Sunday 18 January 2026 at 00h15

We already knew since almost a year that the Tour de France 2027 will start in the United Kingdom, but the official announcement of the stages making up this Grand Départ was long awaited.

That has now been done, and beyond the start of the first stage in Edinburgh, Scotland, we now know that the Tour will visit the other two nations of the United Kingdom (Wales and England) in a north-south route. This means that the 114th edition of the Tour de France will start in one capital city (Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland) and end in another (Cardiff, the capital of Wales), passing through England.

After the great successes of London in 2007 and Yorkshire in 2014, this will be the third Grand Départ in the United Kingdom. Let's take a closer look at all this in this article!

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Maps coming soon to the mobile app!

Very soon, you will find detailed maps of the three stages of this Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2027 in the Maps section of the velowire app!

The app is now finally available in the official stores. Download it directly by clicking on the button corresponding to your mobile device:
velowire available on Google Play | Download velowire in the App Store

The Grand Départ of the 2027 Tour de France: 3 full stages in 3 countries

Three of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom (only Northern Ireland will not be involved) will be visited by the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2027.

The race headquarters and press room will open on Tuesday, June 29, 2027, at the Edinburgh International Conference Center. The presentation of the Tour de France 2027 teams will take place on Wednesday, June 30, 2027, at Edinburgh Castle, followed by the start of the first stage. Exceptionally, it will take place on a Friday, as this will allow an additional rest day to be included in the race schedule to allow for the transfer from the United Kingdom to France.

The following stages will take place in the United Kingdom:
  • 1/ Friday, July 2, 2027 - Edinburgh (Scotland) > Carlisle (England) - 184 km

    On a very rural and hilly course, the race heads south from Edinburgh in Scotland. There is only one official climb on the program (the Côte de Melrose, ^ 247 m / 2.2 km at 6.7%), with the other elevation changes occurring over long distances and therefore on a slight incline. Once in England, the route becomes even flatter and the riders head towards Carlisle, where a sprinter will undoubtedly don the first Yellow Jersey of this Tour de France 2027.
    The map of the first stage of the Tour de France 2027 The profile of the first stage of the Tour de France 2027
  • 2/ Saturday, July 3, 2027 - Keswick (England) > Liverpool (England) - 223 km

    The statue of the Beatles dressed up with yellow scarves - © ASO/SWpixFrom Keswick to Lancaster, the route will be flat as it passes through the Lake District National Park for 75 km, and then it will become more hilly. The riders will first climb a trio of three hills - Jubilee Tower Hill (^ 285 m / 3.8 km at 6.1%), Trough of Bowland Hill (^ 293 m / 1.9 km at 5.2%) and Waddington Fell Hill (^ 347 m / 3.4 km at 6.4%) - before passing through Blackburn and a slightly flatter section.

    However, in the last 70 kilometers of the stage, they will then find two more climbs to tackle, the Belmont Hill (^ 326 m / 2 km at 4%) and the Parbold Hill (^ 122 m / 1.8 km at 5.6%). Up to that point, breakaway riders may have been able to slip into a breakaway and start believing in a stage victory, or even a change in the Yellow Jersey... but in the last part of the stage, the sprinters may be able to organize themselves to catch up and fight for the stage victory. The very last part of the stage, towards the finish line in Liverpool, is slightly downhill.
    The map of the second stage of the Tour de France 2027 The profile of the second stage of the Tour de France 2027
  • 3/ Sunday, July 4, 2027 - Welshpool (Wales) > Cardiff (Wales)

    It is then the turn of the last nation of this Grand Départ to take center stage, with a start and finish in Wales. The stage will start in Welshpool and begin relatively quietly for 80 kilometers, until the Côte d'Epynt (^ 450 m / 3.7 km at 7.9%) makes for a rather violent hilly introduction. About thirty kilometers further on, a second climb, the Bannau Brycheiniog hill (^ 441 m / 6.6 km at 3.5%), will be on the program.

    A little further on, there will be a double trio of difficulties, starting with the Rhigos hill (^ 486 m / 4.6 km at 5.8), Côte de Penrhys (^ 284 m / 1.3 km at 10.1%) and Côte de Maerdy (^ 408 m / 1.5 km at 7.8%)... and then the Côte de Gelligaer (^ 242 m / 1.4 km at 4.9%), Hengoed Hill (^ 194 m / 700 m at 11%) and Caerffili Hill (^ 247 m / 2 km at 8.1%). The summit of the latter will then be 22 kilometers from the finish in Cardiff, where the finish line is on the flat.
    The map of the third stage of the Tour de France 2027 The profile of the third stage of the Tour de France 2027
  • R1/ Monday, July 5, 2027 - In view of the transfer from the United Kingdom to France, this Monday, July 5, 2027, will exceptionally be the first rest day of the Tour de France 2027.
  • 4/ Tuesday, July 6, 2027 - ??? > ???

    This fourth stage will be the first stage to take place on French soil. At this stage, neither the start nor the finish location is known, but from September onwards, you will of course find the usual search for the Tour de France 2027 route based on rumors on velowire.com!

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The 2027 Tour de France Femmes with Zwift will also start in the United Kingdom

While the Tour de France 2027 will finish in Paris on the Champs-Elysées on Sunday, July 25, 2027, almost a week later, on Friday, July 30, 2027, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027 will start... also in the United Kingdom!

Here are the stages that will make up the Grand Départ of the 2027 Tour de France Femmes with Zwift:
  • 1/ Friday, July 30, 2027 - Leeds > Manchester
  • 2/ Saturday, July 31, 2027 - Manchester > Sheffield
  • 3/ Sunday, August 1, 2027 - London ??

    For this stage, A.S.O. does not specify whether it is a stage starting and finishing in London or whether London is only the starting point and they remain vague about the finish location, but as only London is mentioned and no details are given about the stages, including this one, we can imagine that it will be a time trial through the streets of London.

door Thomas Vergouwen
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2 comments | 177 views

this publication is published in: Tour de France | Tour de France 2027

Comments

There are 2 comments!
  1. Les départs depuis des pays étrangers sont devenus habituels et il serait intéressant de voir également des départs depuis des pays africians.

    fr | paquito | Sunday 18 January 2026 om 04h42

  2. Celà va te rappeler ton tout premier Tour en 2007 Thomas. En même temps que moi. Do you remember ?

    fr | Pedro | Sunday 18 January 2026 om 14h36

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