The UEC Road European Championships return to France in 2025, with the peloton battling for the white-and-blue jersey across the roads of the Drôme and Ardèche. From Wednesday, October 1, to Sunday, October 5, the event will deliver five packed days of racing, covering time trials and road races for Juniors, U23, and Elite riders, alongside the increasingly popular Team Time Trial Mixed Relay.
The start lists confirm the stature of the event. In the men’s races, Tadej Pogačar, fresh from defending his world title in Kigali, lines up as the rider to beat. Jonas Vingegaard, double Tour de France winner, and Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel are among his chief rivals. On the women’s side, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot carries home hopes after a golden 2024 Olympic Games and a dominant 2025 spring, while Demi Vollering, Elisa Longo Borghini, and Marlen Reusser will all have their eyes on European gold.
With the championships marking the tenth anniversary of the Elite category, first introduced in Plumelec in 2016, this edition feels especially significant. For fans, the question is simple: how to watch all the action unfold?
Photo Credit: Cor VosCan I watch the European Championships for free?
Italy remains the only major market where viewers can tune in without a subscription, with RAI showing the full programme live. Elsewhere, pay-TV and subscription services carry the rights.
Watching from abroad with a VPN
Geo-restrictions often block access when travelling outside your home country, but a VPN provides a straightforward solution. By adjusting your IP address, you can log into your usual streaming accounts securely from anywhere. This ensures uninterrupted access, while also improving general online privacy and security.
ExpressVPN is among the most trusted options for streaming sport, offering consistent speeds, robust security, and easy setup across devices.
Photo Credit: GettyWhere to watch the 2025 European Road Championships
- UK: Discovery+ via TNT Sports will cover the races live.
- USA: Coverage is available on HBO Max, priced at $16.99/month or $169.99/year.
- Canada: FloBikes holds the rights, with subscriptions at CA$39.99/month or $203.88/year.
- Australia: Stan Sport will broadcast every race, requiring the AU$20 sports add-on on top of the AU$12 base plan.
From start to finish, the 2025 edition looks set to be one of the most competitive yet. With nearly 900 riders representing 44 nations, the scale of the event underlines its growth into one of the major fixtures of the international calendar. Olympic champions, Grand Tour winners, and emerging stars will all vie for European glory on a course built to reward strength and tactical nous.
As UEC president Enrico Della Casa noted, returning to France to mark a decade of Elite championships carries symbolic weight. The crowds in Drôme and Ardèche will add their voice to that milestone, creating a stage worthy of the sport’s finest.
