How To Watch Tour de France From Anywhere

You can watch the Tour de France from anywhere in the world, but geo-restrictions can sometimes block access to streaming catalogs, local TV, and even sports.

Luckily, VPNs let you appear to be in a different location so you can watch your desired content.

The best VPNs will let you watch the Tour de France from anywhere. We’ll explain the benefits of using them and what you need to do to get connected.

Where to watch the Tour de France

The Tour de France is being broadcast worldwide and in four English-speaking countries on several different platforms. If you’re in the UK or Australia, you can watch for free.

Americans and New Zealanders may have to pay for a streaming service, or you could use your VPN to access free UK and Australian networks.

If you do want to watch French coverage, the best VPNs for France can help you easily access the region, and France TV is airing the race for free.

We consistently found conflicting information about which networks and streaming services would have the race available, so we went to the official Tour de France site for reference — we always go to the source for the most accurate information.

English countries broadcasting the Tour de France

• U.S. — Peacock (paid subscription service)
• UK — ITV
• Wales — S4C
• Ireland — TG4
• Australia — SBS
• New Zealand — Sky Sport (paid)

When is the Tour de France?

This is the first time the Tour de France will not end in Paris, due to the Summer Olympics also being hosted there this year. It begins in Florence and finishes in Orlean, passing through Italy, San Marino, Monaco, and France.

The race begins on June 29th and ends on July 21st, 2024, spanning 3,498 kilometers (that’s 2,173.5 miles for the Americans).

The benefits of using a VPN to watch the Tour de France online

A VPN gives you access to geo-restricted content, helps you avoid censorship, improves your streaming experience, and keeps you safe online. It’s a great tool to use to watch the Tour de France, but it’s also an essential tool for anyone who uses the internet.

Access geo-restricted content

Since Peacock — a paid streaming service — is the only way to watch the Tour de France in the U.S., you may want to access one of the free broadcasts from other places in the world.

For example, ITV in the UK is streaming the race for free, so using a VPN will allow you to access that geo-restricted content.

Avoid censorship

Some countries censor content from outside their country. A VPN helps stop censorship by making you appear to be outside the country in question.

It should be noted, however, that using a VPN or accessing certain content may result in real legal repercussions from the censoring government.

Enhance streaming quality

Your ISP is watching you. If you’re online during high-traffic times or use a lot of data, your ISP may begin to throttle your connection, dropping your speeds.

To avoid this issue and speed up your connection, consider connecting your VPN. It’ll hide your activity from your ISP, so you can enjoy the Tour de France without buffering.

Maintain privacy and security

Public Wi-Fi is a giant pool of unknown users, which could leave you vulnerable to an attack. A VPN protects you by encrypting your data and hiding you from any nosey digital neighbors.

VPNs also protect your home Wi-Fi network by hiding your traffic from anyone who may happen to get in and snoop. No one should know what you’re doing online except for you.

How to watch the Tour de France with a VPN

1. Subscribe to a VPN: We recommend picking a quality, paid service. You’ll avoid issues like data leakage or being blocked because the VPN is too weak to bypass the platform’s VPN blockers.
2. Download and install the VPN: You should be able to access the download directly from the VPN’s website.
3. Log into your VPN account: Log in with your username and password.
4. Find and connect to your preferred server: VPN servers let you change your location settings. To watch the Tour de France, a French server is the best option for ensuring a smooth experience.
5. Log in to your preferred streaming platform: In the U.S. the race is on Peacock; while in the UK, it’s streaming for free on ITV and S4C in Wales. There are various options for other regions worldwide.

The best VPNs to watch the Tour de France

It’s important to choose a quality VPN, no matter what you want to do. Most streaming providers have some form of VPN blocker, and free or low-quality VPNs often can’t bypass them.

We tested all of our top picks, and each one does a great job of bypassing geo-restrictions and VPN blockers:

FAQs

Bottom line

A VPN is a great tool for accessing geo-restricted content, protecting yourself on public Wi-Fi, or thwarting your ISP’s throttling. Free or low-quality VPNs may leak your data, slow your connection, or deny you access to geo-restricted material. Choose a top VPN service, sit back, relax, and watch the action.