A quick update: Flanders Classics confirms that FloBikes DOES have rights to all its races for the US and Canada for 2026. I’m told by another source that RCS international rights will be announced “in the next few weeks.”
4 Likes
Could anyone list which free to air channels in places like The Netherlands and Belgium show any World Tour races for anyone who doesn’t mind a foreign commentary and uses a VPN?
1 Like
I’ll add that to the list for the story. A number of free-to-view options (Sporza, for instance) can be tricky to use even with a VPN.
1 Like
As a fellow canadian i highly recommend stealing.
2 Likes
SBS has worked for me with vpn in the past
1 Like
Dutch TV shows a lot of bike racing and you can find it here: Live | NPO Start
Haven’t tried it with a VPN yet, though.
Thanks for the update Joe. I’m already a happy Peacock subscriber for the ASO events, but didn’t know that HBO Max wasn’t locked into the Italian races like last year. And if they don’t renew, that’s fine. Initially I had access, but then they made their sports package (though Bleacher Report) extra, which I can’t get anyway because of the bundle deal I have on HBO with Verizon.
Hoping that Peacock just buys the RCS rights and makes life easy for us in the U.S. I know we’re not many, but I’m hoping they understand that many of us are (probably) already locked in as subs because of the ASO races. RCS should be like their insurance to keep to us or grab any fans left who’ve been on the fence until now.
That is the one I can get using a VPN
Last year I was able to watch Flanders and Rwanda via Sporza.be stream with no issues via VPN (Proton in my case). I considered the absence of english-speaking announcers to be a plus. Sure hope that holds true this year.
Is the Canada advice to subscribe to Flo now or should we hold off still?
As things are settling in (a little) I think for Canada subscribers are in a better position to renew. You’ll have Flanders Classics and ASO events for sure. RCS is still not officially locked down but will likely return to Flo for Canada. Along with a few other independent events (Amstel, Suisse) that means you have substantially the entire WT calendar in one sub, plus much of the cyclocross calendar if you care about such things.
1 Like
Here’s the dance I do from Australia to get all cycling and cx via Discovery+
- Get Nord and VPN into Germany (I chose Germany bc it’s the cheapest around €6pm for the ad-free version and they have an English language commentary option).
- Open Wise debit card account (e-card) in Germany giving a German street address. I picked an AirBnB I stayed in 2019 and it worked. Uploaded my Aus passport as ID any they accepted it.
- Transfer AUD to my Wise account.
- Open German App Store account and download Discovery+ app.
- Open Discovery+ account using German address and pay with German Wise debit card. Foreign cards are not accepted.
- Close VPN and reopen it as Disco+ has a VPN detector so you need a fresh IP address (the detector works by counting the number of connection attempts from the same IP address).
As of a few weeks ago Disco+ no longer lets me airplay to a TV from my iPad or iPhone which is very annoying - does anyone else experience this?
3 Likes
Anyone who is in Canada and looking to renew make sure you cancel first and take the 20% off they offer to keep you on board!
3 Likes
Anyone know what this is all about? Do USA subscribers to HBO Max get all the same races as UK subscribers, or are Americans still gonna need to VPN into the First World to avoid multiple subscriptions and heinously bad NBC commentators? Alternatively, will UK HBO subscribers get all bike races with Eurosport comms. + all the HBO movies & shows (which would somewhat justify the crazy £31/month cost)?
On 26 March 2026, HBO Max is launching in the UK and TNT Sports is moving from discovery+ to HBO Max.
What will happen on 26 March?
Your TNT Sports subscription will continue on HBO Max. From 26 March 2026, just download the HBO Max app or go to hbomax.com and use your discovery+ email and password to sign in and enjoy your TNT Sports plan on HBO Max. It’s that simple!
The great news is, these changes won’t impact your current plan price or billing cycle.
Yep, this is all for UK audiences only. No change for US or other markets, but the bad news there is that US rights are still split across Peacock/Max/FloBikes. So you’ll need three subs or a VPN strategy if you want to avoid Peacock or Flo commentary.
2 Likes
Following up my comment from a few weeks back, it seems like there might be current issues with Staylive.
It hasnt been updated with any 2026 races yet that I can see - just the last couple of cyclocross races. Not sure, why - perhaps licence issues?
Yep, I just got stung for renewal and asked their support for the race calendar for this season. Was told “The scheduling should be published before there are any races. I can look closer into this but as for now that’s all the info I have unfortunately. Please keep an eye on the website and we will look into the as well.”
will give them another week or two before requesting a refund.
Assume the D+ VPN detector explains why I can’t use my UK-registered D+ account via VPN when in mainland Europe and using wifi (although I can still use it when tethered to my phone and on the local 5G network).
If anyone who has a solution to the VPN issue, that doesn’t need to open an overseas bank account (although thanks for the guide Chris!), I’m all ears!
I had a good setup with a Virtual Server in Germany and Tailscale. In firing this back up this year, no matter what I do I’m detected as VPN. I’ve changed locations and vendors for my VPS, and tried Mullvad, but so far haven’t found a solution.
If you “live” in France, France TV covers the French classics, TdF, Dauphine, et al. free of charge. TdF stages are archived for a bit too. I am living in the Pyrenees now, but before I did, I registered on the France TV site with a French address and was able to watch the programs. Of course they are in French, but most people can follow along, and it’s not like Peacock with endless chatter. They have Thomas Voelcler (sp?) on a moto and Bernard Hinault for color commentary.
If you are watching France TV from the US, you’ll need a VPN or DNS proxy to use a server in France, but it worked well for me for a couple years before I moved from the US.
2 Likes