Amid all the jubilation and pomp over the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift coming to the UK in 2027, there is one question above all that looms large - will they be free to watch on television?
It's a good question. As of 2026, the men's Tour will no longer be shown on ITV, and live coverage will disappear behind the TNT Sports paywall; the Tour de France Femmes has never been on free-to-air TV. With the end of Eurosport last month too, pro cycling has never been more expensive and exclusive to watch in the UK. So for all the excitement about the biggest bike races in the world being on our doorstep, it is now harder than ever to catch the action on television.
However, there is a glimmer of hope for British fans, with Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme saying he is "optimistic" that the race's Grands Départs will be shown on live television for free in the UK. The rest of the action - the remaining 18 men's stages and six women's stages - is still likely to be behind a paywall.
"There will be discussions, of course," he said on Wednesday, at the announcement of the Grands Départs. "But I do hope – and I do believe – that the stages will be live and free-to-air in 2027 in the UK. There will be discussions and we're optimistic."
The "geography of both races combined" will cover England, Wales, and Scotland, but only Edinburgh as the host of the start of the first men's stage was officially revealed this week. It will be the first time that both the men's and women's Tours will start in the same foreign country.
It is unclear how the race will be shown on free live TV, with TNT Sports' owner, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), signing an exclusivity deal for the Tour de France rights until 2030. The Tour's organisers, ASO, might have the ability to change that, but it would also likely require agreement from WBD.
When the men's Tour started in the UK previously, in 2007 and 2014, the race was available to be watched on ITV4.
Speaking on Wednesday, the record holder for Tour stage wins, Mark Cavendish, said: "I don't think we can comprehend what the start of the Tour de France is going to be like here. It’s going to be bigger than you can even imagine. It's really quite exciting."
