British Cycling is trialling a £2.99 subscription for fans to watch this weekend’s Lloyds National Cyclo-cross Championships on YouTube. With British cycling fans rolling their eyes at the prospect of another subscription to watch racing, the governing body has claimed the paywall is part of a “dynamic new approach to domestic sports coverage, to reach and inspire new fans and deepen engagement with existing audiences”.
Previous editions of Britain’s national cyclocross championships have been streamed for free on YouTube, as with other selected road races throughout the year, but British Cycling has announced a pilot for the broadcast to only be available “via a modest subscription fee”, namely £2.99 a month.
The governing body says fans will have “flexibility to cancel at any time” and frame the fee as offering the best domestic cyclocross action for “less than the average price of a coffee”. It follows on from criticism of last year’s event, when there was not a broadcast on YouTube and hundreds instead followed the action via a teenager’s course-side livestream as the only British Cycling coverage came in the form of live text updates and social media videos.
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While many will baulk at the prospect of another subscription to watch cycling — the announcement coming a year after almost all professional cycling coverage for British fans moved behind TNT Sports’ premium £30.99-a-month subscription — British Cycling is confident the cyclocross coverage will be better than ever, thanks to the broadcast being provided by Monument Cycling, the subscription service offering coverage of the British domestic road racing scene for £5.99-a-month.
The British Cycling membership is separate to Monument Cycling’s own subscription, fans able to sign up on the governing body’s YouTube channel. All the elite, U23 and junior races on Sunday 11 January will be included in the £2.99 membership, fans able to cancel afterwards to avoid paying again next month.
Cameron Mason wins 2025 British cyclocross championships (Olly Hassell/SWpix.com) (credit: road.cc)In a press release communicating the development, British Cycling promised the coverage will be “dynamic” and is “part of a new approach to domestic sports coverage which is central to growing and supporting the sport”.
Amy Gardner, Sport and Participation Director at British Cycling, commented: “This forms part of our dynamic new approach to domestic sports coverage, to reach and inspire new fans and deepen engagement with existing audiences. Our coverage will get to the heart of the action at the Lloyds National Cyclo-cross Championships, bringing you the best racing from South Shields.
“It is always a prestigious event in the calendar as riders compete for the much sought after national jersey, a huge honour in anyone’s career, across all age groups. We are investing in the coverage to make top quality Championship racing accessible and engaging, so sign up today, so you don’t miss out.”
Xan Crees wins 2025 British cyclocross championships (Olly Hassell/SWpix.com) (credit: road.cc)British Cycling also advised fans that signing up directly via the YouTube channel on a laptop or desktop computer guarantees the “best price” and subscriptions purchased through iPhone or iPad apps “may cost slightly more due to Apple’s pricing policies”.
“If you’re trying to increase participation, make it free to view”
British Cycling’s claim the subscription is part of a wider “dynamic new approach” to get more people into the sport has not gone down well online, the Instagram post announcing the news attracting several comments questioning the logic.
“If you’re trying to increase participation, make it free to view. You’ll only get die hards paying,” the most liked comment said. “I get there’s costs but that should be part of your marketing budget to increase participation.”
Others questioned why, as British Cycling members, the broadcast was not included in their membership.
“I agree [it] will be only hardcore that pay,” another commenter said. “If you want to get more people into sport make it free. Surely British Cycling took note of the TNT paywall comments last year and [the] amount of people not watching various cycle sports. Great that it’s being streamed and filmed and I hope more xc and downhill gets the same in 2026…”
As mentioned in the comments above, the subscription will feel like a kick in the teeth coming in the year after almost all coverage for British fans of professional cycling was moved from Eurosport’s £6.99 subscription to behind TNT Sports’ premium £30.99-a-month paywall.
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Fan backlash continued throughout the 2025 season, the massive increase in monthly cost for essentially the same product, and plenty of advert breaks, unsurprisingly not a popular move.