The Excursion de France and Excursion de France Femmes will each get started in the UK in 2027, ASO and British Biking showed these days.
Beginning within the Scottish capital, the boys’s race will function phases in Scotland, England and Wales, regardless that actual main points of the phases don’t seem to be anticipated to be unveiled within the autumn.
The ladies’s race can even get started in the United Kingdom, however the host town for that Grand Départ isn’t but recognized and can be some of the main points printed later within the 12 months.
2027 will due to this fact mark the primary time that the boys’s and girls’s Grand Départs had been hosted in the similar overseas nation. Simplest in its fourth version in 2025, the Excursion de France Femmes has already ticked off one overseas get started in Rotterdam final summer time. The race will get started in France this 12 months, without a plans unveiled but for the 2026 get started.
At the males’s facet, this would be the 5th time that the Excursion has visited the United Kingdom – after Grand Départs in 2007 and 2014, and phases in 1994 and 1974.
“The Tour de France and the UK share a rich history, and I am delighted to bring the Grand Départ to the country in 2027,” Excursion de France race director Christian Prudhomme mentioned.
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“Britain has always welcomed the Tour with enthusiasm and pride, and this collaboration across England, Scotland, and Wales promises to make the event even more special.”
The development can be a collaboration between more than a few stakeholders in the United Kingdom, together with British Biking, UK Game, the United Kingdom Executive, and the Scottish and Welsh Governments.
“This is a super honour to welcome the Excursion de France to Scotland,” mentioned John Swinney, first minister of Scotland. “We know it is one of the most iconic and inspiring contests in sport, and that Scotland provides the perfect stage for major events. Hosting the Tour promises to be a unique opportunity to showcase our country to its many fans around the world as part of a timeline of incredible sporting events in Scotland from 2026 to 2028.”
The big event is also supported by the UK government, with culture secretary Lisa Nandy particularly celebrating the securing of the women’s race as well as the men’s Tour.
“The opportunity to host the Grand Departs of both the men’s and women’s Tour de France will cement Britain’s reputation as a destination for major international sporting events. This will stimulate growth, attract new visitors and leave a lasting legacy for athletes and fans alike,” Nandy said.
“Staging the Tour de France Femmes in Britain for the first time will also be an historic occasion and inspire the next generation of female cyclists while supporting our mission of breaking down barriers for women and girls to get more involved in sport.”
As well as the racing, the event is set to be supported by a “landmark social impact programme” within the build-up to July 2027, which is able to purpose to “ship long-lasting advantages for 1000’s of other folks around the nation by way of tackling inaction, bettering psychological wellbeing, boosting financial enlargement and supporting communities to thrive.”
“This isn’t on the subject of the race – it’s about developing a countrywide second that encourages more healthy life, helps cycle tourism, and brings communities in combination,” mentioned British Biking CEO Jon Dutton OBE.
The scenes final time the Excursion visited the United Kingdom (Symbol credit score: Getty Photographs)
The Yorkshire Grand Départ in 2014 was largely considered to be a success on the roadside, with huge crowds attending the three UK-based stages and the event ultimately paved the way for the Yorkshire World Championships in 2019.
However, the legacy of the event has not necessarily endured in a positive light, with ‘tribute’ race the Tour de Yorkshire folding after X editions and the driver of the event, Welcome to Yorkshire’s Gary Verity, resigning amidst allegations of bullying and financial inconsistencies.
Once a rarity, and then at most an every-other-year affair, foreign Grand Départs have become increasingly common in all the Grand Tours, but especially the Tour de France. Of the last 10 editions, six have started outside of France, in locations such as Copenhagen, the Basque Country, and Düsseldorf.
The 2025 race will start in France, before a Barcelona Grand Départ in 2026, making the UK start in 2027 back-to-back foreign starts.
Prudhomme ‘optimistic’ 2027 Grand Départ will be on free-to-air television
In a roundtable press conference held on Wednesday to discuss the 2027 Grand Départ, it was revealed that talks about taking the Tour to Scotland dated back 18 years.
Prudhomme said that a change in UCI rules to allow the race to start on a Friday paved the way for taking the Tour to Edinburgh, ensuring that a day could be set aside for a transfer deep into France.
“We by no means thought of it – the similar nation [for both races]. It is the first time that the similar nation can be web hosting the Excursion for women and men out of doors of France. So, for me, it is truly large,” Prudhomme mentioned.
“After we began to speak, the foundations of the UCI have been other. It was once very tough for us to start out the race on a Friday. As quickly because it was once made up our minds that, each and every 4 years the potential of beginning on a Friday, all of sudden Scotland was once now not all that a ways clear of Paris and from France.
“We built a confidence and trust in all these years and I want to thank Paul and all the team. They never gave up on the possibility and they always upgraded the bid.”
Prudhomme additionally mentioned that the convenience of having out into the Scottish geographical region was once an element within the good fortune of the bid, recounting his personal journeys to Edinburgh and Scotland along with his circle of relatives.
He referred to as the Excursion “a sporting event that’s also for people who don’t like sports”, mentioning tradition, geography and native satisfaction as essential portions of the bid and the race itself.
“It’s a magical city. You can go 20 minutes away from the city centre and you’re in the middle of nowhere. For the Tour de France and other bike races, it’s very important for the helicopter shots. Edinburgh and Scotland will offer a magnificent backdrop for the Tour.
“The race is the one wearing match that also is for individuals who do not like sports activities. It is geography, it is tradition, it is satisfaction. Folks have satisfaction after they see house from the heli pictures.
“All these things are here in the British bid – in Scotland, England, and Wales.”
In spite of everything, and possibly maximum pertinently for British biking fanatics, Prudhomme mentioned that he is hopeful that the Grand Départ can be aired on free-to-air tv in the United Kingdom.
The Excursion will disappear from free-to-air tv after this summer time, with ITV4 now not bidding on tv rights past 2025. That call, paired with the new shuttering of Eurosport and Warner Bros. Discovery’s shift of Eurosport’s biking protection at the back of a £30.99 paywall on TNT Sports activities, manner the price of observing racing in the United Kingdom skyrocketed from the top of February.
Prudhomme mentioned that discussions can be had over the problem earlier than the 2027 Excursion.
“There will be discussions, of course,” he mentioned. “But I do hope – and I do believe – that the stages will be live and free-to-air in 2027 in the UK. There will be discussions and we’re optimistic.”
