How to Watch Tour de France 2021 Live Online

Le Grande Boucle anyone? If you’re familiar with the term, you’re a true cycling fan. Let’s sum it up. We’re talking about Tour de France 2021, which will commence from 26 June to 18 July 2021. However, although the race is popular around the globe, unfortunately, not everyone can watch Tour de France online in their country due to geo-restrictions. Despite such hitches, we happen to know a workaround to the issue. If you’re stuck without a way to watch the race live online, follow our guide and learn how to stream Tour de France 2021 anywhere.

Tour de France Streaming Channels

Tour de France has become very popular over the years. In fact, the event is considered to be the most prestigious cycling race in the world. How else can we explain it reaching more than 15 million spectators and 1 billion+ TV viewers all over the world?

That aside, we have to ask: How are these viewers watching the race? Due to how grand the Tour de France is, a lot of big broadcasters are interested in purchasing the right to air it live.

So, before we head to the “how you can watch it” part, here are the 2021 Tour de France live streaming channels:

• ITV (UK)
• SBS (Australia)
• France TV (France)
• Sky Sport (New Zealand)
• Rai Play (Italy, Free)
• NBC Sports (USA)
• RTVE (Spain, Free)
• TV2 Play (Denmark)
• SuperSport (South Africa)
• DAZN (Japan)
• FloBikes (Canada)
• NBC Sports (USA)
• beIN Sport (The Middle East)
• Eurosport (Pan Europe)
• ARD (Germany)

The streaming channels above are geo-restricted to their own countries. In other words, they only operate inside these regions.

If you approach the service from a different country, it will block your access on the spot. You see, streaming services can determine your location by examining your IP address. But don’t worry, we’re going to fix this issue later on in this article.

First Step – Create your free ITV Account

If you want to unblock geo-restricted channels, you must use a VPN. To help you out, even more, I’m going to show you exactly how to do so. But we need an example, no? Why not make use of a free channel like ITV.

If you’re going to access any of these channels anyways, it better be a free one. Therefore, here’s how to create a free ITV account:

1. Go to ITV’s official website.
2. On the main page, click on the“Sign In”.
3. After that, you’ll find two options. The obvious choice would be “Sign Up”.
4. On the next page, you’ll be asked for your credentials. Enter whatever is required. As for Postcode, use this without quotations “WC1X 0AA”.
5. Now, agree to ITV’s terms and conditions.
6. Finally, select “Submit”.

Alright, so you have created an account. Wait for an email asking for confirmation. Follow the link in that email and you’ll successfully activate your free ITV account. But there’s more. Remember, having an account doesn’t give you access to the channel’s content. If you’re abroad, you will still get this geo-error message:

“We’re sorry. ITV Hub is only available to viewers in the UK.”

All that is about to change once you scroll down a bit further.

Watch Tour de France 2021 Live Online using VPN

I’ve tried to watch the race before and I had the same problem as you do now. However, I found a way to circumvent geo-restrictions. Before we begin, let me tell you what a VPN is.

A VPN is an internet tool that secures your data and hides your identity online. When you connect to a server, you’ll obtain an IP address valid in the country where the server is available. And that’s all you need.

If you connect to a UK server, you’ll appear as if you’re in the United Kingdom. That way, you get access to ITV no matter where you physically are.

Tour de France Anywhere – The Steps

Here’s how you can stream Tour de France on ITV anywhere:

1. To kick it off, you need to subscribe to a credible VPN service. Based on reviews and personal experience, I recommend ExpressVPN.
2. Download and install their VPN application on the device you wish to stream Tour de France on. You’ll find apps available on macOS, Windows PC, iPhone, iPad, as well as FireStick.
3. Activate the VPN application and search for a UK server.
4. Once you find one, hit connect.
5. Now, launch ITV‘s website or use their dedicated application.
6. Finally, stream the 2021 Tour de France from anywhere in the world on ITV.

If ITV isn’t your choice, you can follow the same process according to the channel’s location. You can access the likes of L’equipe, SBS, and Sportsnet if you connect to French, Australian, and Canadian servers respectively.

Now, let’s take a look at the best VPNs to watch Tour de France 2021 live online.

How to Stream Live Free with Smart DNS

Alternatively, you can use Smart DNS proxy to unblock geo-restricted channels outside their area of coverage. Smart DNS reroutes the URLs that showcase your current location only. As a result, your IP address remains the same and no data encryption occurs. Of course, this one has a downside as it doesn’t protect you when you’re browsing the web.

However, with your IP intact, you get to keep your local channels fully functional even when you’re watching restricted channels from abroad.

You can watch the 2021 Tour de France live by following these steps:

1. In my years as a reviewer, one Smart DNS service has caught my attention so far. That’ll be Unlocator.
2. Sign up for their service and benefit from their 7-day free trial.
3. After that, configure Smart DNS by following the Setup Guides presented on the website based on the platform you’re operating.
4. Your final step would be to launch ITV or any other channel that you’ve chosen.
5. Oh, one more thing, enjoy Tour de France anywhere.

If we were to speak about the best Smart DNS services to use, Unlocator would be at the top of the food chain. You get a 7-day free trial to test out their service. Not to mention that you’ll also be able to unlock more than 250 channels around the world. What more could a streamer ask for?

What You Need to Know About the Race

Here’s everything you need before you start watching the race live online:

Teams

These are the teams participating in the 2021 edition of Tour de France:

The UCI Tour Teams include Alpecin–Fenix, Arkéa–Samsic, B&B Hotels p/b KTM, and Total Direct Énergie.

Schedule

Below the full schedule of the 2021 Tour de France:

June 26

• Brest to Landerneau

June 27

• Perros-Guirec to Mûr-de-Bretagne (Guerlédan)

June 28

• Lorient to Pontivy

June 29

• Redon to Fougères

June 30

• Changé to Laval

July 1

• Tours to Châteauroux

July 2

• Vierzon to Le Creusot

July 3

• Oyonnax to Le Grand-Bornand

July 4

• Cluses to Tignes

July 6

• Albertville to Valence

July 7

• Sorgues to Malaucène

July 8

• Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Nîmes

July 9

• Nîmes to Carcassonne

July 10

• Carcassonne to Quillan

July 11

• Céret to Andorra la Vella (Andorra)

July 13 

July 15

• Pau to Luz Ardiden

July 16

• Mourenx to Libourne

July 17

• Libourne to Saint-Émilion

July 18

• Chatou to Paris (Champs-Élysées)

Le Tour de France 2021 Route Map

Want to see how the road goes in this cycling race? Check out the map below:

The Official Preview

Here’s a quick look at what the route looks like:

How to Watch Tour de France 2021 Free Live Online?

Just like the guide above stated, there is no shortage of free official Tour de France streaming channels. Just in case you live in a region where these channels are geo-blocked, all you need is a geo-spoofing service such as ExpressVPN, BulletVPN, or Unlocator. Let me know which one you decided to go with and if it met your expectations come July 6th in the comment section below.