK, Tour de Romandie will be broadcast through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the coverage split between TNT Sports 1, 2 and 4 with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99 per month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch Tour de Romandie in the US and Canada

The Tour de Romandie will have live coverage on the cycling streaming service FloBikes in both the USA and Canada.

Canadian subscribers get most of the races on FloBikes anyway, and while the US offering is more limited, it will show the Tour de Romandie. You won't find the race on Max or Peacock.

A subscription to FloBikes will cost $29.99 with reductions for yearly plans at US$155.88.

Can I watch Tour de Romandie in Australia?

Unfortunately, it appears no Australian channels have picked up Tour de Romandie.

Visiting Australia and want to stream the action? Unlock your usual streams using NordVPN (75% off).

Tour de Romandie 2026: Stage Schedule

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

A motion seeking the removal of Craig Bingham as Director and Chair of AusCycling did not pass, with the vote taken on Thursday evening at a special general meeting of the organisation requisitioned by members.

AusCycling said in a statement that 70.09% of votes were cast against the resolution, and 29.91% in favour. It added that there were 243 clubs registered to vote at the online special general meeting, representing about 35 percent of AusCycling's membership.

The online meeting was called after a formal request by member clubs, with four motions supported by the required five percent or more of the voting membership required under the Australian Corporations Act. Only the motion on the removal of Bingham was put to the special general meeting after AusCycling said it was the only one that was legally valid, but this was disputed by representatives of the initiating clubs.

Members will next be asked to vote on who will hold a position as director on Saturday May 30, when Australia's cycling governing body holds its annual general meeting.

AusCycling said that Bingham would continue in the role of Chair until the conclusion of his current term at the upcoming annual meeting. At that meeting two elected director positions will be contested, those currently held by Bingham and Lee Brentzell. The organisation said that both are eligible for a further three-year term, and that nominations for director positions close on May 1.

AusCycling was formed more than five years ago, amalgamating 19 separate bodies across various cycling disciplines – including road, BMX and mountain biking – into one national organisation. There are around 470 affiliated clubs.

The AusCycling constitution outlines that voting rights are limited to these member clubs, with life and individual members entitled to attend general meetings but not vote or debate. Additionally, the votes that the clubs are entitled to vary depending on the number of members each club has, with votes ranging from one for clubs with under nine members up to 13 votes for clubs with 780 members or more.

Watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes 2026 for the fourth Monument of the season, one of the oldest races of the calendar and the toughest of the three Ardennes Classics.

Here are all the details you need to follow the race on live streams and TV channels in the US, UK, Canada and the rest of the world.

The 112th edition of the men's Liège-Bastogne-Liège route features over 4,000 metres of climbing packed into 259.5km of racing. Meanwhile, the 10th edition of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes route is 156km long and features 2,500 metres of elevation. Major climbs on the route include the Côte de Stockeu, Côte de la Redoute, and the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons.

Tadej Pogačar will aim for his fourth men's race title, though the Slovenian will face competition from the likes of Paul Seixas, Tom Pidcock, and Kévin Vauquelin. Demi Vollering is trying to win her third women's title, with Lotte Kopecky, Puck Pieterse, and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney standing in her way.

There are broadcast options for Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the UK, USA and Canada, as well as free live streaming options in Belgium and France.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 Free Stream

Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 is being streamed for free in Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy and France. Channels are as follows:

• SBS on Demand (Australia)
• Sporza (Belgium)
• France TV (France)
• NOS (Netherlands)
• RaiPlay (Italy)

If you're not in your home country right now, geo-restrictions will likely be an issue for you. But you can still access your usual streaming services by using a VPN.

How to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country while Liège-Bastogne-Liège is on, you may think you'd struggle to watch the race due to geo-restrictions in place for different viewing regions. But a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to access your usual streaming services.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar rate NordVPN as the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

▶︎ Read More: Analysing the contenders at Liège-Bastogne-Liège

How to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2026 through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the action on TNT Sports 4, with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the USA

Liège-Bastogne-Liège will air live in the USA on NBC Sports via Peacock. The Tour de France and Vuelta a España will also be broadcast on the platform later in the year.

A subscription to Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month or $109.99/year.

How to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish for, costs CA$49.99 a month.

How to watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch Liège-Bastogne-Liège via cycling's major broadcaster in the country, SBS.

All stages will be aired live online on their streaming platform, SBS On Demand. SBS is a free-to-air broadcaster, and SBS On Demand is free to use with registration.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch La Flèche Wallonne and La Flèche Wallonne Femmes this Wednesday as the Ardennes Classics continue with a tough battle up the fearsomely steep Mur de Huy.

Here are all the details you need to follow the race on live streams and TV channels in the US, UK, Canada, and the rest of the world.

The 2026 edition of the races, as always, centres around the famous Mur de Huy (1.3km at 9.6%) climb. The men tackle the hill three times, while the women will race up it twice, with both pelotons finishing their ride atop the climb, the decisive section of the two races.

Top contenders for La Flèche Wallonne and La Flèche Wallonne Femmes include Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM), Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ), Kévin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Premier Tech), Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto).

There are broadcast options for La Flèche Wallonne in the UK, USA and Canada, as well as free live streaming options in Belgium and France.

La Flèche Wallonne 2026 Free Stream

La Flèche Wallonne 2026 is being streamed for free in Australia, Belgium, Netherlands and France. Channels are as follows:

• SBS on Demand (Australia)
• Sporza (Belgium)
• France TV (France)
• NOS (Netherlands)

If you're not in your home country right now, geo-restrictions will likely be an issue for you. But you can still access your usual streaming services by using a VPN.

How to watch La Flèche Wallonne from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country while La Flèche Wallonne is on, you may think you'd struggle to watch the race due to geo-restrictions in place for different viewing regions. But a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to access your usual streaming services.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar rate NordVPN as the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

How to watch La Flèche Wallonne in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch La Flèche Wallonne 2026 through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the action on TNT Sports 1, with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch La Flèche Wallonne in the USA

La Flèche Wallonne will air live in the USA on NBC Sports via Peacock. The Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Liège–Bastogne–Liège will also be broadcast on the platform later in the year.

A subscription to Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month or $109.99/year.

How to watch La Flèche Wallonne in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch La Flèche Wallonne on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish for, costs $49.99 a month.

How to watch La Flèche Wallonne in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch La Flèche Wallonne via cycling's major broadcaster in the country, SBS.

All stages will be aired live online on their streaming platform, SBS On Demand. SBS is a free-to-air broadcaster, and SBS On Demand is free to use with registration.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Here at Cyclingnews, we have secured one of the best VPN deals we've ever seen from Surfshark. Our expert colleagues at TechRadar have rigorously tested and independently verified all the best VPN services, and recommend Surfshark as one of the top choices.

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The opening Spring Classics have already delivered incredible racing action, and the Giro d'Italia is fast approaching. The 109th edition of the Giro d'Italia starts on Friday, May 8, and features 3,466km and 48,700m of elevation gain to decide who will wear the famous maglia rosa in Rome.

Simon Yates will not defend his jersey after announcing his retirement back in January, but there is a stellar lineup of riders, including Jonas Vingegaard, Joao Almeida, Richard Carapaz, Giulio Pellizzari, and Filippo Ganna.

Vingegaard will line up at the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria as the favourite to lift the famous Giro d'Italia trophy, and complete his Grand Tour set of victories, having previously won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, and the Vuelta a España in 2025.

Viewing the Giro and all the best cycling races can mean multiple streaming subscriptions, and if you find yourself often travelling for the summer, you'll most likely find yourself blocked out by geo-restrictions. The best way to continue your service and ensure you don't miss any of the cycling action is to use a VPN.

If you're new to a VPN (Virtual Private Network), then this handy piece of internet tech simply allows your devices to appear as if they're located in your usual location. So wherever you are in the world, you can access your usual streaming services, allowing uninterrupted coverage of your favourite sports and TV shows.

A VPN also come with a host of privacy and protection benefits for your internet usage, which are very useful when travelling abroad and offer benefits that include additional safety when using public Wi-Fi, protecting privacy for remote work and financial transactions.

This is one of the best VPN offers currently available, and perfect for uninterrupted live cycling viewing in 2026.

2026 UCI WorldTour schedule highlights

• La Flèche Wallonne, 23 April
• Liège-Bastogne-Liège, 26 April
• Giro d'Italia, 9-31 May
• Tour de France, 4-26 July
• La Vuelta España, 22 Aug-13 Sep
• UCI World Championships, 20-27 Sep
• Il Lombardia, 10 Oct

Below you'll find all the best Surfshark deals with pricing relevant to your location and currency.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch the 2026 Amstel Gold Race and Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition, the biggest races of the season in the Netherlands and the openers to the trio of Ardennes Classics that finish off spring Classics season.

