The Grand Departs for the 2027 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes will hit three capital cities in the United Kingdom as they start in the same country for the first time.

The TdFF’s debut UK visit will be marked by a final stage on August 1 in the capital, London, after starting in Leeds and reaching Manchester, race organiser ASO announced on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the men’s race will explore three countries in three days as they start in Edinburgh, Scotland before passing through Liverpool and the Lake District in the grand tour’s first time back north of the Channel since 2014.

The third stage for the men’s Grand Depart will finish in Wales’ capital Cardiff, where the Tour of Britain finished in 2025 to say farewell to Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas in the summer before his retirement.

“We want passion, we want huge crowds, but we want beautiful scenery,” ASO’s Cristian Prudhomme said in a press briefing on Thursday. “The legacy will be significant. Edinburgh is magical, one of my preferred cities in Europe, it is Hollywood. We are 100 per cent sure Liverpool will be massive.”

Both races start with flat stages, favouring the sprinters, before hillier terrain designed to bring the general classification favourites and puncheurs into contention, meaning the coveted maillot jaune could change hands at least once before the peloton reaches France.

The six stages of both Grand Departs will visit seven major cities, while the men’s race is set to cover 630 kilometres.

“This is not a sporting moment, it is a national moment,” British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton said on Thursday.

While for the first time since 1984 the Tour de France will be behind a paywall in the UK, the managing director of the 2027 Grand Depart revealed that talks are being held to keep these first three stages on free-to-air television.

What can viewers expect?

The TdFF coming to the UK for the first time and having their final Grand Depart stage in London is a testament to its director Marion Rousse’s desire to “give young women the opportunity to dream”.

Since its inception under ASO’s umbrella in 2022, the race has been growing in every direction — length, elevation and number of stages. The decision to bring the peloton to three of England’s biggest cities follows that trend, giving it every opportunity to attract the most amount of interest.

“You can’t be what you can’t see,” British cycling legend and former world champion Lizzie Deignan said on Thursday.

In what is an exciting time for cycling in the UK, with talents emerging such as Movistar’s Cat Ferguson, who came second in the Tour of Britain GC in the summer, the visibility that the route affords will be happily welcomed.

The men’s race is similarly ambitious, reaching three countries before crossing the channel with two stages over 200km having 12 categorised climbs between them.

Many fans might rue the fact that the TDF isn’t returning to Yorkshire, birthplace of Tom Pidcock, after a successful 2014 Grand Depart, but the huge and varied ground that the route is set to cover will more than make up for it. Eyes will be on Darlington-born sprint star Matthew Brennan as the flat first stages could tee up an early British yellow jersey.

Tour de France:
Stage 1: 184km: Edinburgh — Carlisle
Stage 2: 223km: Keswick — Liverpool
Stage 3: 223km: Welshpool — Cardiff
Tour de France Femmes:
Stage 1: Leeds — Manchester
Stage 2: Manchester — Sheffield
Stage 3: London

(ASO/Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift)