{"id":505757,"date":"2026-02-26T17:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/505757\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:09:09","slug":"scottish-cycling-lands-huge-windfall-ahead-of-landmark-tour-de-france-launch-to-fund-future-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/505757\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottish cycling lands huge windfall ahead of landmark Tour de France launch to fund future projects"},"content":{"rendered":"

A \u00a31 million fund will back a series of projects in Scotland in order to capture community engagement in cycling in the run up to the Tour de France Grand D\u00e9part in 2027, when opening stages will take the best cyclists in the world through Scotland, England and Wales. <\/p>\n

Scotland\u2019s national governing body, Scottish Cycling, will oversee the delivery of events aimed at encouraging young people to tackle inactivity, group activity and improve their wellbeing, after receiving government backing.<\/p>\n

Business Minister Richard Lochhead met with Scottish Cycling Chief Executive Nick Rennie to make the announcement and see such a project in action at the Rural and Urban Training Scheme (RUTS) in Penicuik, Midlothian. <\/p>\n

Surrounded by local school children taking part in their first BMX lessons, RUTS Chief Operating Officer Alison Nimmo said the renowned cycling event with unparalleled global appeal is \u201ctoo good to miss an opportunity that\u2019s passing our doorstep\u201d. <\/p>\n

Talking through a number of RUTS cycling projects, Ms Nimmo told GB News, \u201cOne that we\u2019re piloting at the minute is called \u2018Ride out off grid\u2019 and it\u2019s been designed by young people for young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about getting outdoors on your bike and embracing the outdoor environment,\u201d adding, \u201cto see that linked in with this launch today is an inspiration to these young people and what they can possibly achieve in the future.\u201d <\/p>\n

Business Minister Richard Lochhead shares cyclists\u2019 excitement that the Tour de France is to depart from Scotland for the first time in its 124-year history. <\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThousands of people are going to line the route but also hundreds of millions of people around the world are going to be watching and that\u2019s a great showcase for Scotland. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s great for the economy, it\u2019s great for tourism – but we also need a lasting legacy and that\u2019s what this social impact fund is all about. <\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re allocating a million pounds for that, working with the organisation Scottish Cycling to run projects around the country so the whole country benefits from the Tour de France.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent times, Scottish Cycling has a proven track record of building momentum ahead of the UCI Cycling World Championships, hosted by Glasgow in 2023. <\/p>\n

CEO Nick Rennie said Scottish Cycling says his job is made easier by Scotland being \u201ca great country for cycling\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got some fantastic countryside and we\u2019re seeing some vast improvements in the cycling infrastructure in our urban environments. <\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know we\u2019ve got the best countryside for cyclists and some of the best mountain bike trails in the world and we\u2019re starting to see development in all other aspects of cycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone who has benefitted from those facilities around Scotland is champion junior cyclist Daisy Wilkinson, who is now on the Team GB Olympic Pathway for her proficiency racing mountain bikes up Bens and down glens. <\/p>\n

Brought up in a family of cyclists, she explains how the Tour was a huge influence on her track to becoming a competitive cyclist.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad used to always watch the Tour de France,\u201d she explains, \u201cmy sisters used to race when they were younger and then I just got involved in the community and they brought me up in the sport. <\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

The Grand Depart will be from Scotland<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

TOUR DE FRANCE<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the World Championships came to Scotland, it was an incredible opportunity and that really boosted me on to keep going in the sport.\u201d <\/p>\n

Helping non-cyclists make sense of the buzz around the British Grand D\u00e9part, she said: \u201ceveryone is just so excited to see the world\u2019s best riders for their home roads, whether it\u2019s Scotland, England or Wales. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never happened before – it\u2019s never come this close to Scotland before – and it\u2019s going to be in credible to show of Scotland at its best.” <\/p>\n

The Grand D\u00e9part comes in the midst of a series of high-profile sporting competitions that Scottish ministers hope will sell Scotland\u2019s viability as a top tier nation for global events, including the Commonwealth Games returning to Glasgow this summer and the UEFA European Championships in 2028. <\/p>\n

The three opening stages of the 2027 Tour de France will set off from Edinburgh to Carlisle on July 2, Keswick to Liverpool on July 3 and Y Trallwing to Cardiff on July 4 before cyclists make their way to mainland Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A \u00a31 million fund will back a series of projects in Scotland in order to capture community engagement…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[130487,64,63,784,187,44,5994,588,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-505757","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-across-the-uk","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-cycling","12":"tag-money","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-scotland","15":"tag-sport","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}