After the end of the cobbled Classics, a new peloton of riders fills the roads as the race heads for the hills of the Ardennes, with the 257.2km Amstel Gold Race and 158.1km Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition being the first of three major Classics that make up Ardennes week.

Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) defends his title in the men's race against a host of big names, including Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), and Kévin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers).

Over in the women's race, look out for top riders, including defending champion Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), Demi Vollering (FDJ United-SUEZ), Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), and Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike).

The 2026 Amstel Gold Race is being broadcast all over the world, with TV coverage and live streaming options in the UK, US, and Canada, so read on for all the details on how to watch the race wherever you are in the world.

Amstel Gold Race 2026 free live stream

The 2026 Amstel Gold Race is being streamed for free in its home nation of the Netherlands, Australia, France and Belgium. Here are the free broadcasters:

• NOS (Netherlands)
• VRT Max (Belgium)
• SBS (Australia)
• France TV (France)

🌎 Those away from home during Amstel Gold Race will need a good VPN to watch the cycling. We recommend NordVPN — 75% off right now!

How to watch Amstel Gold Race securely from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country when Amstel Gold Race is on, you might think you can't watch the race, but you'd be wrong. A VPN is a nifty piece of internet security software that can lets you tune into your streaming services from abroad, and allows you do to so with complete confidence.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but for a VPN that's brilliant at streaming and is also TechRadar's pick for overall best VPN in the world, we'd recommend NordVPN.

How to watch Amstel Gold Race in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch the 2026 Amstel Gold Race through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the action on TNT Sports 2, with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99 per month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch Amstel Gold Race in the US and Canada

Amstel Gold Race will have live coverage on the cycling streaming service FloBikes in both the USA and Canada on March 29.

Canadian subscribers get most of the races on FloBikes anyway, and while the US offering is more limited, it will show Amstel Gold Race 2026. You won't find the race on Max or Peacock.

A subscription to FloBikes will cost US$39.99 with reductions for yearly plans at US$155.88.

How to watch Amstel Gold Race in Australia

Amstel Gold Race will be broadcast on SBS On Demand in Australia. This is a free streaming service with no payment required.

Amstel Gold Race 2026: Broadcaster Schedule

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Find out more.

Former World Champion and Olympian Rohan Dennis has delivered a broadside on social media over what he believes is a 'false narrative' created by journalists following his wife Melissa Hoskins' death in 2023.

Hoskins died after being struck by a vehicle driven by Dennis on December 30, 2023. He was deemed not criminally responsible for her death, but pleaded guilty in May 2025 to an aggravated charge of creating a likelihood of harm and was given a 17-month suspended sentence along with a five-year driving ban. Dennis had accepted the offer to enter into a two-year good behaviour bond in the sum of $100 as part of the suspended sentence.

"Not everyone is going to care about what was said to me by journalists or anyone since the accident with my wife," Dennis wrote in an extended series of Instagram posts earlier this week.

"But I don't care. This is simply to point out the false narrative which the media created about me for clicks."

Dennis went on to insist that he had never wanted to harm his wife at any point, but he claimed that the media had whipped up a different perspective to ensure that a different image of him dominated in the news.

"Yes it was an accident," his post continued.

"I loved Melissa and the last thing I ever wanted was to hurt her. Never in my life has any physical aggression crossed my mind in any disagreement with Melissa."

"The narrative which the media ran with was clear they wanted me to look like the husband who abused his wife."

"I have ALWAYS been against any sort of abuse against women and especially the one who gave birth to my children."

Since the death of his wife, Dennis initially remained largely out of the spotlight. Last month, one of his first social media posts since the tragic incident, of a Porsche with a caption of 'What an absolute weapon', was condemned as "deeply offensive" by South Australia's Victims' Rights Commissioner. A subsequent post by Dennis, of his two children, had the caption "Two absolute weapons."

In his statement, Dennis addressed the controversy that stemmed from those posts, claiming there had been a ‘clear twisting’ of his words.

“They know I never intentionally or unintentionally used a vehicle as a weapon. Never was it legally said that I did either. The video footage of the accident also proves this statement. Yet again they come after me for cheap clicks. Pathetic journalism."

