“Historic day for British sport”: Leeds, Liverpool, London, and Cardiff confirmed as 2027 Tour de France host cities – as talks over free-to-air TV coverage of UK Grand Départ “ongoing”

Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, London, and Cardiff have all been confirmed as host cities of the 2027 editions of the men’s and women’s Tour de France, which will see six stages in total of cycling’s biggest race take place in the UK, in what was described by the organiser of next summer’s Grands Départs as a “historic day for British sport”.

13 years on from the men’s Tour’s triumphant visit to Yorkshire, the 2027 Tour de France Femmes will get underway in Leeds, it was announced on Thursday, making it only the third city, after Paris and Rotterdam, to host the Grand Départ of both the men’s and women’s Tours.

After leaving Leeds, the opening two stages of the 2027 Tour Femmes will finish in Manchester and Sheffield (via Snake Pass), while a circuit-based stage in London will bring a fitting end to the Tour’s first ever double foreign Grand Départ.

The full route details of the UK start to the 2027 men’s Tour were also confirmed on Thursday, with Scotland, England, and Wales all set to feature on the race’s itinerary, which will include stage finishes in Carlisle, Liverpool, and Cardiff.

“I will always remember heading to the Headrow in Leeds three and half hours before the start of stage one in 2014, and there were so many people. It was like a tunnel of noise,” the Tour’s general director Christian Prudhomme said during the press conference unveiling the routes.

“Thanks to the success of 2014 and London in 2007, we were very keen to get back to the UK. 2007 was the first time I ever saw the riders applauding the crowds. We’ve found in the UK a love of cycling and a passion for the Tour.

“The UK has always welcomed the Tour with passion and pride, and the route details we are revealing today reflect the beauty and diversity of Britain’s terrain. Bringing both Grands Départs here is a testament to the strength of our partnership with British Cycling and the enthusiasm of the UK.”

Meanwhile, following the demise of ITV’s Tour coverage last year and the decision to move cycling from Eurosport to the more expensive TNT Sports package, the managing director of the 2027 Grand Départ, Paul Bush, revealed that talks are still “ongoing” concerning the possibility of airing the race’s opening British stages on free-to-air TV.

What’s on the menu for 2027?

Côtes and diaries at the ready, here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect when cycling’s biggest race crosses the channel in 18 months’ time.

As confirmed last March, the 2027 Tour Hommes will start in Edinburgh on Friday 2 July, with what Prudhomme promises will be an “unforgettable” Grand Départ in front of the Scottish capital’s iconic castle – marking the beginning of what the Tour director described as a “four nations tournament” that will take in Scotland, England, Wales, and of course France.

 A rolling 184km opening stage greets the riders – featuring just the one categorised climb, the Côte de Melrose (first Côte already), in the Eildon Hills – before crossing the border for a finish tailormade for the sprinters outside Carlisle Castle.

While the first stage is designed for the fast men, the Tour peloton will not be gently eased into the 2027 race, thanks to two extremely long stages that will take them down to Wales before the trek back to France.

Stage two will begin in Keswick, in the heart of the Lake District, before heading south towards the Morecambe Bay coastline on a “demanding” 223km route, featuring five categorised climbs. The last of those, the Parbold, will be tackled with 32km to go, perhaps teeing up a reduced bunch sprint in Liverpool, along the Strand.

It will be a case of déjà vu – but tougher – for the riders on stage three, as another 223km slog takes them from Welshpool to Cardiff via eight stinging, steep climbs in Wales (including the Epynt, Rhigos, and Maerdy) and 3,000m of combined elevation.

The final stage of the men’s UK visit will likely see the yellow jersey changing hands, with Caerphilly Mountain, at 2km and an average of 8.1 per cent, almost certain to split things up.

Thanks to the Tour’s Friday start, and due to the logistical challenges of travelling back to France, the peloton will then be greeted with a much-needed travel day on Monday (described by Prudhomme as a “joker rest day”), a now regular feature in far-flung Grands Départs.

While the Tour Hommes will adopt a GB-wide approach, the Grand Départ of the 2027 Tour de France Femmes will be an all-English affair, with Leeds resuming its duties as host city from 2014, and Manchester, Sheffield, and London all set to feature in what looks set to be a historic, groundbreaking moment for women’s cycling in the UK.

While the full details of the Femmes route will be announced at a later date, race director Marion Rousse – who paid tribute to Yorkshire cycling legends Beryl Burton and Lizzie Deignan, as well as the pioneering Millie Robinson – revealed that stage one, from Leeds to Manchester on Friday 30 July, will be one for the sprinters.

Stage two will flip that narrative on its head, however, with a tough route from Manchester to Sheffield (the scene of eventual yellow jersey winner Vincenzo Nibali’s stage-winning late attack in 2014) set to include the iconic Snake Pass.

The third stage will then see the riders race around the streets of London, in a repeat of the 2007 men’s race, a stage described by Rousse as a “dream come true”.

> The Tour de France Femmes’ Long and Winding Road: A brief history of the women’s Tour de France

The Tour Femmes’ visit to the UK, Rousse said, builds on the support for hosting elite women’s sport in Britain, including the recent rugby World Cup, and will aim to “give young women the opportunity to dream and see what they could achieve”.

“To experience the magic of the Tour with my children, but see ponytails coming out of the back of the helmets, will be brilliant,” former world champion Deignan, speaking at the event, added.

“There’s no downside to this, it’s all positive. The amount of children who come up to me and talk about watching me win a medal in London 2012, or their memories of me racing – if you can’t see it, you can’t be it. And this is going to inspire so many girls and boys.”

> Scottish Tour de France Grand Départ budget trebles to over £10 million

As part of the route reveal, the organisers also announced the launch of Joy, a social impact programme at the heart of the 2027 Grand Départ, which aims to tackle inactivity and improve mental wellbeing, support communities to thrive, and to “make Britain more productive and prosperous”

“If 2014 is anything to go by, the legacy will be significant,” added Prudhomme.

“But there is a lot of work to do before the Tour arrives, especially with young people and children. We’re working with British Cycling to give people the opportunity to cycle more, so we will have a great impact on the nations we’re riding through – hopefully improving the health of future generations.”

Meanwhile, Paul Bush, the managing director of the 2027 Grand Départ, described Thursday’s route announcement as a “historic day for British sport”.

“It’s the third biggest sporting event in the world, and it’s free to watch, especially in an era when there is so much debate about the cost of ticketing prices,” he said.

However, when asked about whether any progress has been made in ensuring the races will be available on free-to-air TV, Bush was unable to provide any concrete details.

“As you’ve probably seen, the contract sits with TNT,” he said. “We have a commitment to work with Christian and the team at ASO to bring the six stages to free-to-air TV and work on that is ongoing.”

The excitement is building and the countdown to 2027 has well and truly begun – but, unsurprisingly, there are still plenty of details to sort out before next July.