"Bigger than you can even imagine" - Mark Cavendish over the moon with news of British Tour de France Grand Depart
Cycling
Mark Cavendish is one of Great Britain's best cyclists in history, and throughout his almost two-decade long career he's had some amazing moments in his home country including racing the Olympic Games and also having the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in 2025. The Manxman is now not in the peloton anymore, but as a fan he is thrilled with the news that are now official.
“I don’t think we can comprehend what a start of the Tour de France is going to be like here. It’s going to be bigger than you can even imagine. It’s really quite exciting," Cavendish said in words to The Scotsman. Back in 2014 he had quite the experience, which he recalls fondly. “I remember not being able to stop and pee at the side the road because it was four or five people deep the whole way from London to Canterbury. I was so nervous, I don’t remember much of it, to be fair".
“We talked about that as the greatest Grand Depart, then we went to Yorkshire in ’14 and it was something else, wasn’t it? [...] I think both my British Championships came here in Scotland and more than anything I’ve always had, personally, an incredible welcome here, a real personable feel and enthusiastic support".
It will truly be a British Grand Depart, with a stage in Scotland, then Wales, then England. These days should provide, besides a massive opportunity for the British crowds, opportunities for the sprinters and classics riders.
The landscape is what Cavendish really believes will be shows best. “And they also make for a good aesthetic picture on the television and ultimately that’s what the tour does best, it shows the beauty of a country and a city and a town, especially a historic town. That’s why Edinburgh fits quite perfectly into what the Tour de France is about.”
Cycling has become incredibly popular in the area, and with the Glasgow World Championships in 2023 being very complemented, Scotland will now host another major event. “I started in quite a niche sport in the UK and you see people out watching, enjoying it, enjoying everything that it’s about. For me, over any of the competition side, that’s what sticks out".
“We’re very fortunate in this country that cycling has been this massive boon in the last 20 years and I think the success we’ve had as a nation has been part of that, but to be able to see not just the greatest bike race on Earth, but the greatest annual sporting event on Earth, here, it’s only going to inspire," he concluded.
Read also
💛 2027 Grands Départs in Britain: a three-nation innovation!
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) March 19, 2025
🇬🇧 The already rich history between the Tour de France and the UK will be even richer in 2027! The #TDF2027 and the #TDFF2027 avec @GoZwift will get the show on the road with a British trilogy. The men's peloton will… pic.twitter.com/YxzEIv2hQc
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 2visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment