La Vuelta a España begins on Saturday, August 22, with a 9.4km individual time trial in Monaco. Here’s our route preview, as well as how to watch the race live, wherever you are, and our interactive viewing guide showing key tune-in times for all 21 stages.
La Vuelta will be broadcast by HBO Max and on TV via TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland and Eurosport across most of Europe. In the United States, NBC will be showing each stage via Peacock. There are also several broadcasters showing the race for free in their host countries (details below).
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) is the superstar favourite to win the red jersey, complete his set of Grand Tour victories and become the ninth rider to do so. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) will try to stop the world champion from dominating, but realistically second place may be the best he can hope for. Carapaz also faces strong challengers including Felix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM), Oscar Onley (Netcompany-Ineos) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek).
Stage-by-stage guide
The race serves up its usual three brutal weeks, with more than 58,000 metres of climbing across six mountain stages, four medium mountain stages and five hilly stages, one of which has an uphill finish. There are just four flat stages, alongside two time trials and two rest days.
Stage 1 in Monaco is short, but its 9.4km course can immediately open gaps and force riders like Gall, who will surely lose time to his rivals, to go big when the early climbs arrive. While stages 2 and 3 are by no means easy, stage 4 in Andorra is a snappy day in the Pyrenees: just under 105km, with four categorised climbs. The Port d’Envalira comes immediately after the start and should explode the peloton into bits from the word go. With the Coll d’Ordino also on the route, this could be Pogačar's first stage win, or maybe his fourth.
The rest of week one is almost unfairly hard. Stages that could have been flat or undulating feature a whacking great climb close to the finish, just to ensure the race splits up and the sprinters don’t get a clear chance. They should play more into the breakaway’s hands, with the GC gaps likely to be yawning by this point. The focus is on stage 9 and the Alto de Aitana. The 22km climb averages 5.8% but kicks above 14% in places, which should create further splits.
Into week two the stages are ever so slightly ‘easier’ but do still have plenty of climbing with stage 12 being another key focus point with the 166.6km route to Calar Alto. This is a tricky stage to manage with the 13km Alto de Velefique Desnivel with kicks of 16% coming just before the final ascent of the Calar Alto, a climb that is 17km long, starting steep with 13% gradients not uncommon. But halfway up it almost completely flattens out to a small 12% kicker close to the finish, a perfect launchpad for any attacks.
After a day that should suit the sprinters, it is back to climbing on stage 14 with a summit finish on Sierra de La Pandera which is 12km with an average gradient of 7.2%, maxing out around 15% along the way. Stage 18 is the next big GC test but, this time, it is a test against the clock rather than the mountains with a 32km individual time trial.
This will see riders who have fought hard for their gaps in the GC try and limit their losses to more gifted riders against the clock from El Puerto de Santa María to the beautiful Andalusian town of Jerez, a place famed for its sherry wine and being the centre for Flamenco dancing.
A day later and it is back to brutal climbing again with the stage leaving Vélez and through the city of Málaga to the really rather horrible climb of Peñas Blancas from Estepona. The 18.7km climb has an average gradient of 6.5% but at its maximum it hits around 20%.
Stage 20 takes the difficulty further with multiple climbs in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada dipping into Granada before taking on three category one climbs with a summit finish on a ‘especial’ climb of the Collado del Alguacil, 8km at 9.8% maxing around 20% on very narrow and twisty roads.
The final stage in Granada itself is not easy, either. The riders have to tackle four ascents up to the grounds of the Alhambra palace, Nazaríes Palace and the Generalife gardens before plunging back into the city and a finish on the Paseo del Salón to bring the racing to a close. It isn’t unlikely that we shall see Pogačar taking three of the four jerseys on the final podium.
How to watch La Vuelta a España 2026
UK viewers can watch every stage live through TNT Sports, with direct HBO Max access reported being from £25.99 per month. Certain Sky, EE and Virgin Media packages also offer TNT Sports as an add-on. Channel 5 has free daily highlights, but its coverage is not a live alternative.
How to watch
| Region | Broadcaster | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Australia | SBS and SBS On Demand | Free | All 21 stages live on SBS and SBS On Demand. A free account and Australian postcode are required for streaming. |
Spain | RTVE, Teledeporte and RTVE Play | Free | Every stage live on Teledeporte and RTVE Play, with selected finishes on La 1 or La 2. |
United Kingdom | TNT Sports and HBO Max | £25.99/month | Every stage live through TNT Sports. Channel 5 provides free highlights, but not live coverage. |
United States | NBC Sports and Peacock | From US$12.99/month | Every stage live. The US$19.99 monthly plan includes ad-free live content. |
Canada | FloBikes and FloSports | CA$49.99/month | Every stage live and on demand through FloBikes and the FloSports app. |
Belgium | EBU member broadcaster, outlet not specified | Free | The EBU agreement confirms free-to-air availability, but the individual broadcaster and extent of coverage are not specified. |
France | EBU and Warner Bros Discovery outlets | Price not confirmed | La Vuelta is included in the EBU agreement for France, while Warner Bros Discovery also holds European rights. Check local schedules. |
Netherlands | EBU member broadcaster and Warner Bros Discovery | Free | Whole or part of the rights package is available free-to-air. The individual outlet and subscription pricing are not specified. |
Italy | EBU member broadcaster and Warner Bros Discovery | Free | Whole or part of the rights package is available free-to-air. Check the local broadcaster schedule for live-stage availability. |
Peacock carries every stage live in the United States, with subscriptions starting at US$12.99 per month. Canadian viewers need FloBikes or the FloSports app, priced at CA$49.99 per month.
Other official regional broadcasters include Abu Dhabi Sports in the Middle East and North Africa, SuperSport in Sub-Saharan Africa, beIN Sports Asia in Southeast Asia and Zhibo TV in China.
J Sports has the Japanese rights, Sky Sport covers New Zealand, ESPN serves Latin America and the Caribbean, while both Caracol TV and Canal RCN are listed for Colombia.
Free streams and watching while travelling
Australia offers a free English-language option. SBS will show all 21 stages live on television and through SBS On Demand, which also carries replays and shorter race packages.
Spain also has complete free coverage. RTVE will broadcast every stage on Teledeporte and RTVE Play, while finishes will appear on either La 1 or La 2. RTVE Play offers six selectable camera feeds sourced from race motorcycles and helicopters.
An EBU agreement running through 2030 provides whole or partial free-to-air coverage in Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland. The agreement does not identify every national channel or guarantee that each broadcaster will carry every stage live, so local schedules should be checked before the start.
Broadcasters commonly restrict streaming to viewers inside their licensed territory. Travellers can use a VPN to make a secure connection to their usual home service, provided they retain a valid account and comply with the platform’s terms and local rules.
To watch an existing home service while abroad:
- Install NordVPN on the device used for streaming.
- Connect to a server in the country where the viewer normally lives.
- Open the usual official broadcaster’s website or app.
- Sign in with the existing free or paid account and select La Vuelta coverage.
A VPN does not replace a broadcast subscription, and access is not guaranteed because individual services apply their own location and account rules. It should only be used to reach legitimate home coverage while travelling, rather than to bypass territorial rights.
