After the Freestyle drama in the Urban Park, the BMX action at the Paris Olympic Games continues on August 1 and 2 with the BMX Racing. With the event starting with the quarter-finals on the Thursday and the medals decided on the Friday, here’s how to watch an Olympics 2024 BMX Racing live stream.
There are two BMX disciplines at the Olympics: Freestyle and Racing. The Freestyle sees athletes perform tricks in the skate park, while the Racing event is a mass-start, first-to-the-finish-line affair, where the riders burst out of the blocks on a downhill ramp and furiously pedal in between a series of jumps, rollers, and bends.
Both the men’s and women’s events look set to be open and dramatic, with a range of potential medallists. Beth Shriever (Great Britain) is the defending champion on the women’s side, and has won two world titles since Tokyo, but will face fierce competition from the likes of the USA’s Alise Willoughby and Australia’s Saya Sakakibara. The men’s defending champion, Niek Kimmann is absent with a heart muscle problem, while the world champion Joris Daudet is the pick of the bunch from a strong cast of home French riders.
This guide explains how to watch Olympics BMX Racing 2024 wherever you are in the world, including details of how to use a VPN if you’re away from home. For more from the other disciplines, find out how to watch cycling at the Paris Olympics.
Watch Olympic Games BMX Racing live streams in the USA
NBC holds the broadcasting rights for the Olympic Games in the USA. The Olympics will be shown across several of the the broadcaster’s television channels, and also on the network’s streaming service, Peacock.
Much of the BMX Racing action will be digital-only, so only available via Peacock, but the finals will be on cable service USA Network.
Peacock offers a seven-day free trial for those who want to try before they buy. A full subscription to the service via Peacock Premium starts from $7.99 per month. The ad-free Peacock Premium Plus costs $13.99 per month.
USA Network is available via cable plans, but there’s no need to worry if you don’t have cable. Sling is a smart TV service that allows people in the US to watch cable channels on their TV, laptop or tablet without actually having to subscribe to an annual cable TV package. USA Network is available on Sling with the Sling Blue package, which costs $40 per month ($20 for the first month).
Watch Olympic Games BMX Racing live streams in Canada
If you live in Canada, you can catch the Olympic Games across several broadcasters, including the free-to-air CBC, and subscription services TSN and Sportsnet.
On CBC, it’s not yet clear whether the BMX Racing action will be included on the television coverage, but all rounds will be available to stream online on CBC Gem. Access to the broadcaster’s ad-free on-demand library costs $5.99 per month, though the ad-supported version is free of charge.
On TSN, it is not yet confirmed whether the the BMX Racing will be selected as part of the channel’s daily programming, which is available online via the TSN subscription service, which will set you back $19.99 per month or $199.90 per year.
The same goes for Sportsnet, which is available online with a Sportsnet SN Now subscription, costing $14.99 per month or $179.99 per year.
Watch Olympic Games BMX Racing live streams in the UK
In the UK, cycling fans will be able to watch the Olympics on the BBC for free, via BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
The BBC only has rights to broadcast two streams at any one time, however, so if the BMX Racing doesn’t make the cut you’ll have to watch on Discovery+, home to the most comprehensive coverage in the UK – 3,800 hours of live action across 55 channels.
Thanks to a special Olympics deal you can subscribe to the “standard” Discovery+ package for a cut-price £3.99 per month – sign up before August 11 and you can take advantage of the lower price until the end of the year. The package includes year-round cycling streams as well as other live sports, including snooker, tennis, motorsports, and more.
Watch Olympic Games BMX Racing live streams in Australia
In Australia, cycling fans can watch the Olympics for free on Channel 9 – it’s arguably the most comprehensive free Olympics coverage in the world. Viewers across Australia can tune in to the 9Now streaming service on the smart device of their choosing to catch all the action from the events.
All the BMX Racing action will be available online, although it’s not certain to be included in the television broadcast.
Watch Olympic Games BMX Racing live streams from anywhere
If you are traveling abroad and try to access your usual live streaming services to watch the action, you may find your access to be geo-restricted.
In this case, a VPN service will come in handy, allowing your computer to pretend it’s home and let you log into your streaming accounts to catch all of the racing action.
Our colleagues at TechRadar thoroughly tested several VPN services and NordVPN won the gold medal:
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.