Tour de France stage 1, 2 and 3 dates: July 1 – July 3
Live streams: ITVX / S4C (UK) | SBS On Demand (AUS) | Peacock / USA Networks ($ USA) | FloBikes (CAN$) | Sky Sports (NZ$)
Use ExpressVPN to watch any stream
Race preview
The Tour de France begins in the Basque city of Bilbao on Saturday, July 1 with an unusually tough, hilly stage 1.
Look for Classics specialists like Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quickstep) or Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) to try to take off on the short but violently steep Côte de Pike with 10km more. on a 182 kilometer loop around Bilbao.
The opening stage could also be the first test for defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and two-time winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) or a battle for other Tour de France contenders to limit their losses.
The stage winner is guaranteed to wear the race leader’s coveted maillot jaune after organizers scrapped planned time bonuses at the top of the Côte de Pike.
With an intermediate sprint and five classified climbs in stage 1, the first stage will also see the green points jersey and polka dot mountains jersey awarded to the riders with the most points.
Sunday’s Stage 2 uses some of the famous sections of the Clasica San Sebastian, with 208.9 kilometers from Vitoria-Gasteiz to San Sebastián including Jaizkibel (8.1km at 5.3%) along with five classified climbs.
The roads were leveled for stage 3 on Monday, July 3, with 187.4 kilometers from Amorebieta-Etxano running mostly along the coast to Bayonne. It should be a very fast stage though with four climbs in the first part of the stage with a tailwind expected until the last 25km, where echelons could break the peloton in crosswinds.
This is a weekend of racing you won’t want to miss and it’s just the beginning. Check out the full 2023 Tour de France route for what’s next and see if you agree with our list of Tour de France opponents.
Cyclingnews will bring you full reports, results, news, interviews, and analysis throughout the race. Read on to find out how to watch the 2023 Tour de France via free live streams, regardless of your location. Use ExpressVPN to watch your usual stream from anywhere in the world, or one of the other highly recommended VPN services below.
See our full live streaming guide, see our comprehensive Tour de France guide, the Tour de France route, plus Tour de France start list information powered by FirstCycling.
How to watch the Tour de France
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NBC holds the broadcast rights for the Tour de France in the USA. The race will be broadcast live on NBC, as well as the network’s streaming service, Peacock TV.
FloBikes will broadcast the Tour de France in Canada. An annual subscription will set you back $12.99/month.
USA viewers will be able to watch the Tour live via the network, while highlights and on-demand streams will also be available.
In the UK, the Tour de France will be shown on free-to-air TV via Eurosport, ITV4 and Welsh-language channel S4C. Live coverage and highlights are all available.
The Tour will also be broadcast live and in full by GCN+ in the UK, with the same coverage also available via streaming on Discovery+ and Eurosport’s TV channel. Discovery+ is available to Sky Glass, Sky Q and Sky Stream customers at no extra charge.
In Australia, national broadcaster SBS will carry live coverage of the Tour de France.
For a local feel and full French-language coverage of the race, head to France TV Around Europe, broadcasters include ARD in Germany, Sporza and RTBF in Belgium, Rai in Italy, and RTVE in Spain.
Best VPN for streaming Tour de France
Geo-restrictions are the bane of cycling fans as they can prevent you from watching the Tour de France using your live streaming accounts if you are outside your home country.
While you can always follow Cyclingnews for all live coverage, you can access your geo-blocked live streaming services by simulating being in your home country using a VPN – a ‘virtual private network’.
Our experts have thoroughly tested VPNs for live streaming sports and recommend ExpressVPN. The service lets you watch the race live on various devices – Smart TVs, Fire TV Sticks, PCs, Macs, iPhones, Android phones, iPads, tablets, etc.
There are some other great options that are safe, reliable and offer good bandwidth for streaming sports. Check out the best two options below – NordVPN and the best budget option, Surfshark.
| Date | Stage | Start time | End time |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 1st | Stage 1 | 12:30 CEST | 17:15 CEST |
| July 2 | Stage 2 | 12:15 CEST | 17:04 CEST |
| July 3 | Stage 3 | 13:00 CEST | 17:27 CEST |
*Live television and streaming, as well Cyclingnews‘ live coverage, always covers from start to finish.
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