Tour de France stage 5, 6 and 7 dates: July 5, 6, 7
Live streams: ITVX / S4C (UK)| GCN+ (UK) | SBS On Demand (AUS) | Peacock / USA Networks ($ USA) | FloBikes (CAN $) | Sky Sport (NZ $)
Use ExpressVPN to watch any stream
Race preview
After four stages and an unusually demanding start to the Tour de France in the Basque Country, the race heads into the high mountains on stage 5 and stage 6 before the sprinters will have another chance on stage 7 to Bordeaux.
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) holds a slim lead of just six seconds ahead of teammate Tadej Pogačar and Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) while defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) lies in 6th place at 17 seconds.
Things will undoubtedly shift dramatically as the overall contenders face the highest peak of this year's Tour de France, the Col du Tourmalet, on stage 6.
Stage 5 starts in Pau and gives the riders a gentle warm-up before hitting the first high mountain after 70 kilometres of racing. Technically two summits, the Col de Suscousse and the Col de Soudet combine for 15.2 kilometres of climbing at an average gradient of 7.2%.
A shorter but equally tough category 3 climb, the Col d'Ichère precedes the Col de Marie Blanque - a 7.7 kilometre climb averaging a punishing 8.6% - coming just 18km before the finish in Lauruns.
Stage 6 is even harder despite its shorter 144.9 kilometre length. The riders summit the Col d'Aspin (12km at 6.5%) after 68.1km, have a quick descent before the long haul over Col du Tourmalet and a summit finish at Cauterets-Cambasque (16km at 5.4%).
This mid-week duo of stages will have more fireworks than the 4th of July. See the entire 2023 Tour de France route for what's coming next and see if you agree with our list of Tour de France contenders.
Cyclingnews will be bringing you full reports, results, news, interviews, and analysis throughout the race. Read on to find out how to watch the 2023 Tour de France via free live streams, no matter your location. Use ExpressVPN to watch your usual stream from anywhere in the world, or one of the other highly-recommended VPN services below.
Check out our full live streaming guide, check out our comprehensive Tour de France guide, the Tour de France route, plus the Tour de France start list information powered by FirstCycling.
How to watch the Tour de France
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NBC hold the broadcasting rights for the Tour de France in the USA. The race will be broadcast live on NBC, as well as the network's streaming service, Peacock TV.
FloBikes will air the Tour de France in Canada. An annual subscription will set you back $12.99/month.
Viewers in the USA can watch the Tour live via the network, while highlights and on-demand streams will also be available.
In the UK, the Tour de France will be aired free to air on TV via Eurosport, ITV4, and Welsh-language channel S4C. Live coverage and highlights are all available.
The Tour will also be aired live and in full by GCN+ in the UK, with the same coverage also available via streaming on Discovery+ and on Eurosport's TV channel. Discovery+ is available for Sky Glass, Sky Q, and Sky Stream customers for no extra cost.
In Australia, national broadcaster SBS will carry live Tour de France coverage.
For a local feel and full French-language coverage of the race, head to France TV Around Europe, broadcasters include ARD in Germany, Sporza and RTBF in Belgium, Rai in Italy, and RTVE in Spain.
Best VPN for streaming the Tour de France
Geo-restrictions are the bane of cycling fans because they can prevent you from watching the Tour de France using your live streaming accounts if you are outside of your home country.
While you can always follow Cyclingnews for all the live coverage you can access your geo-blocked live streaming services by simulating being in your home country with a VPN - a 'virtual private network'.
Our experts have thoroughly tested VPNs for live streaming sports and recommend ExpressVPN. The service lets you to watch the race live on various devices – Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, iPads, tablets, etc.
There are a couple other very good options that are safe, reliable and offer good bandwidth for streaming sports. Check out the best two options below - NordVPN and the best budget option, Surfshark.
*Live television and streaming, as well as Cyclingnews' live coverage, always covers start to finish.