Live stream the British Road National Championship 2021: How to watch the fights for the prestigious jerseys

The races take place around the city of Lincoln for the 2021 edition after over two years of waiting

Ben Swift in his national champions jersey
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The British Road National Championships are back after over two years of waiting due to complications around the Covid-19 pandemic - here's how you can live stream the racing. 

Over the past two years it has been the winners of the National Championships in 2019 who have worn the famous white jersey with the red and blue hoops.

Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) and Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) hold the titles in the road race and time trial jerseys respectively for the men, with Alice Barnes (Canyon-SRAM) holding both jerseys in the women's peloton.

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British Cycling announced that the races, that include some of the biggest names in British cycling including Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Anna Henderson (Jumbo-Visma), Chris Froome (Israel Start-Up Nation), Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and many more, will be televised from start to finish. 

Jonathan Day, British Cycling Head of Sport and Major Events, said: "We’re delighted to be able to offer extensive coverage of next week’s championships to fans across the country, highlighting our determination to raise the profile of our major domestic events and showcase the unique thrills of time-trial, circuit and road racing."

The road and circuit races will also be taking on sections of cobbles around the city made famous by the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix with the multiple ascents of the climb of Michaelgate.

The races kick off with the time trials on Thursday, October 3 with the road races happening on Sunday, October 17, the circuit races taking place the day prior.

LIVE STREAM THE BRITISH ROAD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2021 IN THE UK

GCN+ and Eurosport Player - Start to finish coverage live online for the sister sites on the road races and circuit races, with highlights of the time trials also available. 

British Cycling YouTube - Live streams of the races, aside from the time trial will be available for people in the UK only with live updates for the time trials on the BC website and social media.

ITV4 - Full highlights of all the races will be shown on the free-to-view TV channel in the evenings.

No live coverage of the time trials.

The coverage for all of the above will be presented by Matt Barbet with commentary from Matt Stephens along with Hannah Walker and Adam Blythe.

If you’re not in the UK and want access to ITV4, GCN+ or Eurosport Player but still want to watch the races, No worries – you can just download and install a VPN and use location inside the United Kingdom to watch the broadcast live as if you were back home. Full instructions below.

HOW TO LIVE STREAM THE BRITISH ROAD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2021 FROM OUTSIDE THE UK

If you're going to be out of the UK during the national championships, access can be restricted, this is the case for the live YouTube stream.

Luckily there is a way you can keep watching anyway – downloading and installing a VPN, which allows you to trick your computer into thinking it’s back at home. This allows you to find your native broadcaster coverage without having to resort to an illegal stream, as long as you stick to the terms and conditions set out by the broadcaster.

Setting up a VPN is simple – just download, install, open the app and select your location.

Try out ExpressVPN  for its speed, security and simplicity to use. We also like that it’s compatible with so many devices and streaming services (e.g. Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Xbox, PS4, etc).

There are other great options out there of course, but Express VPN gives you the added benefit of a 30-day money back guarantee and three months free with a yearly plan. 

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Tim Bonville-Ginn

Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!


I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.


It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.


After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.


When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.


My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.