The 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes will visit major cities including Manchester, Cardiff and London when the Grand Départs are jointly held in the United Kingdom next summer, it was unveiled on Thursday.
The news that the UK would become the first foreign country to host the Grand Departs of both the men’s and women’s races came last March, and now the start and finish locations of all six stages have been confirmed.
The second stage will start in Manchester and journey into the climb-filled Peak District before finishing back in Yorkshire in Sheffield. This tough stage will tackle some of the UK’s hardest climbs in Peaks, including Snake Pass, on a course set to follow some of the roads used for the Yorkshire Grand Départ in 2014.
The third stage will see the race visit the capital in London, with more details of this stage to be confirmed in the spring. The two previous British Grand Départs in 2007 and 2014 both also visited London with finishes on sprinter-friendly The Mall.
The men’s race, which will arrive in the UK a month earlier, will set out from Edinburgh on Friday, July 2, travelling south to Carlisle’s medieval castle, which could be a bumpy route through the Scottish borders, but there will be just one classified climb, which the organisers have named the Côte de Melrose.
Race director Christian Prudhomme predicted on Thursday that this stage would finish in a bunch sprint, delivering the first yellow jersey to a sprinter.
The second stage will start in Keswick in the Lake District, heading south through the National Park and some of its most famous lakes, into Lancashire and Merseyside for a city centre finish on The Strand in Liverpool. The day will total 223km and feature five categorised climbs.
The third stage will take place entirely in Wales, starting in Welshpool – a popular stop of the Tour of Britain routes – and tracing south to the capital in Cardiff, with six categorised climbs in the final 80km through the Valleys, the last coming just 12km from the finish line.
Rather than racing immediately again in France on Monday, the race will incorporate an extra travel day on July 5, which also opens the possibility for the race to restart in France outside of the northern area that is closest to the UK.
The rest of the routes for the men’s and women’s 2027 Tours will be unveiled at the route presentation later in 2026, usually held in October.
To launch the route and the host cities, the Grand Départ organisers are hosting a ‘Tour de Skies’ moment on Thursday evening, where each of the ten host towns and cities shone a yellow beam into the sky simultaneously.
Lizzie Deignan was at the route launch in Leeds, welcoming the women’s race to her home roads in Yorkshire.
“Racing the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has been one of the highlights of my career, and seeing the women’s edition go from strength to strength has been genuinely inspiring,” she said. “To know that both the men’s and women’s races will start here in 2027, and especially that the women will come to my home roads of Yorkshire, is truly special. This is a huge moment for the sport and an opportunity that will inspire countless women and girls to get on their bikes.”
ASO’s Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme reflected on the last two times the race visited to the UK, both under his stewardship – in his first year in charge in 2007, and then again in 2014, where enormous crowds turned out in Yorkshire.
“It’s very emotional for me to be back in Leeds after the success of [the 2014 Grand Départ],” he said. “It wasn’t only the pictures and images, but there was a tunnel packed with noise and sound during the two days in Yorkshire in 2014. Thanks to the success in 2014, and the success of London in 2007, we were very keen to be back in the UK.”
Though the men’s race will swap Yorkshire for Lancashire in 2027, the women’s race will feature two days in Yorkshire, with Prudhomme saying “Marion [Rousse] will love Yorkshire in two days for sure” and “I’m absolutely certain that we will see the same support as in Yorkshire in different parts of the country in 2027, but Yorkshire will always hold a special place in my heart”.
Women’s race director Marion Rousse expressed her excitement at bringing the women’s even to the UK, and joining the list of major women’s sporting events held in the UK.
“I’d also like to thank everybody here in Great Britain for the longstanding support, not only of women’s cycling, but of women’s sport in general,” she said.
“We can’t overlook the fact that you recently hosted some fantastic women’s sport in this country, notably the Women’s Rugby World Cup last year, and what this represents in terms of the growth of women’s sport and the symbol of what women’s sport means here. So it’s an honor for us to walk in the footsteps of former champions here. I recall particularly Millie Robinson [from the Isle of Man], who was the first-ever winner of a women’s Tour de France.”
Social impact programme
As well as bringing the two Tours de France to the UK, British Cycling are also unveiling a social impact programme called Joy, which will involve six core programmes aimed at breaking down the barriers to sport and tackling inactivity.
“The Grand Départs in 2027 are about so much more than six unforgettable stages of racing – it’s about unlocking lasting change for communities right across Britain,” British Cycling chief executive Jon Dutton said.
“Through Joy – our collective, game-changing social impact programme – we will put opportunity, wellbeing and community pride right at the heart of this moment in sporting history.
“By working with partners and creating new, varied ways for people to connect with cycling – whether by riding, volunteering, supporting locally, or engaging through culture and community activity – we can break down barriers and open the sport up in ways that meet people where they are.
“This is a once‑in‑a‑generation chance to build a healthier, more active and more connected nation. It shows the power of major events when they’re done right, and British Cycling is proud to help deliver a legacy that will be felt long after the peloton has left UK shores.”
British Cycling will also be recruiting 7,000 volunteers to help deliver the six days of racing across the two Grand Departs, with the volunteering programme due to be launched this spring.
Tour de France 2027 Grand Départ stages
- Stage 1 (Friday, July 2) – Edinburgh to Carlisle, 184km
- Stage 2 (Saturday, July 3) – Keswick to Liverpool, 223km
- Stage 3 (Sunday, July 4) – Welshpool to Cardiff, 223km
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Tour de France Femmes 2027 Grand Départ stages
- Stage 1 (Friday, July 30) – Leeds to Manchester
- Stage 2 (Saturday, July 31) – Manchester to Sheffield
- Stage 3 (Sunday, August 1) – London
Stage distances not yet confirmed.