WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY CLOSES HISTORIC ROAD CYCLING SEASON WITH LIVE COVERAGE OF EVERY RACE AT LA VUELTA A ESPAÑA AND THE 2026 ROAD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) gets set to conclude a landmark summer of road cycling beginning with its complete coverage of the curtain-closing Grand Tour race at La Vuelta a España from 22 August to 13 September. 

Live coverage of every stage of La Vuelta, from the first flag to the finish line, will reach millions of viewers in 21 languages across 50 markets in Europe on Eurosport 1. TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports 3 will show live coverage in the UK and Ireland while the successful partnership with free-to-air broadcaster 5 will see TNT Sports continue to produce a highlights programme airing each evening for fans.  

For the most immersive viewing experience, HBO Max continues in its role as the streaming home of the Grand Tours with all 21 stages of La Vuelta available to watch live across Europe. The app will include the popular Key Moments feature to navigate subscribers to decisive points in the race so they don't miss a moment.

WBD’s live coverage of the quest for La Vuelta’s red jersey will be exclusive on its channels and platforms in nearly all markets in Europe except for Belgium, Denmark and Spain where coverage is non-exclusive. 

This comes ahead of an exciting autumn of cycling coverage headlined by every race at the 2026 UCI Road World Championships held in Montréal, Canada from 20-27 September, available live and on-demand on WBD’s channels and platforms. Coverage across Europe of the UCI Road World Championships on HBO Max, Eurosport and TNT Sports excludes rights in Denmark and is exclusive in 35 territories*.  

Scott Young, EVP at WBD Sports Europe, said: “After a record-breaking Tour de France that reached and engaged more fans than ever across our platforms, we are proud to bring a monumental Grand Tour season to a fitting conclusion with complete live coverage of La Vuelta a España followed by the UCI Road World Championships.  

“Covering every brutal climb in the battle for the red jersey in Spain, to every sprint in the race for the iconic rainbow jerseys in Montréal, our passionate on-screen expertise, local storytelling and innovative streaming features on HBO Max will give fans across Europe the most comprehensive way to follow the riders, teams and defining moments as another landmark cycling season reaches its climax.” 

Getting even closer to the team, riders and stories each day, Laura Meseguer will lead Eurosport and TNT Sports’ on-site reporting each day throughout La Vuelta with an access-all-areas ticket taking fans to the heart of the action. 

In Spain, France, the UK and Ireland, cycling fans can enjoy even deeper analysis and storytelling with three distinct studio shows airing before and after each stage during La Vuelta. In the UK and Ireland, The Breakaway studio show presented by Orla Chennaoui together with Adam Blythe and Matt Stephens will air before and after the race each day. Viewers in Spain can enjoy daily episodes of La Montonera with legendary experts including three-time Vuelta champion Alberto Contador and fans in France can watch Les Rois de la Pédale hosted by Louis-Pierre Frileux with guests including Grand Tour stage winner Jacky Durand. 

The 81st edition of La Vuelta a España begins in Monaco for the first time with an individual time trial before travelling through Spain and Andorra, and finishing in Granada on 13 September following 3,275km of intense racing. Fresh from winning a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey at the Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar will be the overwhelming favourite for the red jersey in Spain as he aims to achieve cycling immortality by becoming just the ninth male cyclist to have won all three Grand Tours, and only the fourth man to have won all three a World Championship title. 

The 99th edition of the UCI Road World Championships takes place in Montréal, Canada with around 1,000 of the world’s best elite, under-23 and junior riders taking part in 13 events. The number one and two ranked men’s riders Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia) and Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) will be out to defend their Elite Men’s Road Race and Elite Men’s Time Trial titles respectively while Magdeleine Vallieres (Canada) will be going for gold again on home roads alongside Marlen Reusser (Switzerland), the reigning Elite Women’s Time Trial World Champion looking to achieve back-to-back titles. 

