Eurosport, the lunge on cycling (challenging Rai)
On 6 April, the cobbled classic will be broadcast only by Warner Bros Discovery: on Eurosport channels and on the discovery+ platform. Outside public TV also the Amstel Gold Race
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2' min read
After the exciting edition of the Milan-San Remo 2025, which saw Van der Poel, Filippo Ganna and Tadej Pogacar as the absolute protagonists in a finale that has already entered the memory of fans, international cycling returns to the forefront with the Tour of Flanders, scheduled Sunday 6 April. But this time, it will not be broadcast by Rai.
Eurosport and discovery+
.The appointment with the 'Ronde van Vlaanderen', one of the world's iconic cycling events, will in fact be exclusively broadcast on Eurosport and on the discovery+ platform, both belonging to the Warner Bros. group. Discovery group. A significant novelty, not only for long-time fans but for the entire Italian sports system. And also a small shake-up to the programming schedule of Viale Mazzini, which loses a piece of its historic sports mosaic. And in a fortnight it will also be the turn of the Amstel Gold Race.
Cycling has for years been one of the flagships of Eurosport's sports schedule, but until now Rai had maintained a constant presence for the great classics, sharing the rights to broadcast the races with the thematic sports channel. Now the situation changes: the rights, managed by Infront, have passed entirely to Discovery, leaving Rai out of the live broadcast of two of the most important spring races.
The ratings success
.From this point of view, looking at the ratings, the loss is likely to be even more significant for public TV. Those of Milan-Sanremo 2025 (also broadcast by RAI) speak for themselves: over 1.5 million viewers on average, with peaks of 2.2 million in the finale, and a share of 12.5%, up 50% compared to 2024. A result that testifies how cycling, when told with passion and well placed in the programme schedule, is still capable of uniting millions of Italians in front of the screen.
Last year, the Tour of Flanders on Rai Sport garnered more than 8% share. Now, the anticipation for the 2025 edition - ignited by the echo of the Sanremo and the growing ferment among the big names of the pedal - suggests that the public may respond even more warmly, perhaps exceeding that symbolic double figure that certifies a mainstream event.
