The Grand Départ of the 114th edition of the Tour de France will link the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, and the Welsh capital, Cardiff, via England, with three stages exploring Great Britain from north to south.
The sprinters will meet on Friday 2 July in Carlisle to compete for the Yellow Jersey, which will also be awarded first in Great Britain in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027.
The English roads leading to Liverpool and the Welsh hills will also see the puncheurs and contenders for the general classification battle it out.
From Friday to Sunday (2-4 July), the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2027 will visit Scotland, England and Wales in just three stages. From the very first day of racing, the route will give full meaning to this historic start, the 28th to take place outside of France, but the first to involve three nations. The peloton will set off from Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and cross the border to compete for the Yellow Jersey in Carlisle. The second stage will take place entirely on English roads, between Keswick and Liverpool, and the third will explore Wales from Welshpool to Cardiff.
The festivities will begin with the teams presentation on Wednesday 30 June at Edinburgh’s Old Castle. With more than 600 kilometres of racing between the city of Chris Hoy, icon of Scottish cycling, and that of Geraint Thomas, the only Welsh winner of the Tour, the crossing of Great Britain promises wonders. It will also be intense, before more celebrations at the end of July for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027.
Across the countryside of Midlothian and Scottish Borders, the peloton will tackle the first classified climb in Scotland, in Melrose. It shouldn’t bother the sprinters who dream of claiming the first Yellow Jersey, 13 years after Marcel Kittel’s victorious sprint in Harrogate, the last time the Grand Départ was held on British soil. The fast men will be particularly wary of the final stretch and the finish in Carlisle, a regular stop on the Tour of Britain, which is about to make its grand entrance into Tour history.
The route becomes significantly more demanding for the 2nd and 3rd stages. On Saturday 3 July, after setting off from Keswick and visiting the Lake District National Park, attackers will try to take advantage of the five categorised climbs on the road to Liverpool. However, some sprinters may hope to survive… It will be much more difficult the next day.
The start from Welshpool is not particularly difficult. But then there are seven climbs in quick succession, notably on the escarpments of a mining basin. The road will be long and increasingly difficult, especially on the slopes of Caerphilly (2km at 8.1%), 12km from the finish, before heading to Cardiff for a finish near the Principality Stadium. The Welsh rugby team is known for playing spectacular rugby there. Now it’s the cyclists’ turn to illuminate Cardiff.
Alongside the route announcement, organisers also revealed Joy, the social impact programme at the heart of the 2027 Grand Départ, that aims to tackle inactivity and improve mental wellbeing, support communities to thrive, and to make Britain more productive and prosperous through cycling.