During the sentencing in May 2025, Adelaide District Court judge Ian Press emphasised the importance of acknowledging that Dennis was not facing charges of criminal responsibility "for all of the events of that night, and in particular, you are not charged with causing the death of your wife."

According to court records, Hoskins and Dennis argued about home renovations before the accident, and when he tried to leave in his vehicle, Hoskins jumped onto the hood to try to stop him, while he continued to drive for about six to ten seconds at or about 20km/h for about 75 metres.

After that, Hoskins got off the bonnet and was walking next to the car and opened the car door while it was moving, and, after shutting the door without stopping, Dennis then accelerated in what the sentencing remarks said appeared to be an attempt to drive away.

Dennis, who won the World Championships in the time trial in 2018 and 2019, had his 17-month sentence suspended due to his guilty plea, his remorse, and his status as the sole carer for his two children, according to Judge Press.

Hoskins was also a successful professional cyclist, a multi-time Olympian and team pursuit world champion. She was 32 years old.

In his latest statement, Dennis went on to complain about the way he has been treated by the media, listing out a series of interactions with reporters.

“The media speak about the children and how saddened they are for the children. Yet they happily stalk, follow and harass not just adults in my family but even when the kids are involved.

“Following us in cars to be able to publish our movements to the public. Putting my kids in stressful situations. Yet they care about the kids.”

Dennis concluded his statement, saying: “Time for all you so-called journalists and media outlets to back off and leave my family alone.”

While Paris-Roubaix is the most tiring race to cover, there's a short window of about half an hour at the end of both the men's and women's races that are likely my favourite cumulative hour of work all year.

While Wout van Aert and Franziska Koch rightly take the headlines and draw the lenses, it's everyone else flopping onto the ground in various states of discomfort that I like to focus on.

Every rider has a story from the day one way or another. Some good, some horrible, but in either case their faces are covered in grot and grime from hours riding. Soigneurs comfort the broken, friends from different teams embrace and swap stories, and small cans of Coca-Cola and Fanta litter the floor, mixing with discarded finger tape, bandages, and nasal strips.

Here are some of the scenes from inside the velodrome on Sunday afternoon.

Watch Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Roubaix Femmes on Sunday, April 11 to see the cream of the crop of the Classics racers in the men's and women's peloton as they tackle the harsh cobbles of Northern France.

Here are all the details you need to follow the race on live streams and TV channels in the US, UK, Canada, and the rest of the world.

You can also check out When to tune into Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Roubaix Femmes to catch the most exciting and important cobble sectors for each of the best moments of the races.

The men's race kicks off on Sunday morning in Compiègne before heading north for 258.3km to tackle 30 cobbled sectors on the road to the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux in Roubaix. The women's race, starting later, runs from Denain to Roubaix, with 143.1km and 20 sectors standing in the way.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) will defend their titles. The pair will face off against the likes of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).

There are broadcast options for Paris-Roubaix in the UK, USA and Canada, as well as free live streaming options in Belgium and France.

Paris-Roubaix 2026 Free Stream

The 2026 Paris-Roubaix is being streamed for free in Australia, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Channels are as follows:

• SBS on Demand (Australia)
• Sporza (Belgium)
• NOS (Netherlands)
• France TV (France)

If you're not in your home country right now, geo-restrictions will likely be an issue for you. But you can still access your usual streaming services by using a VPN.

How to watch Paris-Roubaix from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country while Paris-Roubaix is on, you may think you'd struggle to watch the race due to geo-restrictions in place for different viewing regions. But a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to access your usual streaming services.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar rate NordVPN as the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price.

How to watch Paris-Roubaix in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch the 2026 Paris-Roubaix through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the action on TNT Sports, with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch Paris-Roubaix in the USA

Paris-Roubaix will air live in the USA on NBC Sports via Peacock. The Tour de France, Vuelta a España and Liège–Bastogne–Liège will also be broadcast on the platform later in the year.

A subscription to Peacock Premium costs $10.99/month or $109.99/year.

How to watch Paris-Roubaix in Canada

Fans in Canada can watch Paris-Roubaix on FloBikes.

A subscription to FloBikes, which has pretty much every race you could wish for, costs $39.99 a month or $203.88 for the year.

