2026 Tour de France

LIVE: Tour de France Stage 1 Free Stream In Canada; How To Watch

LIVE: Tour de France Stage 1 Free Stream In Canada; How To Watch

The Tour de France 2026 begins July 4, with a team time trial in Stage 1 kicking off the race. Here's how you can watch Stage 1 for free.

Jul 4, 2026 by Tobias Linkin
Tour 2026 Starts With A Massive Twist: TTT
Tour de France 2026 Starts With A Massive Twist: Team Time Trial6:15

The Tour de France 2026 is here, with Stage 1 of the race, the first opening team time trial since 1971, taking place July 4.

There are 21 stages in total, with action continuing through the month and ending in Paris on July 26.

Stage 1 starts in Barcelona, and is the first team trial at the TDF since 2019. The stage is a 19.6-kilometer jaunt around Barcelona that goes through many of the cities’ top tourist attractions. 

The Tour has never started in Barcelona before, with two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates ready for the biggest race of the year.

Here’s how to watch Stage 1 of the Tour de France live for free.

How To Watch The Tour de France 2026 Stage 1

Stage 1 of the Tour de France is live for free on the FloBikes YouTube for cycling fans.

For Canadian viewers, the rest of the Tour de France 2026 is streaming on FloBikes and the FloSports app.

Stage highlights, replays and more breaking news, including recaps and rider interviews, will be on both platforms. 

In the United States, the Tour de France will be on the NBC family of networks and will stream daily on Peacock. Select stages will air on local NBC affiliates, while others, plus stage reruns, will be shown on the USA Network. 

In February 2023, NBC Sports, Peacock and ASO announced a six-year deal that will keep NBC Sports as the home of the Tour de France in the United States through 2029.

Who Won Stage 1 Of The Tour de France In 2025?

Stage 1 of the Tour de France 2025 featured a start most would've found more familiar. It was in France, and the day belonged to the sprinters, specifically, Jasper Philipsen, whose Alpecin team used an old-school sprint train and teamwork to get the job done.

Philipsen took the first yellow jersey in the frantic sprint finish, edging Biniam Girmay, the African star who won three stages of the Tour de France 2024. It was the 10th TDF stage win of Philipsen's career.

Philipsen emerged from a group of about 40 riders ready to challenge in the sprint, but one of the day's many falls left quite a few riders out of contention. 

A high-speed fall of his own two days later in Stage 3 brought Philipsen's Tour de France 2026 to a premature ending. 

Watch the Tour de France 2025 Stage 1 Highlights.

When Does The Tour de France 2026 Start?

The Tour de France 2026 starts July 4 and will conclude July 26. 

The schedule includes 21 stages and two rest days (July 13 and July 20).

Every day, the cyclists start together. Every stage varies in distance and physical demand, and the characteristics of each stage determine what type of rider should excel or how the race should finish. 

For example, some stages feature flat finishes, and that means the sprinters likely will be battling for those stage wins.

The three weeks of racing across Barcelona and France will feature eight mountain stages, including five summit finishes, seven flat stages, four hilly days, an individual time trial and a team time trial to kick things off on July 4. 

How Long Is The Tour de France 2026?

The course for the Tour de France 2026 is 3,333 kilometers or just over 2,071 miles.

The race is 21 stages.

A map of the entire route can be found here.

What Is The Schedule For The Tour de France 2026?

  • Stage 1 (TTT) - July 4: Barcelone - Barcelone (19.6km)
  • Stage 2 - July 5: Tarragone - Barcelone (168.5km)
  • Stage 3 - July 6: Granollers - Les Angles (195.9km)
  • Stage 4 - July 7: Carcassonne - Foix (181.9km)
  • Stage 5 - July 8: Lannemezan - Pau (158.3km)
  • Stage 6 - July 9: Pau - Gavarnie-Gèdre (186.2km)
  • Stage 7 - July 10: Hagetmau - Bordeaux (175.1km)
  • Stage 8 - July 11: Périgueux - Bergerac (180.4km)
  • Stage 9 - July 12: Malemort - Ussel (185.5km)
  • Rest Day - July 13: Cantal
  • Stage 10 - July 14: Aurillac - Le Lioran (166.6km)
  • Stage 11 - July 15: Vichy - Nevers (161.3km)
  • Stage 12 - July 16: Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours - Chalon-sur-Saône (179.1km)
  • Stage 13 - July 17: Dole - Belfort (205.8km)
  • Stage 14 - July 18: Mulhouse - Le Markstein Fellering (155.3km)
  • Stage 15 - July 19: Champagnole - Plateau de Solaison (183.9km)
  • Rest Day - July 20: Haute-Savoie
  • Stage 16 (ITT) - July 21: Évian-les-Bains - Thonon-les-Bains (26.1km)
  • Stage 17 - July 22: Chambery - Voiron (174.7km)
  • Stage 18 - July 23: Voiron - Orcières-Merlette (185.2km)
  • Stage 19 - July 24: Gap - Alpe d'Huez (127.9km)
  • Stage 20 - July 25: Le Bourg d'Oisans - Alpe d'Huez (170.9km)
  • Stage 21 - July 26: Thoiry - Paris Champs-Élysées (133km)

Tour de France 2026 Starts With A Massive Twist: Team Time Trial

The Tour de France 2026 begins with one of the most important opening stages in years: a team time trial in Barcelona. 

We break down the history of the format, how the innovative rules work and why organizers first tested the concept before bringing it to the Tour de France. 

Learn how times are calculated, how riders can gain or lose crucial seconds and why this opening stage could immediately impact the battle between Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and the other GC contenders when the race begins on July 4.


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