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The Great British Grand Départ: What we know so far about the 2027 Tour de France openers
In February it was revealed that Great Britain could host the Tour de France once again in 2027. As reported by BBC Sport, the decade-long wait for the Tour to return will be broken by a British Grand Départ for both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes in two years’ time.
‘We have made no secret of our ambition to host the Tour de France Grand Départ in Britain — to inspire more people to enjoy cycling and bring lasting benefits to communities,’ UK Sport said in response to the BBC report. After several foiled bids since Britain last held the Tour in 2014, the latest British plan appears to be in pole position to host the race in two years’ time.
No official routes have been shared, however the BBC said Scottish capital Edinburgh is being considered at the starting point of the men’s race. Following that there’s speculation that the peloton will head south into England and Wales in the following days, with a return to Leeds rumoured. Meanwhile the Yorkshire Post reported that Leeds is the frontrunner to host the Tour de France Femmes Grand Départ.
The most northerly Tour de France stage in history
As part of the plan to host the Tour de France across Great Britain, Edinburgh is expected to be the first port of call.
Having hosted an exciting set of races at the 2018 UEC European Championships and the 2023 UCI World Championships, Scottish Cycling were bullish about their chances at hosting the Tour de France. The association’s chief executive Nick Rennie said that he was ‘in conversations’ during the championships in 2023 in regards to hosting the Tour. Instead of returning to Glasgow though, The Times claimed that Edinburgh will host the 2027 Tour’s opening stage.
The Scottish capital has some cycling pedigree, having hosted the start of the men’s road race at the 2023 Worlds. It has also seen stages of the men’s Tour of Britain and the now-defunct Women’s Tour of Scotland in recent years. The city, which is the hometown of Picnic-PostNL’s Sean Flynn, is not shy to hosting international events either, with Scotland’s regular international rugby matches and the month-long Fringe Festival every August.
If Edinburgh is the chosen destination, this will see the Tour de France visit Scotland for the first time in its history. It will also see the race venture to its most northerly point to date.
Wales and England to be added on
After a stage in Scotland, organisers hope that the race convoy will cross the border into both England and Wales.
The direction of travel through England has not been confirmed, but local press in Yorkshire seem confident in their chances. The county is home to one of the UK’s most vibrant cycling scenes and has a proven record at hosting bike races including the 2014 Tour de France, several Tour de Yorkshires and the 2019 UCI Road World Championships. British Cycling also has strong contacts with local authorities in the area, but dipping into Yorkshire would require a four or five hour drive down from Edinburgh the day before.
From England, this three-day excursion is rumoured to be heading to Wales, which has been weighing up a Tour bid for some time now. In 2011, the Liberal Democrats pledged to work towards a Welsh Grand Départ during their premiership in the Senedd. It was also strongly rumoured that ASO were interested in a Welsh Grand Départ before the pandemic, having visited the region during the final two stages of the 2019 Women’s Tour, which concluded in South Wales.
Cardiff was considered in previous plans for a Home Nations Tour bid ten years ago. British Cycling CEO John Dutton also earmarked Cardiff as a target when discussing the Grand Départ last September. That said, some signs hint at a visit to Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. The southern counties are picturesque and hilly and were reportedly discussed in more recent Tour plans, such as the Government-backed 2026 bid.
If the plan is to visit all three countries, it will be a logistical challenge given how spread apart the stages will be. It will break the mold for Tour Grand Départs, which are usually concentrated in a smaller region or city. If they pull it off, Scotland and Wales would make their Tour de France debuts.
Yorkshire to host the Tour de France Femmes
Yorkshire held the Grand Départ of the men’s Tour de France in 2014. It was deemed an overwhelming success, attracting record crowds throughout the route. Financial reports show that the two stages held in Yorkshire a decade ago generated just over £100m for the region.
Now it’s the turn of the women’s peloton to tackle the Yorkshire Moors and Dales. Per The Yorkshire Post, Leeds is gearing up to host the Tour de France Femmes in 2027. This is expected to be as part of an English Grand Départ for the women’s race, which might remain in Yorkshire for multiple days.
The Tour de France Femmes has only started abroad on one occasion since the race’s inaugural edition in 2022. That was in 2024 when the race started in the Netherlands for two days, with the next stage crossing into Belgium. Perhaps restricted by a nine-stage route, the amount of days spent abroad may be limited, especially when you factor in potential travel time from Britain to France.
What could the stages look like?
Tour de France
The finer details about the parcours are under wraps for the moment. However British Cycling shared some insights with City AM in the autumn about their target locations.
‘We’re looking at big population centres – London, Glasgow, Cardiff and more,’ CEO John Dutton told City AM. ‘We are doing a mapping exercise at the moment on the Tour of Britain to look at areas we haven’t been to previously. Hopefully we can reach more people in more places.’
Since then, it appears that the organisers have struck a deal with Edinburgh for the opening stage. If it does set out from the Scottish capital, expect a lumpy day’s racing with plenty of short kickers in the city and nearby Holyrood Park. We might also see some cobblestones if they decide to climb into the city’s Old Town.
