Tour de France & Tour de France Femmes could both visit UK in 2027 with stages set in England, Scotland and Wales

Le Grande Boucle could be heading oversea(s) again in 2027. Reports suggest that United Kingdom is in the pole position to host the Grand Départs of both Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in two years' time. This news could patch up the bad mood following the biggest cycling races' disappearance from free-to-air broadcast in UK after this year's edition.

Despite no official details emerged yet about which cities or towns could host the race, a source has told road.cc that the Grand Départ could be a properly British affair, with one stage set to take place in England, one in Wales, and one in Scotland. The report also has that the Welsh government already set aside budget to host a stage of the 2027 Tour.

According to The Times, a source has also claimed that they are expecting Edinburgh to feature in the plans, with the Scottish capital reportedly pencilled in to host the race’s opening stage.

Glasgow, Scotland already hosted the first "universal cycling" World Championships in 2023 with great success and so it would make sense for cycling to also return to the iconic venue. "There are a lot of conversations which are hugely exciting – even something as huge as the Tour de France might be an option for a few stages," Scottish Cycling’s executive Nick Rennie said.

More significantly, the Yorkshire Post has reported that Leeds looks set to be confirmed as the host of the opening stage of the 2027 Tour de France Femmes, marking the first time the women’s Tour, in any of its various guises, has started in the UK.

"We understand that the UK is in a strong position to host the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes in 2027," Leeds Central and Headingley MP Alex Sobel told Yorkshire Post. "The best ever Grand Départ was in 2014 from Leeds. It would be great for the Tour to return to Leeds if the UK was successful," he added.

ASO is yet to officially confirm the destination of the 2027 men’s and women’s Tour de France’s Grands Départs. The public announcement is expected to be made in a matter of weeks.