FloBikes (which is part of FloSports) has bought the Canadian rights to the TdF through 2023. They also have the rights to many of the World Tour road races, track racing, and cyclocross. Your other legitimate choice is FuboTv, but it's a lot more expensive.

-FloBikes and FuboTV broadcast a lot of the same races, though FloBikes carries many that FuboTV doesn't.

-FloBikes is part of FloSports. When you sign up you get access to all of their sports - though most you'd have no interest in.

-With Fubo you sign up for FuboTv and then have to add cycling on as an extra cost package. It's non-cycling offerings like Bein Sports are a little more

mainstream than what FloSports offers.

-FuboTV with cycling costs about twice as much as FloBikes over a year.

Sign-up to FloBikes at flobikes.com

1/ You'll need to subscribe to FloBikes. FloBikes advertises "as low as $12.50 per month." In actuality they charge you $150 US up front (150/12 = 12.50).

2/ You'll also need to take into account the cost of high speed internet, a modern router, and a method of streaming. See below.

At one point FloSports offered monthly subscriptions. Officially they ended that in 2018 or 2019 depending on sport. However, they still advertise that you may cancel at any time. In that case they appear to charge $30 US per month or part thereof used.

The number of races broadcast is huge. Almost all of the World Tour races, track World Cup races, and major cyclocross races are available. The rest of the world has had this for years. See the 2020 broadcast calendar.

You can join a live broadcast at anytime and even pause and resume where you left off while the race is on. From what I can tell though you can't start from the beginning while the race is live. Replays do come up quickly after the race is finished, both length of original broadcast and highlights. A big advantage over cable is that you don't have to remember to record the race. Flobikes automatically archives it.

A lot depends on the host broadcaster, but typically most stages are joined with two to three hours left to race, the same as what we've experienced with TdF coverage in the past.

With both FloBikes and FuboTV you can watch on an IOS or Android device, your computer, or on TV. Note that there are certain technical requirements. For example, you'll need a fairly recent iOS or Android phone or tablet to use the FloBikes app. I experienced particular problems with Android with this - the app won't work on an Android tablet that I bought not quite 5 years ago.

Watching on your iOS or Android device is one of the easiest ways to use FloBikes. It only requires downloading the app and signing into your account. Note that as of March 2020 the iOS app is far superior to the Android app. FloBikes say they are committed to changing that, but there is no timeline.

See Is the iOS app or Android app better.

You'll need:

1/ an account with FloBikes

2/ a streaming device.

3/ wi-fi with a strong signal and good bandwidth. Your old 802.11b router isn't going to cut it. With some streamers you can used a hard wired connection which would offer a stronger more consistent signal, but most of the time wouldn't be as convenient.

4/ high speed internet

5/ an open HDMI (note NOT USB) port on your TV or AV receiver.

6/ if you've set up your router with different accounts all of your devices will need to be accessing wifi through the same account.

Roku Streaming Stick+  $69.99 (all prices current as of post at Best Buy), Apple TV 4k $229.99-249.99, Amazon Fire Stick 4k $69.99, and Google Chromecast $45-90 are all highly reviewed and all give comparable video quality (most review sites pick the Roku* as their favourite for it's price, quality, and because it isn't biased towards any one ecosystem - Amazon, Apple, etc. all push you toward their stuff preferentially). FloBikes doesn't mention Chromecast in it's list of supported devices, but I've tried it and it works very well. You can also cast with many newer Vizio, Samsung, and LG TVs which I've also found works well.  For any of these (except casting with your TV) you'll need an open HDMI (note not USB) input on your TV or AV receiver.

*Note that Roku is not the best option for FloBikes though. See Which is the best option for watching previous races below.

Casting means using an app on your phone or tablet to select something to watch. You then cast (press an icon on your device which essentially tells the Chromecast device what you're watching, it looks it up and displays it on your tv.) After that you can shut your device off or do anything else with it that you would normally do.

