Love Watching Cycling Events? How to Choose the Right Streaming Service for You

I’m tuning in to catch all the action at the Tour de France Femmes from July 23rd through July 30th on CNBC and Peacock.

If you are a fan of cycling, there’s no reason you need to stick with your cable or satellite contract. In fact, if you want to watch live racing, you are better off

In a hurry? The events you want to see will dictate what streaming service is best for you. These are our favorites:

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Hotdog users get three months free at ExpressVPN, so it’s a “no-brainer” for us. Decide for yourself with their 30 day money-back guarantee.

IMPORTANT: Once you’ve installed your VPN and connected to a US server, you’ll still need to subscribe separately to access premium streaming services.

If you care about more than just the major events, FloBikes is the service for you. Sign-up today.

Cycling is an engaging competitive activity that displays which cyclists have the most endurance and which have the most explosive strength, depending on the length of the race.

The most-watched cycling events are the Tour de France, which lasts three weeks, and the cycling competitions that are held at the Summer Olympics. Cycling enthusiasts can also view numerous other competitions throughout the year.

NBC and its related channels plus Peacock Premium ($7.99/month) provide coverage of the Tour de France and cycling events at the Olympics. To receive streaming access to channels such as NBC, USA, and CNBC, consider Fubo ($79.99/month), DIRECTV STREAM ($79.99/month), Sling TV ($40.00/month), and Hulu + Live TV ($76.99/month).

Those wanting to also watch other professional events should consider utilizing FloBikes ($29.99/mo) and GCN+ ($8.99/mo) as well.

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Watching and Streaming Cycling

A significant benefit of cycling is that many of its events are free to attend. For example, if you want to watch the Tour de France in person, just head to where the cyclists will pass, and you are all set.

However, if you want to watch a broadcast of a cycling race, then you need to pay for a service that offers it.

Peacock and NBC, USA, and CNBC

Those in the United States looking to watch the Tour de France and the Olympics simply need to focus on NBC, specifically NBC, USA, CNBC, and Peacock Premium ($7.99/month). In fact, the latter online-only option will most likely be all that you need as anything shown on NBC, USA, and CNBC should be streamed there. Also, keep in mind that Peacock Premium is your only option for thorough coverage of these events. See our Peacock review for details about the service.

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As for cycling-related television broadcasts, at the 2020 Summer Olympics, events were shown on NBC, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), CNBC, and USA. With NBCSN having since been shut down, you can expect coverage in 2024 to air on NBC, CNBC, USA, and possibly other NBC-owned channels. Meanwhile, NBC and USA are planning to team up for coverage, mostly highlights, of the 2022 Tour de France.

Although you likely do not need access to NBC, CNBC, and USA if you have Peacock Premium as far as cycling goes, if you want those three channels in addition to numerous other networks, consider subscribing to Fubo ($79.99/month), DIRECTV STREAM ($79.99/month), Sling TV ($40.00/month), or Hulu + Live TV ($76.99/month). They provide tons of live sports as well as on-demand content.

FloBikes

FloBikes ($29.99/mo) is one place you should head to watch other cycling-related events. Here, you can see competitions such as the UCI Cyclocross World Cup, Tour of Oman, Paris-Nice, Tour of Turkey, Tour de Suisse, and Arctic Race of Norway. Note that it also carries the Tour de France in some countries, including Canada.

GCN+

GCN+ ($8.99/mo), which is the Global Cycling Network’s online streaming service, also provides access to numerous cycling races although note that, like with FloBikes, what is available to you depends on what country you are in. Races that GCN+ carries to US-based subscribers include the Tour of Sicily, Tour of Romandie, and Tour of Britain.

International Broadcasters

Broadcasters for events vary significantly around the world. For example, those in the United Kingdom wanting to enjoy the Tour de France will need to do so through Eurosport (£6.99/mo) and GCN+. EuroSport offers a lot of cycling coverage. Meanwhile, Tour de France fans in Australia should head to SBC while those in New Zealand can watch on Sky Sport.

Devices to Live Stream Cycling

Both FloSports and GCN+ support the following devices:

FloBikes also supports Apple TV, Chromecast, LG smart TVs, Roku, and VIZIO smart TVs.

Fubo and Hulu + Live TV support all of these and more including Xbox One gaming systems.

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About Cycling

Bicycles were invented in the 1800s. And it didn’t take long for people to decide to race each other with them.

On May 31, 1868, Paris’ Parc de Saint-Cloud played host to a 1,200-meter race that took place between its entrance and its fountains. James Moore, who was an 18-year-old English citizen living in Paris, claimed that historic first cycling race.

The main types of cycling raced in the modern day are track, road, mountain, and BMX. Cyclists compete in all of those disciplines at the Olympics while road bicycling is the form that’s utilized at the Tour de France.

Major Cycling Races

Tour de France

The cycling event that tends to introduce most fans to the sport today is the Tour de France.

The inaugural competition was held in 1903 as a publicity stunt for L’Auto, a newspaper only a few years old at the time. It featured cyclists racing for six days within a 19-day span, starting in Montgeron, just south of Paris, and heading around France before finishing in the French capital.

Nowadays, the Tour de France usually still takes around three weeks but with some racing held almost every day. Sometimes the route stretches into other countries – this year, the 2024 edition begins in Florence, Italy, and finishes in Nice, France (the first time the race has never ended in Paris).

When this race crosses borders, it usually goes into adjacent countries such as Belgium and Switzerland, both countries that will host cyclists in 2024 as well.

The Tour de France is divided into four types of stages: prologue, flat, time trial, and mountain. Those who lead after any given day wear the coveted yellow jersey the following day, one of the sport’s greatest honors.

The 2024 Tour de France starts June 29th.

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2024 Tour de France Schedule and Results

There are eight stages to it instead of the 21 for the men’s event.

Here are the race stages by day, the type of race, and distance:

• Sat Jun 29: Florence – Rimini (hills), 205 km — Bardet Romain
• Sun Jun 30: Cesenatico – Bologna (hills), 200km — Vauquelin Kévin
• Mon Jul 1: Piacenza – Turin (flat), 225km — Biniam Girmay
• Tue Jul 2: Pinerolo – Valloire (mountains), 138km — Tadej Pogačar
• Wed Jul 3: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne – Saint-Vulbas (flat), 177km — Mark Cavendish
• Thu Jul 4: Mâcon – Dijon 163 (flat), 163km — Dylan Groenewegen
• Fri Jul 5: Nuits-Saint-Georges – Gevrey-Chambertin (ITT), 25km — Remco Evenepoel
• Sat Jul 6: Semur-en-Auxois – Colombey-les-Deux-Églises (hills), 176km — Biniam Girmay
• Sun Jul 7: Troyes – Troyes (gravel), 199km — Anthony Turgis
• Mon Jul 8: Rest day
• Tue Jul 9: Orléans – Saint-Amand-Montrond (flat), 187km — Jasper Philipsen
• Wed Jul 10: Evaux-les-Bains – Le Lioran (hills), 211km — Jonas Vingegaard
• Thu Jul 11: Aurillac – Villeneuve-sur-Lot (hills), 204km — Biniam Girmay
• Fri Jul 12: Agen – Pau (hills), 171km — Jasper Philipsen
• Sat Jul 13: Pau – Pla d’Adet (mountains), 152km — Tadej Pogačar
• Sun Jul 14: Loudenvielle – Plateau de Beille (mountains), 198km — Tadej Pogačar
• Mon Jul 15: Rest day
• Tue Jul 16: Gruissan – Nîmes (flat), 187km — Jasper Philipsen
• Wed Jul 17: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux – Superdévoluy (hills), 178km — Richard Carapaz
• Thu Jul 18: Gap – Barcelonnette (hills), 179km — Victor Campenaerts
• Fri Jul 19: Embrun – Isola 2000 (mountains), 145km — Tadej Pogačar
• Sat Jul 20: Nice – Col de la Couillole (mountains), 132km — Tadej Pogačar
• Sun Jul 21: Monaco – Nice (ITT), 35.2km — Tadej Pogačar

The 2024 winner is Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates). Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike) comes in second followed by Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) in third place.

Tour de France Femmes

There had been other women’s Tour de France events, but 2022 was the dawn of a new event. The 2024 edition runs from Monday, August 12th through Sunday, August 18th.

• Mon Aug 12: Rotterdam to The Hague (flat), 123km — Charlotte Kool
• Tue Aug 13: Dordrecht to Rotterdam (flat), 69.7km — Charlotte Kool
• Wed Aug 13: Rotterdam, 6.3km — Demi Vollering
• Thu Aug 14: Valkenburg to Liège (hills), 122.7km — Puck Pieterse
• Fri Aug 15: Bastogne to Amnéville (flat), 152.5km — Blanka Vas
• Sat Aug 16: Remiremont to Morteau (hill), 159.2km — Cédrine Kerbaol
• Sun Aug 17: Champagnole to Le Grand-Bornand (mountain), 166.4km — Justine Ghekiere
• Mon Aug 18: Le Grand-Bornand to Alpe d’Huez (mountain), 149.9km — Demi Vollering

In first place is Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM). Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx–Protime) and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Fenix–Deceuninck) are second and third respectively.

Cycling at the Olympics

Every four years, the world’s best cyclists head to the Olympics to take part in their sport. The number of events that have taken place at the Games since its introduction in 1896 is significant, but they do settle into five categories: BMX freestyle, BMX racing, mountain biking, road cycling, and track cycling.

At the 2020 Games, men and women competed in their own single events in BMX freestyle, BMX racing, and mountain biking. They also competed in two for road cycling: road races and time trials. However, track cycling is where most of the medals were awarded as men and women competed in keirin, Madison, omnium, and sprint events while cycling teams participated in pursuit and sprint competitions.

Other Cycling Events

The Tour de France is a UCI World Tour event, and those passionate about cycling will want to check out some of the other races on its calendar. In 2023, this included events every month from February to September. Some of its popular ones are the UAE Tour, Paris-Nice, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España.

2024 UCI World Tour Schedule

Here are all the men’s World Tour Events taking place in 2024:

• Jan 16-21: Santos Tour Down Under (Australia) — Stevie Williams
• Jan 28: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (Australia) — Laurence Pithie (Groupama-FDJ)
• Feb 19-25: UAE Tour (United Arab Emirates) — Lennert Van Eetvelt
• Feb 24: Omloop Nieuwsblad Elite (Belgium) — Jan Tratnik
• Mar 2: Strade Bianche (Italy) — Tadej Pogacar
• Mar 3-10: Paris-Nice (France) — Matteo Jorgenson
• Mar 4-10: Tirreno-Adriatico (Italy) — Jonathan Milan
• Mar 16: Milano-Sanremo (Italy) — Jasper Philipsen
• Mar 18-24: Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Spain) — Tadej Pogačar
• Mar 20: Classic Brugge-De Panne (Belgium) — Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
• Mar 22: E3 Saxo Classic (Belgium) — Mathieu van der Poel
• Mar 24: Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields (Belgium) — Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
• Mar 27: Dwars door Vlaanderen – A travers la Flandre (Belgium) — Matteo Jorgenson
• Mar 31: Ronde van Vlaanderen – Tour des Flandres (Belgium) — Mathieu van der Poel
• Apr 1-6: Itzulia Basque Country (Spain) — Louis Meintjes
• Apr 7: Paris-Roubaix (France) — Mathieu van der Poel
• Apr 14: Amstel Gold Race (The Netherlands) — Tom Pidcock
• Apr 17: La Flèche Wallonne (Belgium) — Stephen Williams
• Apr 21: Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium) — Tadej Pogacar
• Apr 23-28: Tour de Romandie (Switzerland) — Carlos Rodriguez
• May 1: Eschborn-Frankfurt (Germany) — Maxim Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny)
• May 4-26: Giro d’Italia (Italy) — Tadej Pogacar
• Jun 2-9: Critérium du Dauphiné (France) — Primoz Roglic
• Jun 9-16: Tour de Suisse (Switzerland) — Adam Yates
• Jun 29-Jul 21: Tour de France (France) — Tadej Pogacar
• Aug 10: Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa (Spain) — Marc Hirschi
• Aug 12-18: Tour de Pologne (Poland) — Jonas Vingegaard
• Aug 17-Sep 8: La Vuelta Ciclista a España (Spain) — Primož Roglič
• Aug 25: Bretagne Classic – Ouest-France (France) — Marc Hirschi
• Aug 28-Sep 1: Renewi Tour (Belgium) — Arnaud De Lie
• Sep 8: BEMER Cyclassics (Germany) — Olav Kooij
• Sep 13: Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec (Canada) — Michael Matthews
• Sep 15: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal (Canada) — Tadej Pogacar
• Oct 12: Il Lombardia (Italy)
• Oct 15-20: Gree-Tour of Guangxi (China)

