How to watch UCI Road World Championships 2021 live stream cycling from anywhere

Tadej Pogacar, Mark Cavendish and Julian Alaphilippe are among the big names competing in Flanders. Here's how to watch the UCI Road World Championships from anywhere

ulian Alaphilippe of France / Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari / during the 93rd UCI Road World Championships 2020
(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)

Celebrating its centenary edition, the world's best riders will be burning up  the tarmac of Flanders this weekend for one of cycling's most beloved events. Read on for your full guide on how to watch a UCI Road World Championships 2021 live stream online, no matter where you are in the world.

Defending road race champion Julian Alaphilippe will be lining up alongside the likes of hotly tipped trio Tadej Pogacar, Mark Cavendish, and Peter Sagan in what promises to be one of the most open fields in the event's history.

Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel will be flying the flag for the host nation, while there's set to be keen British interest in Olympic mountain bike champ Tom Pidcock.

From its individual time trials, team time trials and its showpiece road race, it's an unmissable event for any self-respecting cycling fan - and we've got all the info on how to watch UCI Road World Championships at every stage for free from anywhere. And if you're out of the country and can't access your preferred domestic broadcaster, you can always use a VPN to bypass any geo-restrictions.

When does the UCI Road World Championships take place?

This year’s edition of the UCI Road World Championships 2021 takes place between September 19 and September 26.

Read on below for full stage times.

Where can I live stream UCI Road World Championships 2021 at every stage in the UK?

Cycling fans in the UK are in for a treat as they can watch the majority of this year’s event for free. This includes the men's, women's, and mixed team time trials and the men's and women's road races via BBC Two, BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer.

For more comprehensive coverage of the UCI Road World Championships, you may instead want to turn to Eurosport or Discovery+ where every moment of the action will be available to watch live.

A subscription to Eurosport costs £6.99 per month or £39.99 for a whole year, while a subscription to the Discovery+ Entertainment and Sport package costs £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year.

One further option comes in the form of the dedicated cycling streaming service GCN+, which will also be covering the event live and in full and costs £6.99 per month or £39.99 per year.

How to watch a UCI Road World Championships 2021 live stream from anywhere

If you're out of the country during any of this year’s stages, you can still get access to a live stream of the 2021 UCI Road World Championships by making use of the best VPN to get past those geo-restrictions. 

With most domestic broadcasters locking streaming services to their country, you may hit a wall when it comes to accessing the likes of BBC iPlayer, FloBikes or SBS when overseas. However, by getting yourself a handy streaming VPN, you can hop on a server within the US or UK (or anywhere else for that matter depending on where your online content is geo-restricted to), and this will switch your IP address to make it appear as if you're browsing right from the comfort of your own home.


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Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia during the 93rd UCI Road World Championships 2020

(Image credit: Bas Czerwinski/Getty Images)

How to live stream UCI Road World Championships 2021 from anywhere else in the world

Regardless of where you're tuning in from, you'll be able to live stream this year’s UCI Road World Championships.

Cycling fans in the US and Canada will be able to watch all the action from Flanders via dedicated online service FloBikes.

A monthly subscription will set you back $30 while a yearly account costs $150 ($12.50 per month), which will also give you access to coverage of major cycling events throughout the year.

Viewers based in Australia don’t have to worry about subscription fees as free-to-air channel SBS is the nation’s exclusive live broadcaster of the UCI Road World Championships Down Under, with its coverage also available to watch vis the SBS website.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, viewers can tune in to all the action via exclusive broadcaster Sky Sport, which is available as part of a range of pay TV packages. 

Subscribers can live stream the action via the Sky Go service, while cord-cutters may want to look at the Sky Sport Now streaming-only platform - where a weekly pass costs just $19.99.

UCI Road World Championships 2021: Full schedule (All in BST)

  • Sunday, September 19 - Elite Men's ITT - 2.30pm CEST / 1.30pm BST / 10.30pm AEST / 8.30am ET
  • Monday, September 20 - U23 Men's ITT - 10.40am CEST / 9.40am BST / 6.40pm AEST / 4.40am ET - Elite Women's ITT - 2.40pm CEST / 1.40pm BST / 10.40pm AEST / 8.40am ET
  • Tuesday, September 21 - Junior Women's ITT - 10.30am CEST / 9.30am BST / 6.30pm AEST / 4.30am ET - Junior Men's ITT - 2.55pm CEST / 1.55pm BST / 10.55pm AEST / 8.55am ET
  • Wednesday, September 22 - Mixed Team Time Trial - 2.25pm CEST / 1.25pm BST / 10.25pm AEST / 8.25am ET
  • Friday, September 24 - Junior Men's Road Race - 8.15am CEST / 7.15am BST / 4.15pm AEST / 2.15am ET - U23 Men's Road Race - 1.25pm CEST / 12.25pm BST / 6.25pm AEST / 7.25am ET
  • Saturday, September 25 - Junior Women's Road Race - 8.15am CEST / 7.15am BST / 4.15pm AEST / 2.15am ET - Elite Women's Road Race - 12.20pm CEST / 11.20am BST / 8.20pm AEST / 6.20am ET
  • Sunday, September 26 - Men's Elite Road Race - 10.25am CEST / 9.25am BST / 6.25pm AEST / 4.25am ET

How to use a VPN to unblock any restrictions

If you're outside of your preferred broadcaster's boundaries, you can use a VPN to unblock any geo-restrictions and watch a UCI Road World Championships 2021 live stream as if you were right at home. Here's our step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

  • VPN - standing for virtual private network - offers security and anonymity as you browse online, using set protocols to encrypt your data and make it unreadable to outsiders.
  • As a part of that, you can also switch your IP address, which identifies your location.
  • Most VPNs offer a list of locations where its servers are based to join. Connecting to them switches your IP to appear as if you're browsing from that country/city. In turn, you can then access content locked to that country.
  • When it comes to finding a VPN, you should make sure you find the best one that's suitable for your chosen device, with VPN providers offering compatibility for a ton of devices, including VPN for MacVPN for Android smartphones, an iPad VPN, and even a range of fairly nifty free VPNs.
  • Once you've made the decision for the most suitable VPN for your device and your means for using a VPN, sign-up and install it
  • To live stream the UCI Road World Championships, all you need to do is select a country showing matches from its list of available servers and connect. You'll then be able to hop over geo-restrictions, with the likes of BBC iPlayer and Flobikes opening its online gates to you.
  • We also want to ensure your money is well spent, so we would recommend going for a VPN that offers a risk free trial. ExpressVPN is one of many providers that has a 30-day money back guarantee.

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Kevin Lynch

Kevin Lynch is a London-born, Dublin-based writer and journalist. The author of Steve Jobs: A Biographic Portrait, Kevin is a regular feature writer for a number of tech sites and the former Technology Editor for the Daily Mirror. He has also served as editor of GuinnessWorldRecords.com and has been a member of the judging panel for the BAFTA British Academy Video Game Awards. Alongside reviewing the latest AV gear, smartphones and computers, Kevin also specialises in music tech and can often be found putting the latest DAWs, MIDI controllers and guitar modellers through their paces. Born within the sound of Bow Bells, Kevin is also a lifelong West Ham fan for his troubles.