Free-to-air coverage confirmed for Tour of Britain Men and Women

There will be live free-to-air coverage of both the men's and women's Lloyds Tours of Britain this year, race organiser British Cycling has confirmed.

Both events will be shown free of charge on the Tour of Britain YouTube channel, while the men's race, scheduled for 2-6 September, will also be broadcast live on ITV.

Highlights of both events will be available daily on ITV4 and online on ITVX, marking a return for cycling to the channel after it stopped showing the Tour de France this year.

Both Tours of Britain will also be shown live on the paid-for TNT Sports channel and its subscription platform HBO Max.

The free-to-air option comes as part of a "strategic partnership" between ITV and TNT Sports, British Cycling explained in a press release, as the organiser aims to draw its largest audiences ever to the races.

"The expanded coverage increases visibility for riders, teams host locations and partners, and further strengthens the Lloyds Tour of Britain as one of the UK’s leading sporting properties," said Darren Henry, managing director of British Cycling Ventures.

"We want to bring the UK’s premier cycling races to as many people as possible, so we are thrilled to be giving fans more ways to experience the joy of cycling whether they are in their homes, on the move or on catch-up, whenever is convenient."

This year marked the first in four decades that the Tour was not shown on free-to-air television in the UK, after ITV dropped the broadcasting rights.

The channel has committed to providing a "full broadcast package" of the Tour of Britain Men, said its director of sport Niall Sloane, as it has done for the last few editions.

"ITV Sport's impressive year of free-to-air sport continues this autumn as we broadcast the 2026 Lloyds Tour of Britain Women and Men across ITV and ITVX," Sloane said.

It is unknown why the Tour of Britain Women, which starts this Wednesday in Cockermouth and ends in Royal Leamington Spa on Sunday 23 August, has not been selected for live broadcasting on ITV.

This year, tmen's race has been reduced from six to five stages, and the women's race increased from four to five, in order to establish parity.

The Tour of Britain Men is set to begin in Lincoln on 2 September, and will finish in Earlston in the Scottish Borders on 6 September.