SBS’s Stage-by-Stage guide to Tour
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I can’t wait to get my Tour de France fix. More like a scenic tour of countryside France, with a bit of cycling in the middle of it. lol.
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Our commentary team for the Tour de France just got even better! 
#TDF2025 | July 5-27 | SBS & SBS On Demand 
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Tour De France
Final stage, Stage 21, on Sunday, 27 July at midnight AEST
Catch the final stage of Tour De France 2025 with the SBS Cycling commentary team – who’ll be on the ground in France, taking viewers into the very heart of the peloton and bringing a wealth of personal experience, trusted analysis and expert commentary. Helming the Tour de France race coverage is Matthew Keenan, Simon Gerrans, Dr Bridie O’Donnell, David McKenzie and Christophe Mallet.
Tour De France Femmes
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is now in its fourth year and is firmly established as the biggest race in the women’s calendar. This year’s 9-day race, set entirely in France, will follow the longest route in the women’s race revival. It also takes the women to new heights, with a 1,165km route across four regions, with a total elevation gain of 17,240 metres.
Following a Grand Départ in Brittany on July 26 (01:20 AM Saturday overnight AEST), there will be two flat stages, three hilly stages and two medium-mountain stages, before the race finishes with two back-to-back high mountain stages. In 2024, Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma edged out Dutchwoman Demi Vollering by a mere four seconds—the narrowest winning margin in Tour de France history. Now, Vollering returns in 2025 as the race favourite, determined to reclaim the yellow jersey. The Tour de France Femmes will feature Matthew Keenan, Dr Bridie O’Donnell, David McKenzie, and Christophe Mallet, with Gracie Elvin, and the new addition of our most successful female cyclist, recently retired Australian Olympic and World champion Grace Brown.
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SBS reveals expert commentary team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September
Every session broadcast live and free on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand
World champion Tamsyn Manou and renowned commentator David Basheer will join the doyen of sports commentators Bruce McAvaney as SBS’s broadcast team for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, which is shaping as a milestone event for an exceptional Australian team.
Every session of the nine-day World Athletics Championships (14 sessions of arena and road events, September 13-21) will be broadcast live and free across SBS VICELAND, and the World Athletics Championships Hub via SBS On Demand, which will also feature daily extended highlights, short clips and full replays of each session.
Lead commentator McAvaney said he was excited to be part of such a skilled and experienced commentary team guiding Australian audiences through this year’s world championships, which is regarded as the third-biggest sports event in the world in global reach (over one billion) behind the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cupᵀᴹ.
Triple Olympian Manou, the 2008 world indoor champion over 800m, was a member of the Australian athletics team for more than 15 years and brings to her role both an athlete’s insight and deep knowledge of the sport.
Since retiring as an athlete, she has taken that passion for the sport to the commentary box, working with McAvaney at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. She also worked as an expert commentator at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Manou said: “I’m delighted to be joining Bruce and David in the SBS commentary team for one of my favourite events on the sports calendar, at a really exciting time for Australian athletics.
“The World Athletics Championships is just pure athletics and as a fan you can really immerse yourself in the sport. I think this is going to be one of the most watched world championships we have had, because the fans can sense that there’s something special happening with the Australian team.
“For me, the best thing about these championships is the journey that the athletes take from the heats to the semi-finals to the finals. By broadcasting every session live, SBS will take everyone on that journey from start to finish, and that will allow us to show how amazing these athletes are and to tell their stories. I can’t wait for it to start.
For 30 years Basheer has been commentating on international sporting events for SBS. His credits include five World Athletics Championships, 10 FIFA World Cups (men and women), UEFA Champions League finals, and track and road cycling world championships.
For this year’s World Athletics Championships, Basheer is excited to be calling field and multi events, where high jump world champions Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson, Olympic discus medallist Matt Denny, and world pole vault medallist Kurtis Marschall are certain to feature.
“It’s a golden generation of Australian track and field athletes – I’m looking forward to telling some compelling stories and working with a fabulous team,’’ Basheer said.
McAvaney added: “We’ll be bringing the best in the world to an Australian audience, and highlighting our great Australian athletes. I’ve never been more excited by the prospects of the Australian athletics team, not even before the Sydney Olympics. This team has everything – established champions, great young sprinters and incredible middle distance talent. You might have heard me say this before, but this is going to be special.’’