That said, we don’t know where the opening stage will end up. The Daily Record has reported that Stirling would be interested in welcoming the Tour after hosting the time-trials at the UCI World Championships in 2023. Glasgow would be a natural choice given its experience in recent years. However, if the organisers want to head down to England the next morning, it may be wise for the parcours to head into the Scottish Borders. The Tour of Britain is familiar in this part of the world – Kelso, Peebles and Hawick have all hosted stages in recent years.
After what will probably be a sprint on Stage 1, we could expect a hilly stage through Yorkshire if the rumours are true. The Tour de Yorkshire has never been the most attritional race, but when the Tour de France was last there in 2014 the GC favourites stretched their legs on the various Yorkshire passes on offer. With only one day on the table, route designers will have a tough task stuffing everything into a 200km stage.
If Wales is thrown in, don’t expect any formulaic flat sprints. It’s also safe to say that a time-trial is off the cards too. The ambitious plan to reach all three nations may mean that we see some incredibly long road stages over the three days. Transfers between stagers will have to be well-thought out and reasonable, so every kilometre will count.
Tour de France Femmes
If the Tour de France Femmes does in fact set off from Yorkshire, it may look very similar to the men’s start in 2014. Expect to see Yorkshire classics like Holme Moss, Buttertubs and Fleet Moss during a hilly introduction, and if they stay in Yorkshire a second hilly stage could be on the cards.
This is purely speculation, but it would make sense for the Tour de France Femmes to head towards London afterwards, just like the men did in 2014. A sprint into the capital would be a fitting end to three days of racing on British shores. Plus, this will limit the transfers needed to get to France for the following day.
Given that the Tour de France convoy will reach France’s northern easterly corner, the pavé of Roubaix could be a serious option for the women’s peloton on Stage 4. The Tour de France Femmes is yet to tackle the cobblestones, but the geography of a British Grand Départ could certainly tempt the organisers to throw in the roads of Paris-Roubaix once they arrive on French soil.
We’ve been down this path before
This isn’t Britain’s first Grand Départ rodeo. Having successfully held the opening stages of the Tour twice before, Britain has been eager for the French race to return to British shores for a decade now.
The successful Yorkshire bid in 2014 wasn’t the only British option on the table that year. A three-day Edinburgh to Cardiff route was led by British Cycling and Event Scotland as part of a cross-country plan that had Scotland, England and Wales all on board. That’s not all too different from what is being discussed ahead of the 2027 event, however the Yorkshire package, which was pushed by the local tourism board, was ultimately ASO’s final choice.
In 2021, then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged millions aside for an ambitious set of plans to host top-level sporting events in the UK. Among them, a roadmap to hosting the 2026 Grand Départ – once again across Scotland, England and Wales. After close talks between UK Sport and the UK Government, the plans cooled off coming into 2024 and it fell apart before the 2024 Tour when Barcelona was confirmed as the 2026 host.
London was previously interested in hosting the Tour de France in the late-2010s. On the back of the thriving RideLondon, a stage finish at the 2014 Tour and post-Olympic buzz, London launched a convincing offer for the 2017 Tour. The British bidders pulled out last minute, however, and pro racing has now completely disappeared from the capital as it becomes increasingly difficult to close off the city streets for a single afternoon of bike racing.
Not to be all doom and gloom, but this 2027 prospect could still fall through. Although those involved seem very confident – including MP Alex Sobel, who says that Britain is ‘in a strong position to host the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes in 2027’ – there’s a realistic chance that these plans may have to be scaled back quite drastically. This Home Nations idea is ambitious to say the least, so revisions will no doubt be needed to make this feasible. To add, the question of UK broadcasting may also come under scrutiny given that the Tour de France will be wiped off free-to-air TV in 2026.
What happens next?
The Tour de France doesn’t have a formal bid process like the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup. Bids are usually kept secret behind the scenes, but British Cycling and UK Sport have both confirmed that the plans for a 2027 Grand Départ bid are in the works. Tour organisers ASO will announce the news in due course if Britain is successful.
In previous years, Grand Départ locations have been announced roughly two years before the Tour. Barcelona, which will host the 2026 event, was confirmed by ASO in June 2024. Lille, which will host the Grande Boucle this year, was a later announcement, coming in November 2023. Similarly, Italy was announced as the host of the 2024 race in December 2022, roughly a year and a half before the Tour touched down in Florence.
It’s no secret that foreign Grand Départs are lucrative for ASO. Reportedly, the organisers receive around €6million from foreign Tour hosts, a sharp comparison to the €3-4million tabled by French Grand Départ hosts Brittany (2021) and Lille (2025).
The Tour de France has started outside of France’s borders on 27 occasions since it first ventured to Amsterdam in 1954. Since the pandemic, the Tour de France has started abroad more than it has in France, having gone international in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026. The UK has performed Grand Départ duties twice before – London in 2007 and Yorkshire in 2014 – and if the plans for 2027 are successful, it will be the country’s fourth inclusion on the Tour de France route.
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