Here's how to stream elite, profesional cyclocross races, including Superprestige, X²O Badkamers Trofee series, World Cup, and Exact Cross races during the 2024-2025 season.
Please note: this article focuses on the USA - if you are not in the USA, check carefully before subscribing, because streaming rights on the services described here will vary by country. Thanks!
Looking to get your cyclocross fix? Let's start by reviewing the paid subscription options for cyclocross in 2024/25:
MAX (formerly HBO MAX) with the Bleacher Report add-on
Starting February 1, 2024, the MAX streaming service (formerly HBO Max) offers live streaming bicycle racing coverage through the subscription Bleacher Report ("B/R Sports") add-on, including the Superprestige, X2O Trofee, and Exact Cross cyclocross races for 2024/25.
Bleacher Report will eventually cost extra; but it's currently free w/MAX
It was originally announced that Bleacher Report would be a paid add-on that runs on top of the Max paid streaming service; i.e. you would need two subscriptions to access cycling content on Max. The cheapest month-to-month Max subscription, as of this writing, is $9.99, and the Bleacher Report add-on is also $9.99, i.e, a total of $19.98 monthly for the Max / BR bundle that gets you access to bicycle racing. However - it's currently October, 2024, and Bleacher Report is still "free for a limited time", almost one year later... but it's safe to assume you'll have to pay at some point in the future - so enjoy, while it lasts.
Bleacher Report carries 300+ road, mountain, cyclocross, track, and BMX events. The B/R Sports schedule includes:
- Superprestige, X2O Trofee, and Exact Cross cyclocross events
- the Giro d’Italia
- the UCI Mountain Bike World Series and Track Champions League
- Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
- E3 Classic
- Strade Bianche
- Tirreno–Adriatico
- Milan–San Remo
- Tour of the Basque Country
- Il Lombardia
It's also worth noting what you WON'T find on Bleacher Report:
- the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, and La Vuelta (those are on Peacock)
- the UCI Cyclocross World Cup, and UCI Cyclocross World Championship (FloBikes has held the streaming rights for those events in the USA for the past few years - this may change, see below)
Read more about Max with Bleacher Report
FloBikes cyclocross streaming
FloBikes is the most expensive of your streaming options at $150 yearly, but for the last few years, it was the only source for USA viewers to tune into the cyclocross World Cups (formerly, they were on NBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass, now defunct.) Most importantly, FloBikes offers replays and an on-demand library of past races, so you can watch on your timeable.
However, things may be changing for Fall, 2024. When I asked FloBikes about the World Cups and World Championship races missing from their calendar, their response was "We will not be showing Cyclocross this year as we did not acquire the streaming rights."
For historical reference, on FloBikes in recent years the following cyclocross races were streamed:
- the UCI Cyclocross World Cup races,
- the UCI Cyclocross World Championship
also on FloBikes:
- the USA Cycling cyclocross national championship
Flo has attracted some complaints from subscribers over the years - usually from customers who didn't realize they were subscribing to an annual service - unfortunately, FloBikes doesn't offer a month-to-month subscription. That means you can't subscribe to watch during the cyclocross season and then cancel afterward, you're in for a year.
Read more about the FloBikes service
Let's take a look at some obsolete options that don't work any longer and why:
GCN+ cyclocross streaming (defunct)
GCN+ quickly became the best subscription streaming service for bicycle racing, and especially cyclocross, when it was introduced. Sadly, GCN+ ceased operations on December 19, 2023, so it's no longer an option for cyclocross streaming.
If you are a previous GCN+ subscriber and liked their offering and selection of races, most of that content was moved to the MAX / Bleacher Report service.
Peacock Premium (formerly NBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass)
Peacock Premium replaced NBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass, and inherited most of NBC's broadcast rights. This includes the Tour de France - which is the primary reason most riders would consider a Peacock subscription, along with the 2024 Summer Olympic Games from Paris, including the bicycle events.
If you're expecting to watch cyclocross World Cups on the NBC networks/apps as you have in the past, though, look elsewhere. FloBikes now has those rights in the USA. So don't subscribe to Peacock if you're only interested in cyclocross, as opposed to road cycling.