SBS Director of Sport Ken Shipp said: “SBS has broadcast ten editions of the World Athletics Championships since 2001 and we’ve assembled an expert commentary team for Tokyo that can take our audience right inside the action and tell the stories of the athletes with unmatched depth and enthusiasm. Australian athletics fans won’t miss a moment of one of the world’s great sporting events on SBS.’’
The quality of the likely Australian team for Tokyo, taking on the best from 200-plus nations at Japan’s iconic 67,000-set National Stadium, will make this event compelling viewing for Australian sports fans.
With seven medals (one gold, two silver, four bronze) won in Paris last year, the Australian athletics team is coming off its most successful Olympic Games since Melbourne in 1956, and appears to have found another level this year.
The emergence of an exciting generation of sprinters, led by 17-year-old Gout Gout and 21-year-old Lachie Kennedy, who won Australia’s first ever 60m medal (silver) at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March, has added an extra layer of intrigue to what was already a highly successful group.
They will join the likes of Olympic silver medallist Jess Hull, recent national 800m record-breaker Peter Bol, and teenaged middle distance tyros Cameron Myers and Claudia Hollingsworth in a national team that exudes class across the range of disciplines.
See the full schedule for SBS’s broadcast of the World Athletics Championships here.
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The “Special” Broadcasting Service.
If you’re reading it in Bruce’s voice, arent you. 
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Bruce and SBS. Now that is Special
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Will they be in the stadium or calling off tube?
Great seeing the World Athletic Championships getting some attention. Even greater having the Special himself, Bruce McAvaney on board.
edit: A nice cross promotion during tonight’s Tour de France (23/7 at 10.17pm) regarding the World Athletic Championships, with Bruce McAvaney doing a piece to camera with his pet dog.
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It’s on Channel 9 as well with Eddie Maguire and Tony😬 Jones as Commentators.
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As hosts not commentators surely?
Nine has not announced the commentary team for the World Athletics Championships yet, but I believe that David Culbert will be part of the team.
(Discuss Nine’s possible line-up in Nine Sports Broadcasting thread)
Pure Drama continues with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift hot on the wheels of the Tour de France
LIVE and FREE on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS ON DEMAND exclusively from Saturday 26 July
Hot on the wheels of the Tour de France is edition four of the Tour de Femmes avec Zwift with SBS set to capture every stage live and free on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS ON DEMAND from July 26 until August 3.
Now in its fourth year, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is now firmly established as the biggest race on the women’s calendar. The 2025 edition marks a turning point in the history of the women’s Tour with the race to be contested over nine days for the first time, entirely in France.
As the Tour de France finishes in Paris, the women’s Grand Départ will already have taken place on July 26 from the Port of Vannes. It will follow the longest route in the women’s race revival and takes them to new heights, with a 1,165km route across four regions and a total elevation gain of 17,240 metres. There will be two flat stages, three hilly stages and two medium-mountain stages, before the race finishes with two back-to-back high mountain stages involving major climbs over the Col de Madeleine (the highest mountain of this Tour de France Femmes at 2,000 metres of elevation), Col de Joux Plane, and a mountaintop finale at Châtel Les Portes du Soleil.
In 2024, Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma edged out Dutchwoman Demi Vollering by a mere four seconds – the narrowest winning margin in Tour de France history. Now, Vollering returns in 2025 as the race favourite, determined to reclaim the yellow jersey.
Australian cycling is currently on a high with the results of Sarah Gigante in the Giro d’Italia Women, where she took two mountain-top victories enroute to finishing third overall. Aussies confirmed to be taking to the start line in Vannes include our current National Road champion, Ruby Roseman-Gannon, as well as Neve Bradbury, who finished third in the 2024 Giro d’Italia Women.
Helming the Tour de France Femmes SBS commentary from on the ground in France will be Matthew Keenan, Dr Bridie O’Donnell, Gracie Elvin, and new addition, recently retired Australian Olympic and World champion Grace Brown. The team will take viewers into the heart of the peloton. With a wealth of personal experience, they will bring trusted analysis and expert commentary from all of the nine stages.
Every stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will be broadcast live on SBS. Australian viewers can stream live, in full, on SBS On Demand. SBS also offers the Tour de France Hub for a variety of Tour de France Femmes content including extended highlights, full stage catch-ups and mini stage recaps. The SBS Sport website is a one-stop shop for the official Race Centre – which features statistics, results and live tracking of the riders, alongside the latest news, opinions and expert analysis, The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift broadcast times vary (full schedule here).
