Stage 1 of Tour de France 2025 is finally here and the conditions are set fair for a bunch sprint to mark Le Grand Départ with an early win. Expect the sprinters to dominate, but you never know what might happen in Le Tour.
Read on and we'll show you how to watch Stage 1 of the Tour de France 2025 live streams from anywhere with a VPN, and potentially for FREE.
Tour de France 2025 Stage 1 live streams take place on Saturday, July 5.
► Stream start: 11:45 a.m. BST / 6:45 a.m. ET / 3:45 a.m. PT / 8:45 p.m. AEST
• FREE STREAMS — Watch on ITVX (UK) SBS (Australia)
• U.S. — Watch on NBC via Sling
• Canada — Watch on FloBikes
• U.K. — Watch on Discovery+
• Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN (100% risk-free)
The Grand Départ is back in France for the first time since 2021 and looks set to be a battle of the sprinters. The cyclists will be in the saddle for 184.9 km in a loop that starts and finishes in Lille in Northern France.
It'll be relatively flat, with just three category four climbs over the course of the clockwise circuit. Sprint demons Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Jonathan will be licking their lips at bagging the stage victory and pulling on that iconic yellow alternative, one of the few realistic chances they'll get to do so. They'll have to be careful when the race returns to Lille for the finish, though, with plenty of 90-degree corners to contend with and positioning absolutely vital.
For race favorites Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, it's all about staying upright and remaining in the peloton.
Read on for where to watch Tour de France 2025 and live coverage of a whole month of top cycling action, wherever you are in the world.
FREE Tour de France 2025 Stage 1 live streams
If you live in the UK, Australia, Italy, Belgium or France then you can look forward to a FREE Stage 1 Tour de France live stream in 2025.
The UK's ITV ITVX and Australia’s SBS are set to serve up free streams of stage one as is Italy's Rai , Belgium's RTBF and France's France.TV
But what if you’re on holiday during the opening stage and can't access your usual Tour de France live stream. Don't worry — you can watch via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.
Tour de France 2025 Stage 1 live streams around the world
Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the cycling on your usual subscription?
You can still watch the Tour de France 2025 live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software allows your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market:
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to ITVX, or another streaming service, and watch the action.
Watch 2025 Tour de France Stage 1 live streams in the U.S.
Cycling fans in the U.S. can watch the 2025 Tour de France on Peacock who will have all 21 stages, including Stage 1. (from $7.99 per month or $79.99 annual).
NBC will also join for live coverage of Stages 1 and 20. You can access NBC via SlingTV as explained earlier.
Traveling outside the U.S. but still want to watch all the stages? Don't forget to explore NordVPN set out above.
Watch Stage 1 Tour de France 2025 live streams in the U.K.
Cycling fans in the U.K. can watch the 2025 Tour de France Stage 1 live for FREE on ITVX via the ITV4 channel.
ITV4 is a free-to-air channel in the U.K., though it requires a TV licence, an account and a UK postcode (e.g. SW1A 0AA) to watch content live on ITVX.
Alternatively, you can catch all the action on TNT Sports. To access the race you'll either need to add TNT Sports to your TV package, or you can take out a standalone subscription via Discovery+ which will set you back £30.99 per month, though BT Broadband customers can get a discounted rate.
Brits traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch the TdF free on ITVX from abroad.
How to watch Tour de France 2025 Stage 1 live streams in Canada
FloBikes will be showing every stage of the Tour de France 2025, including stage one.
Note, only Canadian customers get access – the U.S. arm of FloBikes doesn't have the rights to the 2025 Tour de France.
UK resident visiting the Great White North? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in the UK so you can watch ITV's Tour de France stream for free.
How to watch Tour de France 2025 Stage 1 live streams in Australia
In a similar vein to the U.K., Australian residents will be able to watch all stages of the Tour de France for free, including Stage 1.
SBS on Demand will be your home for the race and you can sign in right now via Google, Facebook or Apple accounts. Simply provide your birth year and gender and watch for free!
Outside Oz during the Tour? You can still catch the action by using NordVPN.
Tour de France Stage 1 Profile
Stage 1 promises to be a real chance for the sprinters and Biniam Girmay, Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier will be some of the hot favorites for Saturday.
Alexander Kristoff in 2020 was the last sprinter to pull on the yellow jersey following the Grand Depart in Nice.
- How to watch F1 live streams online
- How to watch Tour de France on ITVX (it's free)
- The best VPN's in 2025
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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