Tour de France handed major free-to-air UK TV boost after TNT Sports and HBO Max coverage concerns
Cycling
The Tour de France will regain a free-to-air television presence in the UK from 2026, with 5 confirming daily coverage of both the men’s race and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
The announcement arrives after a major shift in how British viewers follow the sport. Full live Tour de France coverage has moved deeper into the Warner Bros Discovery ecosystem, with TNT Sports now central to the UK rights picture and streaming coverage moving through HBO Max.
For long-time Tour viewers, that has meant the end of the familiar ITV route into the race. The new agreement does not reverse the wider rights move, but it does give both Tours a confirmed free-to-air platform in the UK for the next three editions.
5 will show daily highlights of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes from 2026 to 2028 as the exclusive English language free-to-air partner in the UK. Its 2026 Tour de France coverage begins on Saturday 4 July and will be fronted by Rebecca Charlton.
British Grand Depart to be shown live on 5
The biggest live element of the deal comes in 2027, when Britain hosts the joint Grand Departs of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes. All six British stages across the two races will be shown live on 5. The men’s Tour begins in Edinburgh on Friday 2 July, with the opening three stages taking the race from Edinburgh to Carlisle, Keswick to Liverpool, and Welshpool to Cardiff.
The Tour de France Femmes will then begin in Britain for the first time later that month. Stage one runs from Leeds to Manchester on Friday 30 July, before further stages from Manchester to Sheffield and then in London.
Grand Depart GB Managing Director Paul Bush OBE welcomed the announcement, saying: “We want to bring the 2027 Grands Départs to as wide an audience as possible, so it is fantastic news that fans can look forward to following this year’s edition with free-to-air coverage to build their excitement for what to expect when the Grand Départ arrives in Britain in 2027.”
Mark Cavendish and Christian Prudhomme at the unveiling of the 2027 Tour de France Grand Depart in Edinburgh
Free-to-air access returns to the Tour picture
The deal gives organisers a wider UK platform before one of the biggest cycling events staged in Britain since the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart. TNT Sports will continue to carry extensive live coverage of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes, but 5’s involvement restores a free-to-air presence at a time when cycling coverage in Britain has become increasingly tied to paid platforms.
The shift has been felt sharply since the closure of GCN+ and the move away from ITV’s long-running Tour de France coverage. For dedicated cycling fans, the paid model still offers deep race coverage across the season. For casual Tour viewers, the route into the sport has become less straightforward.
The 2027 British Grand Depart will now avoid being shown only through a paid sports package, with 5 carrying live coverage of the stages in Edinburgh, Carlisle, Liverpool, Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and London.
Full details of 5’s 2026 and 2027 coverage will be announced in due course.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
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