The UCI World Tour is pro cycling at its most relentless. The 2026 season stretches from January to October, spans five continents, and packs 36 races into a calendar that rarely waits for casual viewers. One week it’s sun-soaked stages in Australia, the next it’s cobbled chaos in Belgium or mountaintop finishes in the Alps.
It’s also one of the trickiest sports to watch consistently. Unlike leagues with a single broadcast partner, UCI World Tour coverage is split across multiple streaming services, with U.S. TV rights varying by race. The three Grand Tours—the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España—don’t live in the same place, and one subscription won’t cover the entire season. Even longtime fans often find themselves double-checking where a race is airing before the start flag drops.
This guide breaks it all down. I’ll explain where the biggest races stream in the U.S., which services you actually need to follow the full 2026 season, and how to avoid missing key stages when coverage hops between platforms. If watching pro cycling ever felt harder than riding a mountain stage, this should make things a lot clearer.
What channel is the UCI World Tour on?
You won’t find much pro cycling on traditional cable channels like ESPN or FS1. Instead, U.S. coverage is almost entirely streaming-based, split across three rival platforms: Peacock, HBO Max, and FloBikes.
While select marquee stages—like the final weekends of the Tour de France—may simulcast on linear networks like NBC or CNBC, the vast majority of the 2026 calendar is exclusive to streaming apps.
2026 UCI World Tour TV schedule
With 36 events spread across 10 months, following the 2026 UCI World Tour schedule takes some endurance. Grand Tours like the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France air daily for weeks with marathon morning broadcast windows, while one-day classics often pop up midweek and are easy to miss if you’re not watching closely.
Because broadcast rights vary by race, coverage isn’t centralized on a single channel or service. You’ll often need to check the schedule to see whether you need Peacock, HBO Max, or FloBikes for the week’s action. I’ve broken down the full calendar below so you can map out your viewing strategy for the season.
| Race | Dates | Channels |
|---|---|---|
|
January |
||
| Santos Tour Down Under | Jan. 20–25 | Peacock |
|
February |
||
| Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race | Feb. 1 | FloBikes |
| UAE Tour | Feb. 16–22 | HBO Max |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | Feb. 28 | FloBikes |
|
March |
||
| Strade Bianche | March 7 | HBO Max |
| Paris–Nice | March 8–15 | Peacock |
| Tirreno–Adriatico | March 9–15 | HBO Max |
| Milan–San Remo | March 21 | HBO Max |
| Volta a Catalunya | March 23–29 | Peacock |
| Classic Brugge–De Panne | March 25 | HBO Max |
| E3 Saxo Classic | March 27 | HBO Max |
| Gent-Wevelgem | March 29 | FloBikes |
|
April |
||
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | April 1 | FloBikes |
| Tour of Flanders | April 5 | FloBikes |
| Tour of the Basque Country | April 6–11 | HBO Max |
| Paris–Roubaix | April 12 | Peacock |
| Amstel Gold Race | April 19 | FloBikes |
| La Flèche Wallonne | April 22 | Peacock |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | April 26 | Peacock |
| Tour de Romandie | April 28–May 3 | FloBikes |
|
May |
||
| Eschborn–Frankfurt | May 1 | FloBikes |
| Giro d'Italia | May 8–31 | HBO Max |
|
June |
||
| Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | June 7–14 | Peacock |
| Copenhagen Sprint | June 14 | HBO Max |
| Tour de Suisse | June 17–21 | FloBikes |
|
July |
||
| Tour de France | July 4–26 | Peacock, NBC |
|
August |
||
| Clásica de San Sebastián | Aug. 1 | FloBikes |
| Tour de Pologne | Aug. 3–9 | HBO Max |
| Hamburg Cyclassics | Aug. 16 | FloBikes |
| Renewi Tour | Aug. 19–23 | HBO Max |
| Vuelta a España | Aug. 22–Sept. 13 | Peacock |
| Bretagne Classic CIC | Aug. 30 | HBO Max |
|
September |
||
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec | Sept. 11 | HBO Max |
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal | Sept. 13 | HBO Max |
|
October |
||
| Il Lombardia | Oct. 10 | HBO Max |
| Tour of Guangxi | Oct. 13–18 | FloBikes |
Data effective as of post date.
Pro tip: Want to know who the favorites are before the race starts? Check the official UCI World Ranking to see which riders and teams are currently dominating the leaderboard.
