A thrilling game of cat-and-mouse, the sprint is one of the biggest draws of the track cycling program at the Paris Olympics, and here's how to watch a live stream of the 2024 Olympic sprint, which begins on August 7 and ends on August 11.

Also known as the individual sprint, the event pits two athletes against each other face to face and can come to a near halt before reaching blinding speed. In the first phase of the competition, the competitors are ranked in a flying lap time trial, which determines their seeding position.

In the individual sprint, Lavriesen broke the world record in the qualifying round on August 7 and won gold in the final on August 9, beating Australian Matthew Richardson.

The women's competition began on August 9 and was narrowed down to four in the quarterfinals on August 10: Elles Andrews (New Zealand), Emma Finucane (Great Britain), Leah Friedrich (Germany), and Hetty van de Woo (Netherlands).

The battle will begin on August 11. The semi-finals will start at 11:22 local time (CET), the finals at 12:45 for the first heat and 13:15 for the second. If a decisive battle is required, it will start at 13:44.

This guide explains how to watch the Olympic Cycling Sprint 2024 from anywhere in the world. For the track events, see How to watch the track events at the Paris Olympics.

NBC owns the broadcast rights to the Olympics in the United States. The Olympics will be televised on several of the network's television channels, as well as on the network's streaming service, Peacock.

The men's and women's sprint events will be available on Peacock, which offers a free 7-day trial for those who wish to try before they buy. Full subscription to the service through Peacock Premium starts at $7.99 per month. Peacock Premium Plus, which is ad-free, is $13.99 per month.

The finals of each competition will also be broadcast live on television, with the men's final on August 9 on E. and the women's final on August 11 on NBC 4 New York.

These channels are available with a cable plan, but don't worry if you don't have cable; Sling is a smart TV service that allows you to watch cable channels on your TV, laptop, or tablet without actually subscribing to an annual cable TV package in the US. E. and NBC 4 New York are available on Sling with the Sling Blue package for $40 per month ($20 for the first month).

If you live in Canada, you can watch the Olympics on several broadcasters, including the free-to-air CBC and the subscription services TSN and Sportsnet.

It is not clear if CBC will air the sprint rounds as part of its daily telecast. The finals will be streamed online on CBC Gem. Access to the ad-free on-demand library is $5.99 per month, but the ad-supported version is free.

TSN and Sportsnet do not have dedicated streams for each sport, so it is not certain if the sprint events will be cut as part of their programming.

TSN's subscription service will set you back $19.99 per month or $199.90 per year. Sportsnet SN Now subscriptions, on the other hand, cost $14.99 per month or $179.99 per year.

In the UK, cycling fans can watch the Olympics for free on the BBC through BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC iPlayer.

However, since the BBC only has the rights to broadcast two streams at a time, there is no guarantee that all rounds of the sprint will be televised, although track cycling will be heavily supported by the national broadcaster.

In that case, it will be seen on Discovery+, the most comprehensive coverage in the UK.

A special Olympic campaign allows you to subscribe to the "standard" Discovery+ package for £3.99 per month. This package includes a year-round cycling stream as well as other live sports such as snooker, tennis, and motorsports.

In Australia, cycling fans can watch the Olympics for free on Channel 9 and its 9Now streaming service.

As in other regions, the bulk of the action is expected to be included on live television, but for guaranteed coverage of all sprint races, fans can head to 9Now on their smart devices of choice.

If you are traveling abroad and attempt to access your usual live streaming service to watch the action, you may find that access is regionally restricted.

In this case, a VPN service comes in handy, making your computer appear as if you are at home, allowing you to log into your streaming account and catch all of the race action.

Our colleagues at TechRadar thoroughly tested several VPN services, and NordVPN struck gold: