Biggest race in cycling starts on Saturday with Primoz Roglic and Egan Bernal early favourites. Follow our guide to watch a Tour de France live stream.
The Tour de France is here as 176 of the world’s best cyclists vie for the sport’s ultimate prize. Who will be wearing the iconic yellow jersey this September as the final stage concludes in Paris on the world famous Champs-Elysee? There’s only one way to find out. Follow our guide as we explain how to watch a Tour de France live stream and catch all the action from the biggest cycling race of 2020 online for free. Originally scheduled to start on June 27, the 2020 Tour de France was pushed back due to the coronavirus and the race now runs from Saturday, August 29 to Sunday, September 20. It’s the biggest of cycling’s three Grand Tour events – the other two being the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España – taking riders all over the country and its varied terrain, including all five mountain ranges – the stunning scenery of the French Alps being the aesthetic highlight of the 29 categorised climbs and five summit finishes this year. The dates of the Tour de France aren’t all that’s different this year, either, with 12 new stage cities and sites on the 2020 route – nearly a third of the 35 that feature in total. Health and safety protocols are also predictably intensified, with all riders and team staff having to pass two coronavirus tests in order to enter the Tour de France bubble – and if two riders or staff from the same team show symptoms of the illness or test positive for it, the entire team will be sent packing. Those who do compete may find this year’s Tour de France especially punishing, as the Covid-enforced shutdown means the UCI WorldTour has only been back for a couple of weeks and participating cyclists therefore have far less miles under their glutes than they would in a normal season. And with the riders hitting the Alps on just the second day of the race and a summit finish scheduled for Stage 4, the organisers seem in a less than charitable mood – all of which makes for great viewing! Can South America’s first ever winner of the competition, Egan Bernal, repeat this year – or will current World No.1 Primož Roglič claim the yellow jersey? And what of homegrown favourite Thibaut Pinot? Don’t miss a single calf-wrenching second of the action – read on for full details of how to watch a Tour de France live stream and catch all the French Grand Tour cycling drama online. Cycling is one of the more egalitarian sports around – you just need a bike, legs and some road – and this is reflected in the wide-range of ways you can watch the 2020 Tour de France free online. We’re not talking just highlights, either, but rather comprehensive coverage of one of the world’s great sporting events. On UK TV, you can get a free Tour de France live stream courtesy of ITV and, more specifically, its ITV Hub streaming service – available either right through your web browser or as an app for mobiles, tablets, set-top boxes, select smart TVs, consoles and more. It can be used by anyone in the UK 100% free – registration takes seconds and you only need a working email address and full UK postcode (such as SW1A 1AA for Buckingham Palace) to get streaming.
