Delayed for two months thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the world's most famous bike race is now ready to finally hit the road. Read on to find out how to watch the Tour de France 2020, no matter where in the world you are.
The rescheduled 2020 Tour de France will begin on Saturday August 29th in Nice and reach its conclusion in Paris on Sunday September 20th with its iconic final stage laps around the Champs-Élysées. Covering a punishing 2,156-miles, the annual 21-stage race is now in its 107th edition with this year's installment marking the first time since the end of World War II that the race has not started in July.
The Covid-19 delayed event will this year feature 12 new sites and stage cities with 176 elite riders from 22 teams expected to contend for the biggest prize in cycling. Famous for high-speed descents, and unforgiving climbs, one familiar recent feature of the race which won't be in evidence is the sight of Britain's cycling empire.
Previous yellow jersey winners Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas have both been omitted from Team Ineos' rooster and will not appear in this year's Tour.
Last year's winner was Egan Bernal who became the first Colombian to ever win the Tour, with the then 22-year-old becoming the youngest rider to reach the top step in the post-war era.
Bernal has been installed by the bookies as one of the favourites to win the yellow jersey in 2020, alongside Jumbo-Visma's Primož Rogli following his superb performance in last year's Vuelta a España and his impressive display at the Tour de l'Ain earlier this month.
Read on to find out how to watch the Tour de France no matter where you are in the world.
Tour de France: When & where
The Tour de France kicked off officially on Saturday, August 29 and runs all the way through September 20. There are a total of 21 stages of the race, with two rest periods build in as well. It kicks off in Nice Moyen Pays and comes to an end in Paris Champs-Élysées.
We are now entering the last week of the big race, and the teams will make their final pushes towards the coveted Yellow Jersey.
Watch the Tour de France online from outside your country
We have details of all the US, UK, Australian and Canadian broadcasters of this weekend's cycling further down in this guide. If you're intent on watching the Tour de France, but find yourself away from home then you'll run into problems when trying to stream your domestic coverage online from abroad as it's likely to be geo-blocked.
That's where a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can be a lifesaver. They allow you to virtually change the ISP of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that's back in your home country, letting you watch as if you were back there.
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How to watch the Tour de France online in the US
The good news for US cycling fans is that NBC Sports Gold will be broadcasting every stage live, ad-free and on-demand. A subscription to the NBC Gold Cycling Pass costs $54.99 per year. The race is also being shown daily on NBC Sports Network, which is available on most local cable and satellite packages.
How to stream the Tour de France 2020 live in the UK for free
There's awesome news for cycling fans in the UK. Terrestrial free-to-air channel ITV4 will be showing live coverage of the Tour de France, along with daily highlights of each stage. You can watch on a TV, or online using the ITV Hub. It's completely free so long as you hold a TV license.
How to stream the Tour de France 2020 live in Canada
Canadians can watch all the action from France via streaming service FloBikes. A monthly subscription will cost you $30 while a yearly account will set you back $150 ($12.50 per month), which will give you access to coverage of major cycling events throughout the year.
Live stream Tour de France 2020 in Australia
If you're Down Under, you can watch every stage of the Tour live on the SBS and SBS Viceland channels, or catch a free live stream through SBS On Demand.
Tour de France: How it works
The Tour de France is one of three Grand Tour cycling events, with the other two being Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. Many people think that it's actually the hardest event, and it's one that spans the course of nearly one month. Teams will compete in 21 different stages and will have two rest days in the event.
There are 22 teams competing this year and each of the teams has eight members on it along with up to four substitues. At the end of each stage there will be a "Stage Winner" which is the first person who crosses the line, and the cyclist who keeps the quickest overall time from the first day of race gets to wear the Yellow Jersey, which is well sought after.
We are in the final stages of the big race for 2020, with the teams pushing through the Alps this week and making last effort attempts to claim the yellow jersey. The race comes to an end on September 20, so things are going to heat up big time as all the rest days are now behind us and all we have left is race days.
