For Canadians who want to watch Tour de France

VPN
1

This is a yearly reminder that FloBikes is a scam with a price of $150 USD (!?) to watch the Tour in Canada.

Your better options are:

  1. use a VPN and pay for a month of GCN+ (UK + others) - pay for account in CAD then use VPN. $10 CAD
  2. use a VPN and pay for a month of peacock (USA) - this one is a bit trickier because you’ll need a US payment method. $8 CAD

It’s pathetic that this is the route we’re forced to take, but don’t give the crooks at FloBikes a cent.

Edit: GCN not GSN, whoops!

2

There’s an even better option: Use a VPN and watch SBS OnDemand in Australia for FREE!

The commentators are seriously good, and the coverage is pretty much 100% of whatever the host broadcasters will send them.

3

How can it be 2023, the internet is fully developed, and we can’t watch the Tour in Canada?? It’s like we’re living in a dystopia.

4

Thanks! It makes me crazy after watching it on Canadian sports channels for twenty years and now we’re shut out.

5

Thanks for this - I was planning to use a VPN and watch the British feed on iTV - is it all GSN+ now?

6

french and italian tv broadcast the Tour for free, with the commentary, if you want.

7

Could use a VPN, and then get access to ITV in the UK… all stages get shown Live on ITV4 here for free.

8

GCN+ is the shit. Flobikes is just god awful, massively overpriced, will spoil the races (who the fuck decided that was a good idea?) etc…

9

Tiz cycling . Com mate

10

I’m watching day 1 on FloBikes YouTube channel for free. Not live, but the whole of day 1 coverage is there. I’m not fussed about watching live, so hope it keeps going this way.

11

I’ve been following the tour through tiz cycling since flobikes came in and made it prohibitive for Canadians to watch. Watching the tour is just as much of a competition as the tour itself!

Every year I’m pissed. I too watched when it was on OLN and you could watch it live, watch the shortened replay and watch it at night (which was great for after work)

I wanted to send a complaint the first year but didn’t.

I’m ready to complain now. I think it would go to the ASO? https://www.aso.fr/en/our-sports/cycling

[email protected]

The complaints:

1 - Digital only rights - why can’t there be TV rights given to a Canadian station as well?

2- Have to purchase a full year to Flobikes, even if you only want the one month. There is no one month option.

3- Canadians are charged $150 American dollars for a Canadian service.

Organizers and Flobikes has made it impossible for regular Canadians to watch the tour without trying to find ways to cheat the system.

Redditors, what would you add to the complaints? Would you also consider sending a complaint email to ASO?

I don’t know if it will help but being silent certainly will never help.

12

Protonvpn has a free vpn for Netherlands which you can use to watch the tour (and pretty much everything else)

13

I use Express VPN and GCN+. Live in the US. Could watch the Tour on Peacock for free, but I prefer the GCN presentation with The Breakaway pre and post. GCN+ has a much wider selection of races.

I don’t mind paying a subscription and supporting cycling coverage.

14

Thank you for this thread .

Flobikes is so frustrating!

15

In Canada for July. Just set up a vpn for peacock!
Oh what hoops we have to jump through!

16

GCN+ and Opera browser. There is a free vpn included in the browser and there you can choose the location, Netherlands works for Tour de France access.

17

It is free on YouTube

18

I’ve never used a VPN or gcn+ before. It looks like gcn+ has a subscription for Canadians, so why is a VPN needed?

19

The Tour De France starts on June 29, 2024. I’m wondering if it will be televised in Canada or will we have to resort to a VPN and the Australian broadcast?

20

Are there any pubs/bars in Toronto streaming the Tour? Father and I will be in town for the Indy race and would love to catch the last few stages