How to watch the Cyclocross World Championships 2025 — live stream cycling online
Liévin, France plays host to the world's best cyclocross riders as they fight for the right to wear the rainbow bands for the coming 12 months.
With the season-long World Cup series wrapped up it's time for the big one, the Cyclocross World Championships. Can anyone topple Mathieu van der Poel and Fem van Empel to break the Dutch stranglehold on the rainbow bands? Read on and we'll show you how to watch the Cyclocross World Championships live stream from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for free!
The Cyclocross World Championships will be held on Saturday February 1 and Sunday February 2, with the elite men's and women's races starting at 2 p.m. GMT / 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT each day.
► U.K. — Discovery+ / Eurosport
► U.S. and Canada — FloBikes
► Netherlands — NPO Start (FREE)
► Belgium — VRT / RTBF (FREE)
► France — L'EquipeTV (FREE)
► RoW — UCI YouTube (FREE)
► Watch any stream — Try NordVPN 100% risk-free
The cyclocross season comes to a climax over the weekend of February 1 and 2 as the world's best congregate in the town of Liévin, France to compete for the rainbow bands on the Val de Souchez course.
The event kicked off with an inaugural Mixed Relay on Friday, won by Great Britain. There are then six races across two days starting with the junior women, under 23 men and elite women on the Saturday. That's then followed by the junior men, under 23 women and finally the elite men on Sunday.
The two favorites for the elite men's title are perennial Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, with the latter declaring his last-minute intention to race worlds. Van der Poel has won more this season, but is just getting over an injury, and Van Aert has had a good success rate in the races he started. These two are used to battling for rainbow, but Van der Poel has more wins, and will be gunning for a seventh world title.
Without Tom Pidcock, their main rivals on current form should be Laurens Sweeck, Michael Vanthourenhout, Toon Aerts and the in-form European champion Thibau Nys.
The elite women's race is far more open this year, but Fem van Empel is still the favorite to bag her third win in a row. She will have to be on her best form though to beat the winner of the season-long World Cup Lucinda Brand and the sensational Puck Pieterse, plus the always threatening Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
We've got all the details you need below to figure out which streaming services you'll need to watch the Cyclocross World Championships from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for free.
FREE Cyclocross World Championships live streams
If you live in the Netherlands, Belgium or France then you can look forward to FREE Cyclocross World Championships live streams.
That's because the free-to-air NOP Start in the Netherlands, VRT and RTBF in Belgium, and L'EquipeTV in France all have rights to the action. Those services are all free for residents of those countries.
In many countries where there isn't a broadcast deal, you can also watch the races free on the UCI YouTube channel, so if you can't see the Worlds on the TV or streaming schedule where you are, it's worth checking if you're in an eligible country for free live streams.
But what if you're based in another country at the time of the race and aren't at home to catch your usual free Cyclocross World Championships coverage?
Don't worry — you can watch it using a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.
Watch Cyclocross World Championships live streams anywhere
It's only natural that you might want to watch a Cyclocross World Championships live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when the event is on?
Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.
They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested the best VPN services and our favourite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market.
There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 7,000 servers, across 110+ countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. or U.K. and want to view your usual free Dutch stream, you'd select the Netherlands from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to the streaming service or your choice watch the Cyclocross World Championships online just like you would at home.
How to watch Cyclocross World Championships live streams in the U.S. and Canada
Cycling streaming platform FloBikes is the US and Canadian broadcaster for the 2025 Cyclocross World Championships.
A FloBikes subscription costs $29.99 a month or $12.50 a month if you sign up for a year ($150 in total) – it's the same price in both the U.S. and Canada.
If you're away from home and want to watch your usual FloBikes stream, NordVPN can help you to unlock your home services from anywhere.
How to watch Cyclocross World Championships live streams in the U.K.
Live coverage of the 2025 Cyclocross World Championships will be broadcast in the U.K. on Eurosport and Discovery+.
A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+ which currently includes Eurosport's cycling coverage will set you back £6.99 per month or £59.99 per year. However, from the end of February, this plan will no longer include cycling.
To watch live sports including cycling, snooker, tennis and more, viewers will have to upgrade to the £30.99/month premium TNT Sports plan, which also gives you access to Premier League, Champions League and Europa League football plus rugby, wrestling, UFC, and MotoGP.
If you're watching on TV, the elite races will be on Eurosport 2.
If you're currently traveling overseas, don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to access your usual subscriptions and watch from abroad.
How to watch Cyclocross World Championships live streams in Australia
At the time of writing no Australian broadcasters appear to have picked up the rights to live stream the Cyclocross World Championships races in Australia.
However, it does appear that Australia is one of the nations where viewers will be able to watch free on the UCI YouTube channel, with all races currently scheduled to stream live on the platform in Aus.
Aussie abroad? If you're traveling abroad but still want to access your free YouTube stream, a VPN like NordVPN can help you to watch as you would at home.
Cyclocross World Championships 2025 schedule
- Saturday, February 1
Junior Women: 10 a.m. GMT / 5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT
Men Under-23: 12 p.m. GMT / 7 a.m. ET / 4 a.m. PT
Elite Women: 2 p.m. GMT / 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT - Sunday, February 2
Junior Men: 10 a.m. GMT / 5 a.m. ET / 2 a.m. PT
Women Under-23: 12 p.m. GMT / 7 a.m. ET / 4 a.m. PT
Elite Men: 2 p.m. GMT / 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT
Can I watch the Cyclocross World Championships on Eurosport?
Yes, at the moment. Eurosport is set to close in the U.K. at the end of February, and from then users will need a premium TNT Sports subscription (via their TV package or Discovery+) to watch cycling, but for this weekend's racing Eurosport is still available on TV and via the standard £6.99/month Discovery+ subscription.
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Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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Simon Warren has been obsessed with cycling since the summer of 1989 after watching Greg Lemond battle Laurent Fignon in the Tour de France. Although not having what it took to beat the best, he found his forte was racing up hills and so began his fascination with steep roads. This resulted in his 2010’s best-selling 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs, followed to date by 14 more guides to vertical pain. Covering the British Isles, Belgium, France, Italy and Spain he has been riding and racing up hills and mountains for over 30 years now. He hosts talks, guides rides, has written columns for magazines and in 2020 released his first book of cycling routes, RIDE BRITAIN. Simon splits his time between working as a graphic designer and running his 100 Climbs brand and lives in Sheffield on the edge of the Peak District with his wife and two children.