The UK will host the official begin of each the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes in 2027, marking the primary time each the boys’s and ladies’s races will start in the identical nation outdoors France.
Edinburgh can be a first-time host of the boys’s Grand Depart, with biking’s largest race set to return to UK shores for the primary time for the reason that 2014 version. Town beforehand bid to host the Tour in 2014 however misplaced out to a rival provide by Yorkshire.
England, Scotland and Wales are all set to host phases for the 2027 version, with Scotland and Wales each first-time hosts. It should mark simply the third time the Tour de France Grand Depart can be held within the UK, after London hosted the opening stage in 2007 and Leeds in 2014. For the ladies’s race, which was inaugurated in 2022, it is going to be solely its second overseas Grand Depart after Rotterdam hosted final 12 months.
Christian Prudhomme, the final director of the Tour de France, mentioned: “The Tour de France and the UK share a wealthy historical past, and I’m delighted to carry the Grand Départ to the nation in 2027. Britain has at all times welcomed the Tour with enthusiasm and satisfaction, and this collaboration throughout England, Scotland, and Wales guarantees to make the occasion much more particular.”
The deliberate routes for each Grand Departs can be revealed within the autumn.
John Dutton, British Biking’s chief govt, added: “The return of the Tour de France Grand Depart to Britain is an thrilling second for biking within the UK. Internet hosting each the boys’s and ladies’s races collectively can be a primary, and we imagine it has the potential to encourage extra individuals to find the enjoyment and advantages of biking. This isn’t simply concerning the race – it’s about making a nationwide second that encourages more healthy existence, helps cycle tourism, and brings communities collectively.”
The 2014 route travelled from Leeds to Harrogate on the primary day, with a second stage from York to Sheffield and a last run from Cambridge to London earlier than the switch to France. The Tour usually crosses over into neighbouring international locations throughout the race and often begins overseas, with the 2023 version starting in Bilbao, the 2024 race beginning in Florence, and subsequent 12 months’s to begin in Barcelona, adopted by two phases starting in Tarragona and Granollers.
For the reason that 2014 version the UK has made repeated overtures to the race organisers ASO to host once more, with a bid introduced in 2021 aiming for a 2026 begin spanning England, Scotland and Wales. That bid was later shelved, whereas an Irish bid to host in both 2026 or 2027 equally collapsed final 12 months. Scotland Biking additionally threw its hat into the ring after efficiently internet hosting a blockbuster World Championships in 2023, which noticed 13 disciplines contested concurrently for the primary time and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling internet hosting the highway and time-trial occasions.
The 2014 Yorkshire Grand Depart was vastly profitable, producing over £100m of income within the county alone, and noticed 4.8 million spectators end up on the roadside. The bid capitalised on a wave of enthusiasm for British biking, impressed by Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome’s Tour de France victories in 2012 and 2013 and the dominance of British outfit Workforce Sky.
Since then the panorama of the game has modified enormously, with many main UK highway races – together with the Tour of Yorkshire and RideLondon – disappearing over the previous few years because of hovering prices. Sky – rebranded as Ineos Grenadiers after 2019 – have struggled to maintain tempo with state-sponsored outfits like UAE Workforce Emirates-XRG and Dutch juggernaut Visma-Lease a Bike, and have seen their grip on the Tour de France fall by the wayside.
However 2025 has seen an uptick in efficiency and outcomes for the squad, whereas the variety of British riders within the professional peloton has continued to develop. Oscar Onley, born in Kelso, is amongst a promising bunch who might compete for a Tour de France stage win – made additional particular by being on residence roads.
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