Advantages

-Pretty much anything you can see on your device you can watch on TV.

-The device apps are also generally a lot more robust (NOTE not android at this time) allowing you to search and access information and archived races a lot easier. With some of the streaming devices you simply have no access to some (sometimes a lot) of the archives.

-You can use your device's keyboard ability to enter information. With a streaming device like Roku for example entering information requires using arrow keys to press, press, press multiple times to change to caps, then again to select a letter, then again to change to small case, then again and again.

-With Chromecast you've already entered your password on your phone or tablet for your account when you signed up. For streaming devices you'll have to do that again for each app you load. It's only one time, but it adds to the headache of first time set-up. And if you've picked a complicated password (as you should have to protect your account) you'll be using the infuriating press, press, press method above to do it.

Disadvantage

-The big disadvantage to casting is having to use your phone or tablet to control things, like start, stop, pause. It's just annoying compared to having an actual dedicated remote.

The easiest way to tell is after you've subscribed to FloBikes, download the FloSports app to your Apple or Android device, turn on your TV, launch the app on your device, and if you're able to cast directly from the app you'll get a pop-up on your device asking if you want to cast to that TV.

As you're doing all the searching etc. on your phone or tablet it works just as well as if you're using Chromecast. The one consideration is that if you're usually using a home theatre kind of set-up audio will only come from your TV unless you've set up an audio return channel.

FloBikes has archived all their races and features going back at least a couple of years*. Additionally on some of its apps it's grouped things into catergories (i.e. races grouped differently than documentaries) which makes scrolling a lot easier. As of March 2020 your best option for watching those archived races are:

1/ FloSports site on computer or laptop

2/ iOS app: iPhone of iPad. Can watch on the device and/or cast to television

3/ Amazon's Firestick 4k to watch on television

All of the above allow full search of all archived content.

Apple TV (must be at least 4th gen) has catergories and allows scrolling backward through the previous races, but doesn't have a search function. It works, but it's awkward if for example you want to pull up everything related to Amstel Gold 2019 - which you should as many pundits rated it the best road race of 2019.

Roku has categories, but only has the previous six months or so available for scrolling back through. There is no ability to search and in talking to FloSports customer support it appears they have no interest in adding it to their Roku app. Although Roku is the favourite streaming device of a lot of tech sites I can't recommend it if you want access to previous races/programs.

The android app is your worst choice as of March 2020. It gets abysmal reviews, there is no ability to search and not even categories, meaning even scrolling backwards is a chore. The good news is that FloBikes has indicated that they are committed to adding those things. No timeline though.

*Note that for the occasional race (like the rcent UAE Tour) due to broadcast rights there is only a limited time period during which viewing can occur.

-If you're already streaming or casting start with that.

-If you have an iOS device and a newer Vizio, Samsung, or LG TV why don't you try casting with that first. See How do I know if I can cast with my TV below.

-FloBikes has an extensive archive of programs and races from the last two to three years. If you want to take advantage of that your best bets for easily accessing those (as of March 2020) are i/ an iOS device and casting or ii/ the Amazon Firestick 4k. Unfortunately, at this time the Android app is your worst choice. See Which option is best for watching previous races.

-If you're well entrenched in the Apple ecosystem Apple TV (must be at least 4th gen) works well. It's not as flexible as either iOS or the Firestick if you want to look at past content in FloBikes. CNET feels it has the most premium feel, but it does come at a cost of at least twice as much as the other options.

-If you plan to stream a lot of content other than FloBikes and don't really care about watching past content beyond last week's race, then most sites pick the Roku Streaming Stick+ as their first choice. Video quality is good, it's inexpensive and it isn't biased toward one ecosystem i.e. in a search for a movie for example, it'll bring up your cheapest option out of all your apps regardless of whether it's the Roku version or not whereas Apple and Amazon will always show theirs first. Some sites pick Firestick as it has much better voice input. The downside: see Which option is best for watching previous races.