How to watch Paris-Roubaix in Australia

Viewers in Australia can watch Paris-Roubaix via cycling's major broadcaster in the country, SBS.

All stages will be aired live online on their streaming platform, SBS On Demand. SBS is a free-to-air broadcaster, and SBS On Demand is free to use with registration.

Paris-Roubaix 2026 Broadcaster Schedule

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Another week, another Monument-themed quiz!

With Paris-Roubaix just around the corner, it's the perfect time to test your knowledge on the riders who have tackled the cobbles, often treacherous weather and velodrome finish to come out the other side with a piece of the French pavé to take home. While the men's race dates back to 1896, Paris-Roubaix Femmes only started in 2021.

Now it's no surprise that the winners of Roubaix go down in history, such is the challenging nature of L'Enfer du Nord, but not everyone remembers the riders to round out the podium, especially when the winner's performance grabs the headlines and the majority of the plaudits. However, we want to put your racing trivia to the test and see how many of the men's and women's podium finishers you can remember from the last ten years of action in northern France.

Can you name every Paris-Roubaix podium in the last 10 years? We're giving you just 10 minutes to name as many of the men's and women's race top-three finishers as you can since 2016 and 2021, respectively. We should also remind you that Paris-Roubaix didn't take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

If you get stuck, you have the option of using a hint – just log in to your Cyclingnews account or register via the button in the top right corner of the page.

Let us know how you got on via the comments section below, and feel free to test your knowledge with some of our other cycling quizzes too!

"Françoise, you are part of the legend of Paris-Roubaix”. So reads one of the messages on the wall of Chez Françoise, a humble café in Troisvilles that sits at the gateway to the Hell of the North, just around the corner from the opening cobbled sector of this storied Classic.

It was written by ‘Les Flecheurs du Tour de France’ - the ‘arrowmen’, who go around fixing the directional signs that guide the riders along the routes of the Tour and also Paris-Roubaix. They’re always sure to pop in for a coffee, a beer, or even something stronger as they go about their work in the build-up to Roubaix. In fact, the rest of the sign reads: “The flecheur who does not stop to say hello to Françoise ahead of Paris-Roubaix is not a true flecheur."

They’re not the only ones for whom the place has become a rite of passage. Raymond Poulidor, Bernard Hinault, Joop Zoetemelk, Gilbert Duclos-Lasalle, Jean Stablinski, Magnus Backstedt, Johan Vansummeren, Thor Hushovd… the walls are adorned with photos of famous faces who’ve stepped inside.

Magnus Backstedt bused a bunch of his mates over to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his Roubaix win in 2014. Even now, it’s a well-trodden stop for pros on recon - either to get warm or simply snap a selfie from the roadside.

Every Tuesday before Paris-Roubaix, the race directors from the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) hold the ‘official’ Paris-Roubaix reconnaissance. It always starts with breakfast at Chez Françoise, and the meal is always an omelette, maintaining a tradition that now stretches back more than 30 years.

“Omelette was what I served the old directors of the race when they turned up one day in 1992,” the eponymous Françoise says as she welcomes us in on the Friday before the 2026 Paris-Roubaix.

“They were out looking for new cobblestone sectors, they were hungry, and they called in to ask if I had any sandwiches. I didn’t have any bread, but I have always kept chickens, so I had plenty of eggs. My husband had made some rabbit terrine, so I served that and some cornichons up alongside the omelettes.

"Before leaving, they introduced themselves as the organisers of Paris-Roubaix, tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘we’ll be back’."

And so a legend was born. The race officials, true to their word, have been back for their omelettes every year since, and over the course of more than three decades, Chez Françoise has woven itself into the fabric of Paris-Roubaix.

Humble ground

You’ve no doubt seen it flash by on television, or captured in still by race photographers. The weathered red-brick façade, the old Jupiler sign (even though Coq Hardi is now the house beer), the signs pointing to Roubaix one way and Paris the other… it screams Paris-Roubaix, literally and figuratively.

The woman inside the building is Françoise Santerre, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday. She opened the café, which is essentially the front room of her house, alongside her husband, Raymond, in 1980.

“People feel at home here,” she says. “It’s only a very small café in a very small village, but it’s a big family. And for a long time now we have been part of the Paris-Roubaix family – I’m very proud of that.”

