Free-to-air Tour de France coverage returns to UK screens — but there is a catch

Cycling is returning to free British television this summer. 5 has struck a multi-year deal with TNT Sports to broadcast daily Tour de France highlights, restoring free-to-air access to the race for the first time since ITV stepped away. Coverage of the 2026 Tour de France begins with the Grand Départ in Barcelona on 4 July.

The agreement makes 5 the new free-to-air home of cycling's Grand Tours in the UK. A daily highlights show will air at 7pm every evening throughout July, fronted by journalist and former pro Rebecca Charlton.

It goes beyond this summer. 5 will show free-to-air highlights of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España from 2026 to 2028, with the Giro d'Italia joining the line-up from 2027 to 2029. The deal followed a competitive tender process.

"The Grand Tours are the most prestigious cycling events in the world, watched and adored by millions, and we are delighted that 5 will be their new free-to-air home in the UK," said Reemah Sakaan, President of 5, in a press release.

The biggest moment lands in 2027. The Grand Départ of both the men's Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift returns to the UK, with stages held across Scotland, England and Wales. 5 will carry those opening stages live, alongside daily highlights of the women's race.

Continue reading below the photo!

For British fans, the deal answers a long-running frustration. Live cycling has drifted steadily behind paywalls over the past few seasons. GCN+, the dedicated streaming service, closed at the end of 2023, taking its ad-free racing with it. Coverage moved to Discovery+, then to TNT Sports when Eurosport was folded into the platform in early 2025. A shift that pushed the monthly cost towards £30. Many fans pushed back hard, with some branding the rise unfair.

ITV's coverage of the 2025 race was its farewell. Warner Bros. Discovery holds the exclusive UK rights through to 2030, which meant 2026 was on course to be the first year in roughly four decades with no free Tour de France at all. The 5 deal removes that prospect.

The Tour also adds to a growing sports list on 5, which has recently shown the NFL Super Bowl and will be the free-to-air home of this summer's Commonwealth Games.

There is a limit to what the deal delivers. 5 carries highlights, not live stage coverage. Every stage of the 2026 Tour remains live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, the broadcaster's streaming home in the UK, where a subscription still applies. That live coverage is led by Orla Chennaoui, with analysis from former professionals Adam Blythe and Robbie McEwen.

For viewers who simply want the story of each day — the attacks, the standings and the finish — the 7pm show offers a free way back in. For those who want every kilometre, the paywall stays in place.

Charlton, who returns to terrestrial cycling coverage as host, welcomed the news.

"It's an absolute dream to have the opportunity to bring the racing to life for all of the cycling fans out there as well as guiding some new viewers along for the ride," she said. "We'll be bringing highlights of all of the action as well as telling the stories around the racing and I for one, cannot wait!"

The 2026 Tour de France runs from 4 to 26 July, starting in Barcelona and finishing in Paris. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift follows from 1 to 9 August.