Eurosport closure slammed by Geoghegan Hart and Brian Cookson

British fans will have to pay 30.99 a month from the end of February if they want to watch live action

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The news that Eurosport will disappear in the UK and Ireland, with cycling moving to TNT Sports from the end of February, has not been popular.

From 28 February, those wishing to watch live cycling will have to subscribe to TNT Sports, which on its own is £30.99 a month. Until now, Eurosport has been offered at no extra cost to Sky TV and Virgin Media customers in the UK, while Discovery+ passes have cost £6.99 a month.

TNT's argument for taking this approach is that fans will now be able to enjoy more sports, in one place - with football, rugby or UFC fans potentially crossing over. However, it's not a viewpoint that former UCI president Brian Cookson shares, telling Cycling Weekly: "It's very unhelpful for UK cycling. It's a misunderstanding by WBD of the nature of cycling fans. The language of packaging up premium deals is nonsense. Most people who are interested in cycling don't care about other sports very much. By packaging it up with other sports, you're not making an attractive proposition.

"I don't want to start paying for premium Premier League football on TNT, because I'm never going to watch any of that," Cookson added.