Written by Harry Turnbull
The Tour de France kicks off on in Spain on Saturday as the world’s greatest bike race continues the recent tradition of holding the grand departure in other countries.
It just builds anticipation for UK fans as the 2027 edition is coming to Britain with stages from Edinburgh to Carlisle, Keswick to Liverpool and Welshpool to Cardiff.
Armchair watchers who feared the worst after ITV withdrew from covering the race can now see highlights every evening on free-to-air TV. Channel 5 and TNT sports has agreed a multi-year partnership for the former to show Tour and other major events.
Coverage begins this summer with highlights from the Grand Départ in Barcelona on 4 July. The daily highlights programme will air at 7pm and will be hosted by presenter Rebecca Charlton.
Charlton said:
“It’s fantastic news that the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana will return to terrestrial television with highlights on 5 this summer.
“It’s an absolute dream to have the opportunity to bring the racing to life for all of the cycling fans out there as well as guiding some new viewers along for the ride. We’ll be bringing highlights of all of the action as well as telling the stories around the racing and I for one, cannot wait.”
5’s deals with TNT Sports run until the end of 2028 for the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, while it has the Giro d’Italia until at least 2029. The pair came to an agreement after a competitive tender process.
Reemah Sakaan, president of 5, said:
“The Grand Tours are the most prestigious cycling events in the world, watched and adored by millions, and we are delighted that 5 will be their new free-to-air home in the UK. Our daily highlights show for the Tour de France will be available to everyone at 7pm each evening this July and we’ll also have daily highlights through both the Vuelta a Espana and the Giro d’Italia for the next three years, plus next year we’ll have live coverage of the Tour de France’s historic return to the UK.
“The Tour de France kicks off an incredible summer of sport on 5, adding to the rapidly expanding range of premium sport we have for people to watch, including the best of the action from the Commonwealth Games this summer. This new deal with TNT Sports reflects our long-term commitment to bringing brilliant coverage of the world’s best sporting events to millions of viewers and providing access to premium audiences for advertisers.”
In addition to highlights, for the 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Grand Depart, which will take place across the UK, 5 will show the action live.
About the author
Harry Turnbull is an experienced journalist based in the north who has held a variety of reporting and editing roles in the media. He also writes a reviews column for the UK’s biggest archive of BBC radio dramas.
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