How to watch Tour de France: live stream stages 16, 17…

How to watch Tour de France: live stream stages 16, 17 and 18

King of the Mountains Neilson Powless rides through the Alps

Watch Tour de France Stages 16, 17 and 18 live streams

Stages 16, 17 and 18 live stream: preview

After three days of mountain climbing it’s time to switch disciplines to the time trial, the ‘Race of Truth’. Stage 16 is the only time trial of the whole race which is why most of the world’s best time trialists have given this year’s event a miss.

The route is a very short and intense 22km from Passy to Combloux finishing off with almost 8km uphill, including 2.5km at close to 10%. This finale could be hard enough to see riders starting on a time trial bike with disc wheel and aero bars and then swapping to a lighter standard bike for the finish, whatever they choose it’s another huge day for those fighting for the overall.

Stage 17 and it’s out of the frying pan and straight back into the fire with yet another giant mountain stage crossing the Col des Saisies, the gorgeous Cormet de Roselend and finishing in the ski town of Courchevel.

Before reaching Courchevel, though, the race has to cross the summit of the gargantuan 28km Cote de la Loze. Peaking at 2,304m, the summit is the high point of this year’s race and where the ‘Souvenir Henri Desgrange’ is awarded to the first rider over the top. The finish line isn’t though on top of the mountain but 6km down the other side, so expect a breathless descent to decide the winner.

Stage 18 and "thank heavens" say the sprinters as the race finally returns to the flat land so those who have survived get a chance to return to the front of the race rather than just trying to survive at the back.

Travelling from Moutiers to Bourg-en-Bresse, this transition stage takes the race towards the final phase and another step towards Paris. There is zero chance of a break away escaping far up the road as the sprinters teams will do everything in their power to control the pace right from the start.

The battle intensifies, then, with a time trial, a mountain stage and then something for the sprinters. You'd be mad not to tune in.

Below we've everything you need on how to watch the Tour de France 2023 from anywhere.

How to watch a FREE Tour de France live stream

One of the best things about the Tour de France is that it's completely free to watch in lots of countries around the world. For example:

UK – ITV4 and ITVX streaming service / S4C and S4C on BBC iPlayer

France – France TV Sport

Belgium – RTBF

Italy – Rai Sport

Australia – SBS

If you're from any of the countries listed above but you're abroad right now, don't worry about missing out on that free coverage. All you need to do is subscribe to a VPN to watch a free Tour de France live stream and re-connect to your home streaming coverage.

How to watch Tour de France 2023 from outside your country

If you're keen to watch the Tour de France but you're away from home and the coverage is geo-blocked, then you could always use a VPN to access it (assuming you're not breaching any broadcaster T&Cs, of course). You may be surprised by how simple it is to do.

Use a VPN to get a Tour de France live stream from anywhere.

Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...

1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN.

2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location.

3. Go to the broadcaster's live stream - so if you're from the UK, just head to ITVX and watch the cycling as if you were back at home!