The best news about Peacock is the reasonable price, and subscriptions run month-to-month, allowing you to turn it on for certain races, then unsubscribe. A steal for just $4.99 a month even if you only use it for "Le Tour". That makes Peacock perfect for watching the Tour de France and the couple of Spring Classics for which Peacock holds the streaming rights.
Read more about cycling on Peacock.USA Cycling cyclocross national championships live stream
The USA Cycling cyclocross national championship used to be streamed free; in Fall 2021 coverage was moved to FloBikes, eliminating this option. USA Cycling no longer offers a free YouTube stream of the cyclocross national championship.
Using a VPN for cyclocross streaming
Each streaming provider only has broadcast rights in certain countries, so it's fairly common to run into the dreaded "this video is not available in your country" error message. It's not the fault of the streaming provider - they'd love to show it to you, but they have to make a best effort to honor their contracts, which means blocking some countries. Usually (but not always) if you are "geo-blocked" it means that some other provider is streaming the event.
A way to work around this is to hook your computer or device up with a VPN. A VPN is sort of a "fake-out" tool that tricks the streaming provider into thinking your location is in a different country. The best VPN I've found for streaming cyclocross is NordVPN, primarily because you can simply click in their app to choose a different country on the fly, until you find one that works for your stream.
Unfortunately, quality VPNs are not free, however, once you're a subscriber you can use them for all sort of non-sports streaming as well, like Netflix, so they're a handy tool.
Link: https://nordvpn.com
What about the cyclocross World Cup?
It appears the UCI was unable or unwilling to sell or license the streaming rights to the 2024/25 cyclocross World Cup races to any network or subscription service this year, so you won't find them on Max, FloBikes, Peacock, etc.
Instead, some good news - you can watch the 2024/25 cyclocross World Cup free on the UCI YouTube channel! Previously, these races would have been geo-blocked for viewers from the United States, due to licensing agreements. But since there is no official provider this year, the geo-block does not apply. Enjoy it while it lasts!
Streaming Other Cyclocross Races
Some "second-tier" cyclocross races simply aren't large enough to show up on the streaming calendar, largely due to the expense of setting up multiple cameras for live streaming, paying for internet connectivity, and so on. In this category are:
USCX
I suspect the modified Fall 2024 USCX series will not be livestreamed. It pains me to say it, but what was streamed in prior seasons was low quality and not worth watching for most.
Note: the UCI Cyclocross World Cup round previously held at the Trek campus will not take place in 2024. The Trek race will still exist, however, just not as a World Cup event. Instead, the Trek weekend will be part of the USCX series, with Trek also becoming the title sponsor of the USCX.
Englewood CX
This event, new to the calendar, kicks off the USA season Sep 7/8 in Wisconsin. Don't expect a live stream, I'll update this article if anything changes.
Cyclocross on Belgium's Play Sports network
You'll also find a small handful of races that only appear on Belgium's Play Sports service. This streaming subscription is not available to customers in the USA for any price, and generally there has not been any USA coverage of these events at all. Fortunately, this only happens 2 or 3 times per season, so a European, elite-level cyclocross race that isn't available for streaming in the USA almost never happens.
Dead / defunct cyclocross streaming options:
Over the years, several streaming providers have come and gone. The following options are now dead:- Trek Bikes coverage - Trek no longer streams free cyclocross.
- RedBull.TV coverage - this free coverage in some countries, featuring Helen Wyman, is discontinued.
- GCN Racing (free) streams on their Facebook and YouTube channels. These were replaced by the paid GCN+ Race TV subscription, which itself was later discontinued.
- GCN+ - this subscription streaming service ceased operations at the end of 2023
- Fubo.TV has ceased offering their Fubo Cycling Pass subscription service. All subscriptions ended Dec 31, 2020 and the service won't be offered going forward.
Conclusions
Cyclocross fans who subscribe to two packages, MAX plus the B/R Sports add-on and FloBikes will have 98% + coverage of elite cyclocross races worldwide. The other events (i.e. road, MTB) covered on these services, for 'cross fans, is a free bonus.
If I missed a streaming provider or any details, please reach out using @RideCX on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to let me know and I'll update this article.