Giro d'Italia 2024: How to Watch a UCI World Tour Cycling Livestream for Free - CNET

The battle for the maglia rosa begins this weekend, as the world's best riders take on the 107th edition of the Giro d'Italia. 

The first of the three Grand Tours in 2024, this year's event sees two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar make his debut in the race for UAE Team Emirates.

The Slovenian star is marked out as favorite to win with the bookies, with strong competition set to come from last year's runner-up Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) over the course of the 21-stage event. 

Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the Giro d'Italia live wherever you are in the world.

Tim de Waele/Getty Images

Giro d'Italia 2024: Where and when is it?

The 2024 Giro d'Italia begins with Stage 1 in Torino on Saturday, May 4, and climaxes with a passage through Rome on Sunday, May 26. 

A full schedule for this year's event can be found further down.

How to watch the Giro d'Italia 2024 online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the race locally, you may need a different way to watch -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to what you want to watch. If your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this. 

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions. 

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Livestream the Giro d'Italia 2024 in the US

US cycling fans can watch all the action live via Max and its B/R Sports add-on.

Livestream Giro d'Italia 2024 in the UK 

Viewers in the UK can watch this year's event for free on terrestrial broadcaster S4C's website or via iPlayer, however that coverage will be in Welsh. For live English language coverage of this year's race, you'll need to be a subscriber to Eurosport or the streaming service Discovery Plus to watch this year's action live.

Stream Giro d'Italia 2024 in Australia for free

It's good news for cycling fans Down Under, with the 2024 Giro d'Italia set to be broadcast for free in Australia on SBS.

Stream Giro d'Italia 2024 in Canada

Dedicated cycling streaming service FloBikes is the place to watch live coverage of this year's race in Canada.

Giro d'Italia 2024: Stages and full schedule

• Stage 1: Sunday, May 4 - Venaria Reale to Torino (1 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 12 p.m. BST in the UK, 7 a.m. ET / 4 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 9 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 2: Sunday, May 5 - San Francesco al Campo to Santuario di Oropa (Biella) (3:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 3: Monday, May 6 - Novara to Fossano (3:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 4: Tuesday, May 7 - Acqui Terme to Andora (3 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2 p.m. BST in the UK, 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 11 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 5: Wednesday, May 8 - Genova to Lucca (3 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2 p.m. BST in the UK, 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 11 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 6: Thursday, May 9 - Viareggio to Rapolano Terme (3:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 7: Friday, May 10 - Foligno to Perugia (3:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 8: Sunday, May 11 - Spoleto to Pri di Tivo (3 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2 p.m. BST in the UK, 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 11 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 9: Sunday, May 12 - Avezzano to Napoli (2:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 1:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 5:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 12:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 10: Tuesday, May 14 - Pompeii to Cusano Mutri (3:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 11: Wednesday, May 15 - Foiano di Val Fortore to Francavilla al Mare (2:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 1:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 5:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 12:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 12: Thursday, May 16 - Martinsicuro to Fano (3 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2 p.m. BST in the UK, 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 11 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 13: Friday, May 17 - Riccione to Cento (3:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 14: Sunday, May 18 - Castiglione delle Stiviere to Desenzano del Garda (3:45 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:45 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:45 a.m. ET / 3:45 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:45 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 15: Sunday, May 19 - Manerba del Garda to Livigno (9:45 a.m. CET local time in Italy, 8:45 a.m. BST in the UK, 3:45 a.m. ET / 12:45 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 5:45 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 16: Tuesday, May 21 - Livigno to Santa Cristina Valgardena (11 a.m. CET local time in Italy, 10 a.m. BST in the UK, 5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 7 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 17: Wednesday, May 22 - Selva di Val Gardena to Passo del Brocon (3 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2 p.m. BST in the UK, 6 a.m. ET / 3 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 11 p.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 18: Thursday, May 23 - Fiera di Primiero to Padova (3:45 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:45 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:45 a.m. ET / 3:45 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:45 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 19: Friday, May 24 - Mortegliano to Sappada (3:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 6:30 a.m. ET / 3:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 1:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 20: Sunday, May 25 - Alpago to Bassano del Grappa (2:30 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 1:30 p.m. BST in the UK, 5:30 a.m. ET / 2:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 12:30 a.m. AEST in Australia).

• Stage 21: Sunday, May 26 - Rome (3 p.m. CET local time in Italy, 2 p.m. BST in the UK, 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 11 p.m. AEST in Australia). 

Quick tips for streaming Giro d'Italia 2024 using a VPN 

With four variables at play -- your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN -- your experience and success when streaming the 2024 Giro d'Italia live may vary. If you don't see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the "search for city or country" option. If you're having trouble after you've turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs -- like Roku -- don't have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you'll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you're using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location. All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network's sports app, you'll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.  And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you're using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.