Troisvilles literally translates to ‘three cities’, but there’s far less to it than that. Even ‘village’ is an overstatement – only 800 people live there. It’s a sleepy neighbourhood in a corner of France that has been left behind in the post-industrial age. Disused slag heaps loom large over the otherwise flat landscape, and ancient cobbled farm tracks still cut through it. Come Sunday, these pavé sectors will be alive with whirring freehubs and rattling carbon fibre frames – cutting-edge technology on humble ground.

Chez Françoise itself is as modest as cafés come. The bar is small, with seating space for around 20 people, on unfussy tables and chairs. Your coffee will be poured from a filter pot, and if you want milk, then there certainly won’t be anything artistic about it. Cold drinks come from a fridge you’d find in any normal home, and the omelettes are cooked up in a kitchen you’d find in any normal home.

Because this is a normal home. The bar is essentially the front room of the house in which Françoise has lived for over 30 years.

On the Friday we visit, beers and spirits are being sipped in advance of the midday watershed, and Françoise is shooting the breeze with the punters and taking deliveries from various suppliers. Multiple crates of champagne turn up, and one bottle is immediately opened. Before we had finished chatting with her, a gazebo had sprung up in the yard.

It’s all gearing up for the big day on Sunday.

“We are expecting a lot of people once again. It’s always a big party,” Françoise says.

“We put up gazebos, out front and out the back, and everyone gathers outside. I have a singer, an accordionist - everyone has a dance - we do a barbecue, frites, omelettes, of course. It’s a fantastic atmosphere.

“I hope I get a chance to go out and see the race this time. Last year, I was so busy I didn’t even see the riders go past.”

She might not always see them, but as she talks us through the faces in the photos on the wall, she knows the sound a mile off. “There’s another team going by for their recon,” she says, without turning away from the wall, as Soudal-QuickStep whizzes past.

Françoise has cycling in the blood, and her involvement goes beyond the café’s link with Paris-Roubaix. She also used to run a cycling school for youngsters alongside the grandfather of the former French pro Quentin Jauregui, who cut his teeth there, as did Florian Sénéchal. Françoise dreams that Sénéchal might one day win Paris-Roubaix.

She is also the president of the Reagir organisation, which she set up in 2007 as a way to protect and preserve the cobbled tracks in the local area. It’s very much in the spirit of the Amis de Paris-Roubaix (Friends of Paris-Roubaix), and she will help them out from time to time if they need help further afield. “That’s me there,” she says, pointing to a photo of a team of workers with shovels and picks. “We laid 1,250 cobblestones that day. It’s hard work, but it’s important work - like the omelettes.”

On top of that, she works as an assistant to the Mayor of Troisvilles, and her dining table, separate from the bar area but where the ASO breakfast is held, is awash with invitations she’s preparing for an alumnus dinner in May. She is also somehow involved in the pigeon racing circuit, regularly offering accommodation to the practitioners of the sport, mainly from Belgium, who sip Ricard in the bar as they wait for their birds to return from locations as far-flung as Barcelona.

“I’m always running around doing something. That’s my life. I have my potatoes to plant out next week, too,” Françoise says.

In the café you tell of your struggles and your joys

Keeping busy keeps Françoise from slowing down. That would have been an easy thing to happen since her husband died seven years ago. “He had pancreatic cancer. I cared for him for two and a half years. We would have celebrated 50 years of marriage this year.”

The emotions are raw, but at Chez Françoise, that’s just the way it goes.

“In a café like this, a simple village café, you tell of your troubles, and you tell of your joys," she explains.

“For me, my clients are like my family. My regulars, I see them every day, and I get to know everyone who visits from further afield. The couple outside are from Brittany. Yesterday I had a group of Italians who came to eat here and brought me some cake. I still get Christmas cards from an Englishman who worked in Troisvilles for six months.

“I’m still of the old era,” she adds. “Thierry Gouvenou, the Paris-Roubaix director, always comments on how cycling has changed - it’s all about money now. Life has changed, too. But the café will always be about conviviality. You give someone a glass, and they tell you what’s going on in their life. People come here for comfort. That’s my job.”

Humility, humanity, community – fundamental values of cycling, a sport built upon the modest mode of transport of the common man. It’s little wonder that Paris-Roubaix would align itself with Chez Françoise in this way. It’s a race that for 120 years has eschewed glamour and laid bare the harshness and hardship of this corner of France.

