The Giro d'Italia is underway, bringing Grand Tour season with it. We might be days into the Corsa Rosa already, but there is so much yet to come - essentially all the biggest days for the general classification riders, and a whole host of stages to be won by sprinters, puncheurs, and climbers.
As well as the expected duel between Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) across the 21 days, there are all sorts of other riders to watch out for, from Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) to Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan).
Like most big races the you can watch the Giro d'Italia on the live-stream on GCN+, Discovery+ and Eurosport in the UK and in the USA. Subscription costs are £6.99/month or $8.99/month, and £39.99 or $49.99 for a year.
There are many VPN options out there but ExpressVPN has consistently been highly rated by our colleagues at Cycling Weekly sister site TechRadar.
What to expect at the Giro d'Italia
Grand Tour season kicks off on Saturday May 6 with the start of the Giro d'Italia, which begins on Italian soil after briefly heading to Hungary last year. Over 21 days Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), the world champion will battle it out with Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), among others on a deep list of possible contenders.
The 106th edition begins in the Abruzzo region, on the central western side of the boot, before heading south and then north through the Italian peninsula. This year the race features three time trial stages with a grand total of 70 kilometres of individual time trialling.
As ever at the Giro d'Italia, there are lots of days in the mountains, whether that's the Alps, the Dolomites, or the Apennines. There's a lot of climbing. The first week features two challenging stages to Gran Sasso d'Italia and Fossombrone before ending with another individual time trial in Cesena.
In the second week, Stage 13 to Crans Montana will present a challenging summit test in the Swiss Alps. It also features the Cima Coppi prize of the 2023 edition in the form of the Colle del Gran San Bernardo.
The final week everal huge mountain stages including summit finishes at Monte Bondone and Tre Cime di Lavaredo, culminating with a horrendous looking mountain time trial to Monte Lussari, before the race heads to Rome for the finalé.
There are also flatter stages for sprinters and puncheurs, along with those days for the climbers and the time trial specialists.
Fausto Coppi, Alfredo Binda and Eddy Merckx all hold the record for most wins with five, with the most dominant rider of the modern era being Alberto Contador, who claimed the pink jersey thrice. Recent winners include Jai Hindley, Egan Bernal and Tao Geoghegan Hart.
How to watch the Giro d'Italia in Australia
Cycling fans in Australia get to watch the Giro d'Italia live stream, and plenty of other races, for free on SBS. You can head to the SBS On Demand streaming service and watch the action live as well as full stage replays.
They can also watch uninterrupted on GCN+. A monthly subscription will cost you $15.99AUD while a yearly subscription costs $64.99AUD.
How to watch a Giro d'Italia live stream from outside your country
If you’re abroad during 2023 Giro d'Italia, you might have a problem accessing your regular streaming service because of geo-blocking restrictions. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution.
Try a VPN, a piece of software which offers both online privacy and ability to change your IP address, meaning that you can access on-demand content or live TV like you would back at home while in another country. There are plenty of free VPNs but our sister site TechRadar recommends the paid ExpressVPN which it consistently rates as the best VPN provider.
Use a VPN to watch the 2023 Giro d'Italia from abroad:
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ExpressVPN offers online privacy and unblocks your usual streaming services from abroad. It has apps to use on phones, laptops, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox PlayStation, Android and Apple mobiles, and for more many devices.
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In the US, the Giro d'Italia will be aired live and in full by GCN+ with the same coverage also available via streaming on Discovery+. A subscription to GCN+ or Discovery+ will cost you $8.99 per month or £49.99 for a year.
How to watch the Giro d'Italia in the UK
In the UK you can buy a month-long pass to get access to the live streams of the Giro d'Italia available via the Eurosport player or Discovery+ website. Buying a pass costs just £6.99, although do remember that it will then auto renew at the same price each month unless you cancel.
However, you can also get a year-long pass for £59.99, which means a saving of £23.89.
If you’re based in the UK, you will be able to watch all of the live coverage from regular cycling broadcasters GCN+ and Discovery+ / Eurosport.
If you only want the cycling, and not the other things that Eurosport offers, you can get a GCN+ subscription at a cost of £39.99 for the year, or you can buy a race pass for £6.99 per month. A GCN+ account also means you'll then have access to both live and on demand race footage as well as long or short highlight streams and in-depth analysis. There is also a library full of documentaries on the sport for you to check out.
If you fancy Welsh language broadcasting, you also have the option of watching it on S4C on the TV or online, on S4C Clic. Useful if you're a Geraint Thomas fan.
If you happen to be out of the country when the race is on then you can just download a VPN and choose your location to watch live as if you are back at home. Setting up a VPN is simple – just download, install, open the app and select your location.
There are several VPN options out there, but we think going with Express VPN is the best.
ExpressVPN will also give you a 30-day money-back guarantee.
What time is the Giro d'Italia on?
UK coverage of the race will begin on GCN+ and Eurosport at about 11:00 BST every day. Highlights will be available later in the day. You'll notice that the race organiser loves to set a certain time for an estimated finish in the table below.
In the US coverage begins at about 7:00 EST every day. Replays are also available after the event.
You can find the full list of races that GCN will be broadcasting in the USA and around the world over on their helpful racing schedule.
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
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