Best TV plans for watching the UCI World Tour
There isn’t a single “perfect” TV plan for pro cycling in 2026. To follow the men’s road season end to end, most fans will need three separate subscriptions, each covering a different slice of the calendar. Here’s my breakdown of those essential services to build your TV setup around.
Peacock ($10.99–$16.99/mo.)
If you only buy one subscription this year, make it Peacock. As the home of NBC Sports coverage, it holds the rights to the biggest races on the planet, including the Tour de France, La Vuelta a España, and iconic monuments like Paris–Roubaix and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
Peacock is the bedrock of any American cycling fan’s viewing setup. It offers daily live coverage, full-stage replays, and the most affordable subscription of the three major options.
Just note that you’ll need a Premium or Premium Plus plan to unlock live sports. But that subscription pays for itself quickly. You’ll get NBA, NFL, and Premier League coverage, plus complete Olympic cycling coverage whenever the Summer Games roll around.
HBO Max ($16.99–$20.99/mo.)
HBO Max has quickly become an essential piece of the puzzle. It picked up the rights to many races previously held by GCN+, making it the exclusive U.S. home for the Giro d’Italia, Milan–San Remo, and Il Lombardia.
You’ll essentially need HBO Max to dominate the spring. Without it, you miss the “Race of the Two Seas” (Tirreno–Adriatico) and the gravel roads of Strade Bianche. It also carries critical Belgian tune-ups like the E3 Saxo Classic, making it a mandatory subscription if you want to see who’s in form before the big show in July.
The good news is that live sports are now included in Standard and Premium plans, so you don’t need a separate add-on. That subscription goes far beyond the peloton, too. It unlocks the full TNT Sports lineup, giving you NHL, MLB, NASCAR, and March Madness coverage alongside your favorite HBO originals.
FloBikes ($29.99/mo.)
FloBikes is the heavy lifter for true cycling obsessives, filling in the critical gaps left by Peacock and HBO Max. It’s the exclusive U.S. home for crucial races like the Tour of Flanders and the late-season Tour of Guangxi.
Unfortunately, it comes with a steep price tag and some caveats. The biggest trap for U.S. fans is the broadcast schedule: FloBikes holds massive rights in Canada (including the Tour de France) that it doesn’t hold in the U.S. Always double-check the FloBikes schedule before signing up so you know what’s “unavailable” in your territory.
The app experience can also be clunky compared to other platforms. But the high cost does have one perk: A FloBikes subscription unlocks the entire FloSports network. If you also follow dirt racing, wrestling, or college hockey, that annual fee suddenly becomes a lot easier to justify.
How to watch the UCI World Tour for free
There’s no permanent, all-access free option for the UCI World Tour in the U.S. Most live broadcasts sit behind paywalls, and cycling rarely appears on free, over-the-air TV. If you’re trying to minimize costs, the best strategy is to rotate short-term subscriptions around the races you care about most, rather than paying for everything all season long.
As for streaming, don’t rely on free trials. While they used to be common, standard free trials for Peacock and HBO Max are virtually extinct these days. But it’s worth keeping an eye out for limited-time promos or bundled deals that can help you snag premium-tier coverage for cheap.
Your most reliable free option is delayed or highlight coverage. Broadcasters like NBC Sports and FloBikes often post extended highlights and stage recaps on their YouTube channels shortly after the action finishes. While this won’t replace live coverage, it’s a solid way to keep up with stage winners and GC battles without committing to a subscription.
How to watch the UCI World Tour FAQ
Who are the announcers for the UCI World Tour?
It depends on the network. For the Tour de France on Peacock, you'll hear the legendary Phil Liggett and Bob Roll. For races on HBO Max and FloBikes, coverage typically uses the international "World Feed" commentary teams, featuring popular voices like Rob Hatch, Carlton Kirby, and Sean Kelly.
How do I watch the UCI World Tour in Spanish?
Dedicated Spanish-language coverage of the UCI World Tour is not available in the U.S. If you want commentary en Español, your best option is to use a VPN to stream TV coverage from Spanish-speaking countries.
What services cover the UCI Women's World Tour?
Coverage of the UCI Women's World Tour generally mirrors the men's broadcast rights, so you'll need the same mix of services. Peacock is the home of the Tour de France Femmes and La Vuelta Femenina. HBO Max streams the Giro d'Italia Women, while FloBikes carries the women's editions of major Spring Classics like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix Femmes.