Fans will also have access to a new mobile-optimised Race Centre on the SBS Sport website. The Race Centre comes directly from the race organisers and will provide the key statistical features, including live tracking of riders, to help fans follow the race. This facility will replace the Skoda Tour Tracker app of past Tour de France editions.
For more information, visit the SBS Sport website: www.sbs.com.au/sport
SBS TOUR DE FRANCE FEMMES AVEC ZWIFT FULL BROADCAST SCHEDULE
| STAGE | DATE | SBS TV LIVE SBS VICELAND – WA | LIVE STAGES IN FULL SBS On Demand LIVE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday 26 July | 25:20 – 27:50 AEST | 25:20 – 27:50 AEST |
| 2 | Sunday 27 July | 21:30 – 23:30 AEST | 21:00 – 23:30 AEST |
| 3 | Monday 28 July | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST |
| 4 | Tuesday 29 July | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST |
| 5 | Wednesday 30 July | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST |
| 6 | Thursday 31 July | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST |
| 7 | Friday 1 August | 23:35 – 02:05 AEST | 23:55 – 02:05 AEST |
| 8 | Saturday 2 August | 21;55 – 02:05 AEST | 21:55 – 02:05 AEST |
| 9 | Sunday 3 August | 23:30 – 03:50 AEST | 23:25 – 03:50 AEST |
SBS CYCLING COMMENTARY TEAM BIOS
MATTHEW KEENAN
2025 will be Matt’s 19th year commentating on cycling’s biggest event, the Tour de France, where he has worked alongside some of the greats of the sport, including Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Bridie O’Donnell and Simon Gerrans. Known for his supreme cycling knowledge, somewhat of a cycling nerd, Matt is recognised internationally as one of cycling’s leading commentators.
DR BRIDIE O’DONNELL
Dr Bridie O’Donnell graduated from the University of Queensland Medical School. Between 1995 and 2006 she competed in Olympic distance and Ironman triathlon, finishing the Ironman Hawaii World Championships in 2006. In 2007, she began road cycling and in 2008 after winning the National Time Trial title, she raced in the Australian National Team, and then Professional Italian teams in Europe and the United States, representing Australia at three World Championships between 2008-2012. From 2013-2017, Bridie managed and raced for Rush Women’s Team in the Cycling Australia National Road Series and in 2016, she broke the UCI Women’s Hour World Record at the Adelaide Superdrome. In 2017, she was appointed the inaugural Head of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation by the Victorian Government and in 2018, her cycling memoir: “Life and Death” was published, detailing her experiences as a professional cyclist in Europe. When she’s not commentating cycling, she works in the Community and Public Health Division of the Victorian Department of Health.
GRACIE ELVIN
Gracie is a two-time national road cycling champion. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, has been to two Commonwealth Games, and competed in eight separate world championships in road cycling and mountain biking. Gracie was a member of the GreenEDGE professional team for eight years. She won UCI races in Europe, took second at the Tour of Flanders, and was team captain at many team victories. She was also a co-founder of the first ever international women’s cycling union – The Cyclists’ Alliance – and cares deeply about gender equality and making sure she leaves the sport in a better place than when she started it.
GRACE BROWN
Grace Brown OAM is Australia’s most successful female road cyclist. She recently retired from the sport as Olympic and World Champion in the Individual time trial. Brown’s rise to the top of professional cycling began in 2019 when she signed with Mitchelton-Scott, winning the National Time Trial Championship and a stage of the Santos Tour Down Under in her first season. In 2020, she had a breakthrough year, securing a World Tour podium at Liège–Bastogne–Liège and claiming victory at Brabantse Pijl. At the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, she finished fourth in the Individual Time Trial, just shy of the podium. In 2022, she moved to FDJ-SUEZ, where she continued to build an impressive palmarès. She won Commonwealth Games gold, earned two silver medals at the World Championships ITT, and dominated the National ITT Championships for multiple years. In 2024, she reached the pinnacle of her career, winning Olympic gold in Paris, becoming World Champion in the Individual Time Trial, and claiming victory in the prestigious Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Brown is now part of the SBS commentary and podcast team, and president of the board of The Cyclists’ Alliance.
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