SBS
Carries the 2024 Tour of Flanders in Australia
Belgium’s biggest and arguably toughest race of the UCI World Tour calendar is upon us, as the riders take on the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders this Saturday.
The men’s race follows a scenic 271-kilometer route between Antwerp and Oudenaarde that features 17 calf-shredding climbs.
The women’s race meanwhile includes 12 bergs, culminating with the grueling double whammy of Kwaremont and Paterberg’s ascents.
Highly fancied contender Wout van Aert misses the men’s race after sustaining injuries in a pile-up during Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen, while last year’s champ Tadej Pogacar has opted to skip the Ronde this year to focus on his preparations for the upcoming Giro d’Italia., leaving Mathieu van der Poel as the clear prerace favorite.
The women’s race could meanwhile see reigning world champion Lotte Kopecky aiming to win her third consecutive Flanders title.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the Tour of Flanders live wherever you are in the world.
Tour of Flanders 2024: Where and when is it?
The 2024 Tour of Flanders takes place on Saturday, March 30. The Men’s race starts at 10 a.m. CEST local time in Belgium, which is 9 a.m. GMT in the UK, 5 a.m. ET or 2 a.m. PT in the US and 8 p.m. AEDT in Australia.
The women’s race follows a little later at 1:25 p.m. CEST (2:25 p.m. GMT in the UK, 10:25 a.m. ET /7:25 a.m. PT in the US and 1:25 a.m. AEDT in Australia in the early hours of Sunday morning).
How to watch the Tour of Flanders 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.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, and you can sign up for ExpressVPN and save 35% — the equivalent of $8.32 a month — if you get an annual subscription.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream the Tour of Flanders 2024 in the US
US cycling fans can watch all the action live from Belgium via dedicated cycling streaming service FloBikes.
A subscription to FloBikes currently costs $150 per year, which works out at $12.50 per month. The service has dedicated apps for Android and Apple devices.
Livestream the Tour of Flanders 2024 in the UK
Viewers in the UK will need to subscribe to Eurosport or the streaming service Discovery Plus to watch this year’s action from Belgium live.
A subscription to Discovery Plus in the UK costs £7 per month or £60 for the year.
The service is available on a wide array of devices, and also includes access to all Eurosport TV channels.
Stream the Tour of Flanders 2024 in Australia for free
It’s good news for cycling fans Down Under, with the 2024 Tour of Flanders set to be broadcast for free in Australia on SBS.
Viewers can livestream Tour of Flanders coverage on the free-to-use SBS On Demand service.
The platform has dedicated apps for Android and iOS, and you can also access the service on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV stick, Apple TV and most smart TVs.
Stream Tour of Flanders 2024 in Canada
As with the US, dedicated cycling streaming service FloBikes is the place to watch live coverage of this year’s race in Canada.
A subscription to FloBikes currently costs $150 per year (roughly CA$190), which works out at $12.50 per month (roughly CA$16). The service has dedicated apps for Android and Apple devices.
Quick tips for streaming Tour of Flanders 2024 using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming the Tour of Flanders 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.
Source: CNET