WBD’s Grand Tour cycling coverage in 2026 reached new heights, with both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France achieving record viewership. At the Giro, unique video viewers streaming on HBO Max across Europe grew by +35% year-on-year and hours watched rose by +19%, while at the Tour unique viewing subscribers rose by +9% in the best streaming edition on record. This was coupled with the largest ever linear television audience for the Tour de France on Eurosport in France, Spain and the Netherlands, while TNT Sports grew its television audience by +58% year-on-year in its first year of live exclusivity. Following the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, WBD also achieved its largest audience across Europe since the race was formed in 2022, with television viewers increasing by +3% year-on-year and HBO Max viewing subscribers rising by +29%.      

La Vuelta a España 2026 schedule: 

• Saturday 22 August: Stage 1 – Monaco > Monaco, 9.4km individual time trial 

• Sunday 23 August: Stage 2 – Monaco > Manosque, 214.3km hilly stage 

• Monday 24 August: Stage 3 – Gruissan – Aude > Font Romeu, 174km medium mountain stage 

• Tuesday 25 August: Stage 4 – Andorra la Vella > Andorra la Vella, 104.8km mountain stage 

• Wednesday 26 August: Stage 5 – Falset, Costa Daurada > Roquetes, Terres de l’Ebre, 173.4km hilly stage 

• Thursday 27 August: Stage 6 – Alcossebre > Castelló, 177.4km medium mountain stage 

• Friday 28 August: Stage 7 – Vall d’Alba > Aramón Valdelinares, 149.8km mountain stage 

• Saturday 29 August: Stage 8 – Puçol > Xeraco, 171km flat stage 

• Sunday 30 August: Stage 9 – La Vila Joiosa/Villajoyosa > Alto de Aitana, Costa Blanca, 187.4km mountain stage 

• Monday 31 August: Rest day 

• Tuesday 1 September: Stage 10 – Alcaraz > Elche de la Sierra, 184.7km hilly stage 

• Wednesday 2 September: Stage 11 – Cartagena > Lorca, 151.3km flat stage 

• Thursday 3 September: Stage 12 – Vera > Calar Alto, 166.6km mountain stage 

• Friday 4 September: Stage 13 – Almuñécar > Loja, 192.8km medium mountain stage 

• Saturday 5 September: Stage 14 – Jaén > Sierra de La Pandera, 154.5km mountain stage 

• Sunday 6 September: Stage 15 – Palma del Río > Córdoba, 189.7km medium mountain stage 

• Monday 7 September: Rest day 

• Tuesday 8 September: Stage 16 – Cortegana > La Rábida, Palos de la Frontera, 181.1km hilly stage 

• Wednesday 9 September: Stage 17 – Dos Hermanas > Sevilla, 185km flat stage 

• Thursday 10 September: Stage 18 – El Puerto de Santa María > Jerez de la Frontera, 32km individual time trial 

• Friday 11 September: Stage 19 – Vélez-Málaga > Peñas Blancas, Estepona, 210km hilly stage 

• Saturday 12 September: Stage 20 – La Calahorra > Collado del Alguacil, 187km mountain stage 

• Sunday 13 September: Stage 21 – Carrefour Granada > Granada, 99.4km flat stage 

UCI Road World Championships Montréal 2026 schedule: 

• Sunday 20 September: Women Elite Individual Time Trial; Men Elite Individual Time Trial 

• Monday 21 September: Women Under-23 Individual Time Trial; Men Under-23 Individual Time Trial 

• Tuesday 22 September: Team Time Trial Mixed Relay; Men Junior Individual Time Trial; Women Junior Individual Time Trial 

• Wednesday 23 September: Road race training on the Mont-Royal circuit 

• Thursday 24 September: Women Under-23 Road Race; Men Junior Road Race 

• Friday 25 September: Men Under-23 Road Race; Women Junior Road Race 

• Saturday 26 September: Women Elite Road Race 

• Sunday 27 September: Men Elite Road Race 

-ENDS- 

Notes to editor: 
*WBD’s UCI Road World Championships coverage excludes Denmark and is exclusive in all other markets in Europe except Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK where coverage is non-exclusive.