How to watch the Tour de France 2020: Live stream all the action

The 2020 Tour de France is here – find out how you can watch this edition of the race live.

This season has been hugely uncertain for both cycling fans and riders, but the biggest event on the calendar is scheduled to kick off in Nice on Saturday (August 29).

After the UCI suspended all racing back in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tour de France was delayed from its usual slot in July and was reorganised for later in the summer.

This year’s race will now run from late August and finish in Paris on September 20, following the same course that was originally planned.

Riders will face a tough edition of the race, with eight mountain finishes and an uphill time trial to decide the winner of the 2020 yellow jersey.

Check out the full route here. 

The final week of the race will see Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) try and defend the yellow jersey from his closest challenged, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) who sits in second place at 40 seconds back.

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), who came to the Tour as defending champion and his team's only leader, saw his GC campaign collapse at the end of the second week on the summit finish to Grand Colombier.

There's still plenty of absorbing action to come in the final week of the Tour, so make sure you're set up so you don't miss a minute of the action.

Here is the full start-list for the 2020 Tour de France. 

How to live stream the Tour de France 2020 in the UK

For British fans, there are a few options on how to watch the 2020 Tour de France, as Eurosport, GCN and ITV4 will be showing the action.

ITV4 will  be returning with their usual free live coverage of the Tour de France each day, with coverage starting between 11am and 12.30pm each day and an hour-long highlights package from 7pm to 8pm.

With commentary from Tour de France regulars Ned Boulting and David Millar, as well as insight from Matt Rendell and former Olympian Chris Boardman, you can see all the action free of charge from the UK.

Eurosport viewers can catch the live racing on Eurosport 1 with coverage starting between 11am and 12.50pm each day depending on the stage, then running to around 4.30pm or  5.15pm.

GCN will also be showing the race live from their new Race Pass at similar times to the Eurosport broadcast.

To gain access to Eurosport coverage you’ll either need a sports package through Sky or Virgin Media, or you can subscribe to the Eurosport Player app for £39.99 a year or £6.99 per month.

Access to the GCN Race Pass costs £39.99 a year.

Not in the UK for the Tour de France 2020? No worries – just download and install a VPN and use a UK location to watch live as if you were back home. Full instructions below.

How to live stream the Tour de France 2020 when you’re not in your country

If you’re heading abroad during the racing –whether that be inside the UK or anywhere else – you may find access to your favourite home broadcaster is restricted by location. Luckily there is a way you can keep watching anyway – downloading and installing a VPN, which allows you to trick your computer into thinking it’s back at home. This allows you to find your native broadcaster coverage without having to resort to an illegal steam, as long as you stick to the terms and conditions set out by the broadcaster.

Setting up a VPN is simple – just download, install, open the app and select your location.

Try out ExpressVPN  for its speed, security and simplicity to use. We also like that it’s compatible with so many devices and streaming services (e.g. Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, PS4, etc).

There are other great options out there of course, but Express VPN gives you the added benefit of a 30-day money back guarantee and three months free with a yearly plan.

Watch the Tour de France 2020 from the USA and Canada

Viewers on the other side of the Atlantic will be able to follow the Tour de France live both in Canada and the US.

US viewers will be able to watch the racing with live coverage across NBC, NBCSN and CNBC.

Daily live coverage will start with stage one 8am ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold and Peacock Premium.

The NBC Sports Gold cycling pass is only available in the US and costs $54.99 for a season.

Flo Bikes will also be streaming the racing for viewers in Canada and you’ll need a subscription to view (plans start from $12.50 a month).

Flo Bikes isn’t available outside of the US or Canada, so if you’re heading abroad from America during the racing you may find access to your favourite home broadcaster is restricted by location. Luckily there is a way you can keep watching anyway – downloading and installing a VPN.

How to watch the Tour de France 2020 in Australia

For Australian fans, you can watch the racing from 9pm AEST on SBS and SBS On Demand.

The Tour de France 2020 so far

So far the first week of racing has been full of drama, with Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) taking the opening sprint stage and the first yellow jersey of his career. Kristoff also donned some striking €5,000 sunglasses on the podium.

Stage two was won by Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) in classic fashion, forcing a breakaway on the final climb and taking back the yellow jersey he came so close to winning last year.

The third stage, another sprint day, was scooped by Lotto-Soudal’s Caleb Ewan who put in a remarkable ride to weave his way to first place ahead of Quick-Step’s Sam Bennett.

Stage four marked the first mountain stage of the race at Orcières-Merlette, with Primož Roglič proving himself strongest on the day with a sprint win at the summit.

But there were no major splits in the general classification and the race remains poised heading into the remainder of the first week.

Stage five was a quiet day in the peloton and it was a rare moment at the Tour as there was no breakaway. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) showed his class once again by taking the sprint victory at the line, while Julian Alaphilippe lost his race lead to Adam Yates due to a time penalty.

Onto the second mountain finish of the race on stage six and we saw the first successful breakaway of the race so far, with Astana's Alexey Lutsenko the strongest of an elite eight-rider escape.

Further back down the road the GC race was effectively neutralised as Ineos Grenadiers set a rapid pace on the final climb to Mont Aigoual, with all the favourites finishing together. Julian Alaphilippe did sprint for the line and was able to take back one second on Adam Yates.

Chaos unfolded on stage seven during a relatively straightforward course on paper. Bora-Hansgrohe split the race to pieces on the early climbs to distance Sam Bennett and put Peter Sagan in a strong position in the points competition.

Later in the stage crosswinds split the front group and sparked GC drama, as Richie Porte, Mikel Landa, Tadej Pogačar and Richard Carapaz all lost touch with the front of the race and lost time by the finish. Wout van Aert sprinted to another huge victory, taking his second of the race.

Stage eight was a thrilling day of GC racing as the peloton hit the Pyrenees, as Adam Yates fought hard to defend his race lead for another day and Nans Peters (AG2r La Mondiale) took his first ever Tour de France stage win.

The following day was another explosive stage in the Pyrenees, with the strongest GC leaders all chasing down a solo Marc Hirschi (Sunweb). With Egan Bernal, Primož Roglič, Tadej Pogačar and Mikel Landa all coming to the line with Hirschi, it was Pogačar who sprinted to the stage victory, ahead of the first rest day of the race.

After the first rest day, the sprinters were back in action on Stage 10 and it was Sam Bennett who won the day, overcoming all the pressure to take the first Tour de France stage win of his career and moving into the green jersey in the process.

Caleb Ewan followed up with a second win on stage 11, before the sprinters faced four consecutive stages of climbing which would suit breakaways and the GC riders. Stage 12 saw Marc Hirschi make a perfectly timed move to finally get his stage win, with the breakaway winning again on the savage finish of stage 13, with Dani Martínez (EF Pro Cycling) crossing the line first. That stage also saw Roglič and Pogačar drop the other GC contenders and begin to separate themselves in the top two spots.

Sunweb then put in another perfect team performance to set up Søren Kragh Andersen for a late attack and victory on stage 14 to Lyon. Stage 15 would see the GC contenders fight it out for the stage victory though, with the Jumbo-Visma train not relenting in pace and allowing anyone to attack. Eventually Pogačar was able to outsprint Roglič at the top of the climb to take the stage. The real news was behind them though, with Egan Bernal losing over seven minutes on the final climb and the chances of defending his title evaporate.