Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is preparing to go live with coverage of this years La Vuelta a España cycling tour with coverage across TNT Sports and Freeview channel Quest.
- TNT Sports 1 and 3 will provide at least 75 hours of live coverage.
- Daily highlights show on Quest.
- New broadcasting arrangement follows the closure of Eurosport in the UK and Ireland.
The final test of the cycling Grand Tour season is set to captivate millions of cycling fans across Europe as WBD’s coverage of La Vuelta a España begins on 23 August.
All 21 stages will be broadcast live in the UK and Ireland across either TNT Sports 1 or TNT Sports 3, with a minimum of 75 live hours of action produced for fans across the three-week race.
As is now custom among cycling Grand Tours, the first stages of La Vuelta will take place outside of the host country. Stages 1-3 take place in Italy, crossing over to France during stage 4. Then, the riders are transported to Spain to commence stage 5 in Figueres.
Coverage of La Vuelta runs across TNT Sports and Quest until 14 September, when the cyclists arrive in Madrid.
Freeview coverage
In addition, fans in the UK and Ireland can enjoy a free hour-long highlights programme on Quest. The daily highlights will be broadcast at 7pm.
- In the UK, Quest is available on Freeview channel 12. It’s also available in HD on Sky satellite and Freesat channel 144. On cable, watch on Virgin Media channel 137. You can also find Quest on Sky Stream channel 149. Freely users can watch the channel on channel 17 (requires aerial connection).
- In the Republic of Ireland, Quest is available on Sky satellite 144, Sky Stream channel 145, VM Ireland channel 162 and Vodafone channel 135.
Streaming coverage
Every stage will also be available to stream live and on-demand on discovery+ in the UK with in-app innovations such as key moment timeline markers.
You’ll need either a TNT Sports Monthly Plan (£30.99/month) or a TNT Sports and Entertainment Monthly Plan (£33.99/month) to access full coverage through Discovery+
The Entertainment Monthly Plan (£3.99/month) will provide streaming access to Quest for the daily highlights show. [This plan is the one that’s included with a Sky TV subscription in the UK.]
It’s currently still possible to live stream Quest without an active Discovery+ subscription, although the option is somewhat hidden on the website. Go via this sign up page and scroll down to where it says “register to watch free content” and register.
From next year, coverage of La Vuelta and other major cycling events switches to HBO Max. HBO Max launches in early 2026 in the UK and Ireland.
Whether Quest will continue to screen free highlights remains to be seen. That’s because Warner Bros Discovery is splitting in two, with Quest and TNT Sports no longer having a common owner.
Quest will be part of Discovery Global, while TNT Sports will be part of Warner Bros.
Streaming packages and prices correct at the time of publication.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: WBD Sports