Right now iOS is a much better choice with FloBikes for a couple of reasons.

The first is that it's a lot more accommodating to load. I have an old iPad that works (with uptodate iOS). However, I have two Android tablets that are just under 5 years old and neither will work because the operating system can't be updated enough.

The other issue is that as of March 2020 the Android app lacks a lot of functionality that one would expect. See Which option is best for watching previous races.

The iOS app and Apple TV function quite differently. One would use the iOS app on their iPhone or iPad and if they wanted to watch on TV cast to the television. Apple TV is more of an integrated all in one solution. The iOS app is superior when it comes to searching for archived races and material, but controlling play, stop, pause, etc. requires using one's phone or tablet. With Apple TV one would use the supplied remote control.

If you search for FloSports and still can't find the app in the App Store or Google Play Store it means that your device doesn't support it. That may simply be a matter of updating the operating system. I've found that I could use an iPad that's several years old, but not two Android tablets that were less than five years old.

The video quality depends on the feed of the host broadcaster. It can range from passable to really good. The quality of your wifi signal (speed of your router, distance to your TV, and how many walls and floors the signal has to pass through) will have a big effect on your enjoyment - video requires a lot of bandwidth. Your perception will also depend on the size of the screen you're using and your viewing distance.

The audio tends to be very good. Having said that the 2020 Paris-Nice drove me crazy. The commentary came exclusively out of the right channel and all other sounds out the left. Just listening through a TV that wouldn't bother you. Again it depends on the feed.

The actual feed depends on the race. Often it's the Eurosport feed which is the same we've had the last few years on TSN for the TdF. Matthew Keenan is announcer with with Robbie McEwan. They're not Phil and Paul, but I've quite enjoyed them. Matthew recently did Paris Nice by himself and for the two to three hours broadcast of each stage was able to keep it quite interesting. Alberto Contador and Juan Antonio Flecha apparently also colour commentate for the EuroSport International feed. Although I grew up in Europe and am pretty good with accents I have to admit it took me a little time to adjust to Juan Antonio's accent at the recent UAE Tour. For the recent Track World Championships multiple gold medal winner Kristina Vogel did colour commentary and was quite enjoyable to listen to. All in all you can look forward to professional commentary, not just something that FloBikes has cobbled together itself.

Some of the streamers support 4k, but FloBikes isn't broadcasting in 4k at this time.

The cheapest options are to watch on your phone, tablet, or computer.

The easiest ways to watch are on your phone, tablet, or computer.

-Your watching options are a lot more flexible allowing you to watch on a wide variety of devices, including while you're away from home. You could start watching a TdF stage on TV at home for example, then continue on your phone where you left off while you were waiting for your mother to have her doctor's appointment.

-In addition to live broadcasts FloBikes posts replays and short highlights almost immediately after a race has concluded. You can access these any time you like.

-A huge number of races are broadcast compared to just the TdF and almost nothing else on cable TV. See the 2020 broadcast calendar.

-In addition to current races, FloBikes maintains an archive of all the previous races that they've broadcast. See Which option is best for watching previous races.

-Unlike cable you never have to remember to record the race. Flobikes automatically archives it.

-The most obvious disadvantage is the cost of subscription. Additionally the costs of a streaming device, possibly new TV and/or AV receiver, fast enough wifi network, and high speed internet.

-It's a different way of doing things and if currently you're just watching cable, adding streaming in is not as integrated of an experience.

-But for me the biggest loss is the huge loss of exposure and raising of cycling's profile in the eyes of the public from the loss of the Tour de France.

YMMV with any of these options.

It's often reported that a VPN can be used. The best option then is the EuroSports app. The big hangup there is that you need a European billing address. Otherwise one would have to find a broadcaster with a free feed somewhere in the world.

Mike reports that an alternative to a VPN is an extension to chrome called Hola that acts like a VPN.

Another option that people have tried is Tiz-Cycling