If you invented Paris-Roubaix now, it would be a made-for-television spectacle of thrills, spills, and clippable TikTok reels. But what the would-be modernisers of the sport are not always so quick to appreciate is that the beauty of cycling lies in the way that, over time, it weaves itself into places like Chez Françoise; into life itself.

Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.

A British man died during the Tour of Flanders sportive in Belgium on Saturday. According to Het Nieuwsblad, the 51-year-old collapsed of a likely heart attack before the Hotond climb near Ronse. According to the report, the man was participating in the We Ride Flanders tour with his son.

"This is the last thing you want as an organization," organiser Gert Van Goolen said.

"We received a report that a man had fallen; a medical team was quickly on the scene and was able to resuscitate him. Unfortunately, the man died at the scene," Van Goolen said in a statement to Radio 1.

"This is the last thing you want as an organization. You hope that 14,000 people can have a nice day here and you know there are risks, but you really don't want this."

The longest distance in the event was the 247-kilometre route starting in Antwerp and ending in Oudenaarde. Other ride distances - 79 km, 133 km and 163 km - started and finished in Oudenaarde. It is unclear which route the man had chosen because all four include the Hotond, which is the fourth to last climb.

Two other incidents occurred during Saturday's event, one involving a 57-year-old Dutch man and later a second British rider who was rescued on the Oude Kwaremont. Both were taken to hospital.

In 2025, two We Ride Flanders participants died during the event, including Stéphane Krafft, 45, a former professional rider with the Cofidis team.

Watch the 2026 Tour of Flanders and Tour of Flanders Women, two of the biggest races of the spring Classics season, as the top cobbled racers head to Belgium for the second Monument of the season.

The Tour of Flanders is the second Monument of the season and one of the biggest races of the year, where the cream of the crop of the men's and women's pelotons will turn out to take on the cobbles and bergs of Flanders on Sunday.

In the men's race, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) will defend his title against rivals including Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), among others.

The women's race will see Belgium's own Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) take aim at her fourth Flanders title. She'll do battle against Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal), and more.

The men will take on a 278.2km route between Antwerp and Oudenaarde, including 16 major hills and 16 cobbled sectors. The women will race on a 164.1km route starting and ending in Oudenaard featuring nine hills and 11 cobbled sectors.

The 2026 Tour of Flanders is being broadcast all over the world, with TV coverage and live streaming options in the UK, US, and Canada, so read on for all the details on how to watch the race wherever you are in the world.

Tour of Flanders 2026 free live stream

The 2026 Tour of Flanders is being streamed for free in Australia, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Channels are as follows:

• SBS on Demand (Australia)
• Sporza (Belgium)
• NOS (Netherlands)
• France TV (France)

Abroad? You will need a good VPN to watch your usual free streaming service from anywhere. Not all VPNs work for this, so we recommend NordVPN. There's no need to pay full price if you use our exclusive NordVPN deal.

How to watch Tour of Flanders securely from anywhere

If you're outside your usual country when the Tour of Flanders is on, you might think you can't watch the race, but you'd be wrong. A VPN is a nifty piece of internet security software that can lets you tune into your streaming services from abroad, and allows you do to so with complete confidence.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but for a VPN that's brilliant at streaming and is also TechRadar's pick for overall best VPN in the world, we'd recommend NordVPN.

How to watch the Tour of Flanders in the UK

Fans in the UK can watch the 2026 Tour of Flanders through TNT Sports and HBO Max.

TV viewers will find the action on TNT Sports, with live streaming available on the new home of cycling in the UK, HBO Max.

Plans start at £25.99/month, with month-by-month terms available at £30.99.

How to watch the Tour of Flanders in the US and Canada

The Tour of Flanders will have live coverage on the cycling streaming service FloBikes in both the USA and Canada on March 29.

Canadian subscribers get most of the races on FloBikes anyway, and while the US offering is more limited, it has a deal for the Flanders Classics races, including Dwars door Vlaanderen. You won't find the race on Max or Peacock.

A subscription to FloBikes will cost US$39.99 / CAN$39.99 a month, with reductions for yearly plans at US$155.88 / CAN$203.88.

How to watch the Tour of Flanders in Australia

The Tour of Flanders will be broadcast on SBS On Demand in Australia.

This is a free streaming service with no payment required.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Tour of Flanders 2026 Broadcaster Schedules

Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We'll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. Find out more.