2 JUL - 4 JUL 2027
Tour de France 2027 British Grand Départ
Edinburgh City Centre, Edinburgh
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About
The 114th Tour de France begins in Britain, with three stages from Friday 2 to Sunday 4 July 2027. The race opens in Edinburgh and runs 184km to Carlisle, then covers 223km from Keswick to Liverpool, then 223km from Welshpool to Cardiff. It is Britain's third Grand Départ, after London in 2007 and Yorkshire in 2014, and the official host committee for the British Grand Départ states that 2027 is the first year in which both the men's and women's races have started in the same country outside France.
The three stages
Friday 2 July 2027: Edinburgh to Carlisle, 184km
The Grand Départ itself, and the only stage of the three with a single categorised climb: the Côte de Melrose in the Eildon Hills. BikeRadar puts the day at about 2,000 metres of climbing. A Grand Départ opening stage is as much ceremony as racing, with the roll-out from the host city forming a substantial part of the day.
Saturday 3 July 2027: Keswick to Liverpool, 223km
Out of the northern Lake District, through the Lake District National Park, along Morecambe Bay and into Liverpool for a finish on The Strand. Five categorised climbs and roughly 2,800 metres of climbing, nearly all of it early, so the stage shifts from mountain terrain to a city-centre finish across the course of the afternoon.
Sunday 4 July 2027: Welshpool to Cardiff, 223km
The hardest British stage and the closing one. Eight categorised climbs, including the Côte de Rhigos and the Côte de Caerffili shortly before the finish, with around 3,000 metres of climbing according to BikeRadar. Powys County Council confirms the same start, finish and date from the Welsh side.
How the British Grand Départ was confirmed
The six British routes across both races were announced on 15 January 2026 by Tour director Christian Prudhomme and Tour de France Femmes director Marion Rousse, marked by all ten host locations being lit in yellow the same evening. The Grand Départ trophy was handed to Great Britain on the final podium in Paris after the 2026 Tour, received by Lizzie Deignan and Sir Mark Cavendish. British Cycling and Powys County Council both reported the handover.
What a Grand Départ weekend involves
Three race days across three nations, with the race moving south each day. Start towns run to a morning rhythm, busy with team buses and sign-on and quiet by early afternoon. Finish towns do the reverse, building all day to a short, intense arrival. Standing at the roadside is free and requires no ticket, which the councils hosting the Cumbrian stage, Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, both state directly.
The practical consequence of three stages in three nations is that no single base covers the weekend. Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff are three separate propositions on three consecutive days, and following all three means moving with the race. Prestige Corporate Events arranges the British stages day by day for that reason.
What is still to be published
Fan zone locations, road closures and stage timings are outstanding for every host town on this route. The remainder of the 2027 men's route beyond Britain is also unannounced; cycling media anticipate it around late October 2026, in line with ASO's usual pattern, but the organisers have set no date.
Full stage detail is in our 2027 British Grand Départ route and dates guide, the two hardest days have their own guides for Keswick to Liverpool and Welshpool to Cardiff, broadcast and roadside detail is in how to watch the 2027 race in Britain, and race background sits on the Tour de France hospitality hub. The women's race has its own weekend at the Tour de France Femmes British Grand Départ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Friday 2, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 July 2027, for the men's race. The women's Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift races in Britain four weeks later, from 30 July to 1 August.
Edinburgh. Stage 1 leaves the Scottish capital on Friday 2 July and runs 184km south to Carlisle, taking in one categorised climb, the Côte de Melrose in the Eildon Hills.
Three consecutive race days across Scotland, England and Wales, ending in Cardiff. The stages are separate races on separate roads, so following all three means moving south with the race rather than staying in one place.
Not at all. The two councils hosting the Cumbrian stage, Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council, state that attending is free and requires no ticket.
Welshpool to Cardiff on the Sunday. Eight categorised climbs across 223km and roughly 3,000 metres of climbing, per BikeRadar, including the Côte de Caerffili placed late enough to influence how the stage is won.
On two previous occasions: London in 2007 and Yorkshire in 2014. Stages passed through Plymouth in 1974 and Brighton and Portsmouth in 1994, but those were not Grands Departs, so 2027 is the third time the race has actually begun on British roads.
Very likely, though nothing has been published. No host authority had released closure plans for the 2027 stages by 30 July 2026, and they usually appear a few weeks beforehand. The practical consequence is that which side of a route you are based on matters more than how near you are to it.