Il Lombardia live stream 2023: how to watch the UCI World Tour cycling race online and on TV now

The 2023 Il Lombardia live stream serves up the last of the five major cycling events of the 2023 World Tour calendar today. Also known as the ‘race of the fallen leaves’, it's a spectacular hilly route spanning 238km, from Lake Como to Bergamo. Having won each of the last two races here, can Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates make it three in a row?

Il Lombardia is airing for FREE in Italy on the Rai Play streaming service. But don't worry if you're on holiday while it's on — because you can watch Il Lombardia live streams from anywhere with a VPN.

If the Slovenian pulls it off, he’ll be the first man to achieve the feat since the great Fausto Coppi in 1948. His main challengers, however, are looking for a strong end to the season themselves, most notably compatriot Primoz Roglic, who will be making his final appearance for Jumbo-Visma. 

Coming off the back of a fourth-place finish at another Italian mountain classic at Tre Valli Varesine, the 33-year-old is hoping to end his tenure with the dominant Dutch team on a high. And he won’t be the only one breathing down Pogacar’s neck. 

Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-Quickstep will still be smarting from the Vuelta a Espana, but even in defeat the Belgian provided a handful of moments to savour. He’ll need to show the same grit and determination here, as today's route features seven challenging climbs, including the famous Madonna del Ghisallo, which has a chapel and museum dedicated to cycling at its summit.

It might be hard to look past Pogacar for this one, but all three are powerful riders and tailor made for this course. Throwing Adam Yates into the mix too makes this such an exciting finish to the season no matter how this race plays out.

If you're a keen cycling fan, you'll want to know how to watch Il Lombardia 2023, and we've got all the information on the UCI World Tour race below.

How to watch Il Lombardia 2023 for free

In Italy, live coverage of Il Lombardia 2023 will switch between the free-to-air channels Rai 2 and Rai Sport, running from 10.15 am to 5.15 pm CEST.

If you won't be watching on a TV, you can live stream all of the action on Rai Play instead, which works across a vast range of devices.

If you're trying to access the streaming platform while outside Italy, you might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch from abroad.

How to watch Il Lombardia 2023 in the UK

Cycling fans in the UK are spoilt for choice, as Il Lombardia 2023 is being shown on Discovery Plus, Eurosport and GCN+. 

The race is scheduled to start at 9.20 am BST on Saturday morning, and is expected to finish at around 4 pm.

A Discovery Plus subscription provides access to Eurosport, and costs £6.99 per month or £39.99 per year. A pricier £29.99 per month package adds access to TNT Sports, which is the home of Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League football.

GCN+, meanwhile, is available for £6.99 per month or £39.99 per year and offers ad-free live coverage of numerous races through the year.

If you're not in the UK right now, you might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch from abroad.

How to watch Il Lombardia 2023 in the US

GCN+ is the only place to watch Il Lombardia 2023 in the US. Just be warned that the race is scheduled to start at 4.20 am ET / 1.20 am PT on Saturday morning, and is expected to finish around 11 am ET / 8 am PT.

The dedicated cycling streaming service shows live coverage of a multitude of major races each season, and a GCN+ subscription costs $8.99 per month or $49.99 per year.

Travelling away from the US right now? You might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch from abroad.

How to watch Il Lombardia 2023 in Australia

In Australia, Il Lombardia 2023 is being shown on GCN+, with the race scheduled to start at 7.20 pm AEDT on Saturday evening, and expected to finish around 2 am.

A subscription to the streaming service will cost you either AU$15.99 per month or AU$64.99 per year, and with it you'll get live coverage of dozens of major UCI World Tour events.

If you're not in Australia right now, you might want to try a VPN to allow you to watch from abroad.

How to watch Il Lombardia 2023 from anywhere with a VPN

You can watch Il Lombardia 2023 on any of the streaming services above by using a VPN – no matter where you are in the world!

Normally a streaming service will know where you are trying to tune in from and block you if you're not in the right country but a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an app that hides your location. That means you can access your usual sports and entertainment services even while you're traveling abroad.

Our favorite VPN is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

How to use a VPN to watch any stream

• Download the app at ExpressVPN
• Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
• Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!

ExpressVPN is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to watch what you want from anywhere you want to watch it.

It's straightforward and easy to use, has great security, is available on loads of streaming devices and, best of all, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out 100% risk-free.

What time does Il Lombardia 2023 start?

Il Lombardia 2023 is scheduled to start at 4.20 am ET / 1.20 am PT / 9.20 am BST / 10.20 am CEST / 7.20 pm AEDT on Saturday 7th October.