2024 UCI Women’s World Tour Schedule

• Jan 12-14: Santos Tour Down Under (Australia) — Sarah Gigante
• Jan 27: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race – Elite Women’s Race (Australia) — Rosita Reijnhout (Visma-Lease a Bike)
• Feb 8-11: UAE Tour (United Arab Emirates) — Amber Kraak
• Feb 24: Omloop Nieuwsblad (Belgium) — Marianne Vos
• Mar 2: Strade Bianche (Italy) — Lotte Kopecky
• Mar 9: Miron Ronde van Drenthe (The Netherlands) — Lorena Wiebes
• Mar 17: Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Comune di Cittiglio (Italy) — Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek)
• Mar 21: Classic Brugge-De Panne (Belgium) — Elisa Balsamo
• Mar 24: Gent-Wevelgem In Flanders Fields (Belgium) — Lorena Wiebes
• Mar 31: Ronde van Vlaanderen – Tour des Flandres (Belgium) — Elisa Longo Borghini
• Apr 6: Paris-Roubaix Femmes (France) — Lotte Kopecky
• Apr 14: Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition (The Netherlands) — Marianne Vos
• Apr 17: La Flèche Wallonne Féminine (Belgium) — Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM)
• Apr 21: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes (Belgium) — Grace Brown
• Apr 29-May 5: Vuelta España Femenina by Carrefour.es (Spain) — Demi Vollering of Team SD Worx–Protime
• May 10-12: Itzulia Women (Spain) — Demi Vollering
• May 16-19: Vuelta a Burgos Feminas (Spain) — Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)
• May 24-26: Ford RideLondon Classique (Great Britain) — Lorena Wiebes
• Jun 4-9: Women’s Tour (Great Britain) — Lotte Kopecky
• Jun 15-18: Tour de Suisse Women (Switzerland) — Demi Vollering
• Jul 7-14: Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (Italy) — Elisa Longo Borghini
• Aug 12-18: Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (France) — Katarzyna Niewiadoma
• Aug 24: Classic Lorient Agglomération – Trophée CERATIZIT (France) — Mischa Bredewold
• Aug 27-Sep 1: Tour of Scandinavia (Norway) CANCELLED
• Sep 5-8: Tour de Romandie Féminin (Switzerland) — Lotte Kopecky
• Oct 8-13: Simac Ladies Tour (The Netherlands)
• Oct 15-17: Tour of Chongming Island (China)
• Oct 20: Tour of Guangxi (China)

Wrapping Up

Do you want to watch cycling? Only the big races, such as the Tour de France and the Olympics? Then Peacock Premium ($7.99/month) or a live TV streaming service like Fubo have you covered. Do you instead prefer watching as much cycling as possible? In that case, make sure to also take advantage of FloBikes ($29.99/mo) and GCN+ ($8.99/mo).

Fubo is our top pick for cycling fans. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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