Free Tour de France live stream: how to watch each stage from anywhere
Bogdan Cristel/Reuters
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A free Tour de France live stream is just a few clicks away, and you'll be able to enjoy every race live over the next few weeks. This international guide shows you how to watch the Tour de France for free from a range of countries around the world, with multiple language options available for international cycling fans of the most famous road race of them all.
It's Stage 3 today, which means the race will finally be making its way to France. The riders will set off from Amorebieta-Etxano in Spain at 1 p.m. local time and are expected in Bayonne, France, around four and a half hours later after a much flatter 193.5 km journey than the previous stages. The UK's Adam Yates has maintained his Stage 1 yellow jersey for now but carries a slim six-second lead over his twin brother Simon and the Slovenian rider, Tadej Pogacar.
So, where can you watch the Tour de France online for free? Europe has a substantial selection of options, with the UK, France, Belgium, Spain, and Italy enjoying free domestic live streams. Australia also has a free live stream. You can find all the links to these Tour de France channels below. The US option isn't free, but is streaming on a very affordable service. To watch any free international options from outside their country, you'll need to use a VPN (virtual private network).
A VPN spoofs your device's location to match the streaming country of your choice; otherwise, you'll be blocked by the streaming site's geolocation detection. The VPN we've highlighted below is the best in the business and super simple to set up (no technical expertise required). It'll help unlock global streaming options and greatly enhance your privacy and general security across your devices, so you'll probably find a use for one long after the race.
How to watch Tour de France in the USA
The best option for US viewers is Peacock, which will have every live stage of the Tour de France showing daily. NBC and USA Network will have coverage on some days, with replays of some events showing much later. The cable TV coverage seems to bit a little hit-and-miss, especially after the first week, so we'd stick with Peacock.
It's not free, but as streaming services go, $4.99 is a reasonable amount per month, and you can always drop it before the month's end, as the Tour concludes in Paris on July 23. Check out the options on this page if you want a free option, including English commentary versions from the UK or Australia.
Watch Tour de France live stream for free from anywhere
Tour de France live stream is showing free in multiple countries this year. In most cases, you will have to create a login and sign in to watch the Tour de France online (except for the Italian and Spanish sites), but it's all for free. These channels will also upload coverage to watch on-demand after the race finishes, and there will be also highlight shows. So if you're not free during the race, you can still catch up later in full if you wish to do so.
- Watch at: ITVX (UK) | France.TV | RAI Sport (Italy) | SBS (Australia) | RTBF (Belgium) | RTVE Play (Spain)
If you're not located in one of those countries with a free Tour de France live stream, you must tune in via a VPN to see these live or on-demand broadcasts. Our preferred option of all the best VPN providers is ExpressVPN, which comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee if you're unsatisfied.
How to watch Tour de France with a VPN
- Sign up for a VPN if you don't have one.
- Install it on the device you're using to watch the race.
- Turn it on and set it to the location of the streaming service, as indicated below.
- Go to ITVX (UK) | France.TV | RAI Sport (Italy) | SBS (Australia) | RTBF (Belgium) | RTVE Play (Spain)
- Create a free login and sign in (RAI/RTVE don't require one).
- Watch Tour de France for free.
- Stage 2 starts at: Sunday, 6:15 a.m. ET / 11:15 a.m. BST / 12:15 p.m. CET / 8:15 p.m. AEST.
Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.