Cycling’s signature event is nearly here, with the start of the 2026 Tour de France just days away.<\/p>\n
With the spring classics, the Giro d’Italia and several one-week tours already in the books, July will as always put the focus squarely on the race for the most coveted jersey in the sport.\u00a0The grueling three-week test begins in Spain this year before winding to its conclusion on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar enters this year’s Tour as the favorite as he goes for his fifth win overall. If he can add another yellow jersey to those he won the last two years and in 2020 and 2021, the Slovenian would join the ranks of the Tour legends with five to their name: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
His top challenger figures to be the man who interrupted his run with wins in 2022 and 2023, Jonas Vingegaard. The Danish star wrapped up his first Giro title about a month ago, making him the eighth rider to win all three grand tours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those two will be in the spotlight from the beginning at this year’s Tour. Here’s everything you need to know about when and where to tune in to all the action from the beginning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When does Tour de France 2026 start?\u00a0Start date: Sunday, July 6Stage 1 start time: 12:55\u00a0a.m. AEST<\/p>\n
This year’s Tour de France will roll out Saturday, July 4 with a rare opening team time trial, the first on Stage 1 since 1971. Coverage in Australia will begin at 12:55 a.m. AEST, with the first team set to begin racing at 1:05 a.m. AEST<\/p>\n
Where is Tour de France Stage 1 in 2026?<\/p>\n
The Tour de France will begin in neighboring Spain for the third time, with Barcelona hosting the first two stages. Bilbao (2023) and San Sebastian (1992) previously served as the Grand Depart site.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The team time trial for Stage 1 will be the first at the Tour since 2019 but will feature a new format. Though a team ultimately will be declared the stage winner, riders will be given individual times based on their finish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where to watch Tour de France 2026TV channel:\u00a0SBSLive stream:\u00a0SBS On Demand<\/p>\n
Cycling fans can watch every stage of the 2026 Tour de France live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand.<\/p>\n
SBS and SBS On Demand are also the exclusive 2026 FIFA World Cup broadcaster in Australia.<\/p>\n
Tour de France 2026 schedule<\/p>\n
The Tour de France will consist of 21 stages, with two rest days built in. Start times listed below are when coverage begins. SBS’ coverage listed below is live.<\/p>\n
Tour de France 2026 Australian Broadcast Schedule (AEST)StageAU DateLocation (Type)LengthBroadcast Time (AEST)Watch (AU)1Sun, July 5Barcelona (Team time trial)19.7 km12:55 AM (Sat night\/Sun morning)SBS \/ SBS On Demand2Sun, July 5Tarragona to Barcelona (Hilly)178 km9:05 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand3Mon, July 6Granollers to Les Angles (Mountain)196 km8:00 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand4Tue, July 7Carcassonne to Foix (Hilly)182 km9:00 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand5Wed, July 8Lannemezan to Pau (Flat)158 km9:55 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand6Thu, July 9Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre (Mountain)186 km8:15 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand7Fri, July 10Hagetmau to Bordeaux (Flat)175 km9:05 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand8Sat, July 11Perigueux to Bergerac (Flat)182 km9:00 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand9Sun, July 12Malemort to Ussel (Hilly)185 km9:20 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand\u2014Mon, July 13Rest day at Cantal\u2014\u2014\u201410Tue, July 14Aurillac to Le Lioran (Mountain)167 km9:00 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand11Wed, July 15Vichy to Nevers (Flat)161 km9:40 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand12Thu, July 16Magny-Cours to Chalon-sur-Saone (Flat)181 km9:20 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand13Fri, July 17Dole to Belfort (Hilly)205 km8:50 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand14Sat, July 18Mulhouse to Le Markstein Fellering (Mountain)155 km9:00 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand15Sun, July 19Champagnole to Plateau de Solaison (Mountain)184 km9:00 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand\u2014Mon, July 20Rest day at Haute-Savoie\u2014\u2014\u201416Tue, July 21Evian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains (ITT)26 km8:50 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand17Wed, July 22Chambery to Voiron (Flat)175 km9:10 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand18Thu, July 23Voiron to Orcieres-Merlette (Mountain)185 km8:25 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand19Fri, July 24Gap to Alpe d’Huez (Mountain)128 km9:50 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand20Sat, July 25Le Bourg-d’Oisans to Alpe d’Huez (Mountain)171 km7:35 PMSBS \/ SBS On Demand21Mon, July 27Thoiry to Paris (Flat)130 km12:05 AM (Sun night\/Mon morning)SBS \/ SBS On Demand<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cycling’s signature event is nearly here, with the start of the 2026 Tour de France just days away.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-773498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}