The 2027 Tour de France Femmes Grand Départ will be held in the UK, with London hosting the first-ever team time trial in the women's race, according to multiple reports. The men's Tour de France has previously started in the UK in 2007 and 2014. British Cycling and ASO estimate some 10 million people will line the streets, and race director Marion Rousse described the British Grand Depart as a 'hugely historic moment'. Lucy Jones, project director for the Grand Départ, said organisers expect the Tour de France Femmes to be the highest-attended women's sporting event in the UK. London mayor Sadiq Khan described the decision to bring the women's race to London as building a 'better London for everyone'.
Stage one of the Tour de France Femmes will begin in Leeds and head to Manchester, according to multiple reports. Stage two moves from Manchester to Sheffield via the Peak District, featuring almost 3,000m of climbing in 96 miles, including the sharp ascents of Winnats Pass and Snake Pass, according to reports. Stage three will be a team time trial in London, passing iconic landmarks and finishing on the Mall. The London team time trial course is approximately 18km, according to reports. Marion Rousse said: "The team time trial has always been one of the most exciting and spectacular formats in cycling, and we are very proud that the first one will take place in London. It's a huge moment in the history of the race."
Arguably we're going to the two most iconic places in the UK, Yorkshire and London. I remember when the Tour came to Yorkshire in 2014, every time I go back home and train on those roads, I remember sitting on the side of the road with my parents.
Cat Ferguson, a 19-year-old rider from Yorkshire, could make her Tour debut in 2027, according to multiple reports. Ferguson was inspired by watching the men's Tour in 2014 as an eight-year-old. She is a junior world champion in both road race and time trial, and finished second overall in the 2025 Tour of Britain. Speaking at a press conference, Ferguson said: "Arguably we're going to the two most iconic places in the UK, Yorkshire and London. I remember when the Tour came to Yorkshire in 2014, every time I go back home and train on those roads, I remember sitting on the side of the road with my parents." She added: "I'll give it my all to be on the start line. I don't think I'll ever get an opportunity [again] to race on my home roads, with local voices and accents cheering me on." Ferguson also reflected on the potential impact: "I'd like to think I could be an example [of the visible impact the Tour can have], and if we'd had a women's race in 2014, how many more girls it could have inspired. That's what we're hoping to achieve next year. It worked for me, the men really inspired me, but the participation numbers for girls specifically could have increased [with a Tour de France Femmes]. I think next year is going to be crazy." Fellow British rider Flora Perkins said: "I think with things like the Olympics or the men's Tour starting here, we've always seen that there's been a peak in cycling interest after that, and that's what we hope for this time round, that people who haven't come in contact with cycling before see this bike race and see especially women at the top end of the sport competing and think, 'This is great, I love this, I want to do this more often' or 'I want to watch these women more often'." Perkins also noted: "People don't always realise that London is a great place to ride a bike. I really hope the Femmes makes London even more of a bike city."
I'll give it my all to be on the start line. I don't think I'll ever get an opportunity [again] to race on my home roads, with local voices and accents cheering me on.
I'd like to think I could be an example [of the visible impact the Tour can have], and if we'd had a women's race in 2014, how many more girls it could have inspired. That's what we're hoping to achieve next year. It worked for me, the men really inspired me, but the participation numbers for girls specifically could have increased [with a Tour de France Femmes]. I think next year is going to be crazy.
I think with things like the Olympics or the men's Tour starting here, we've always seen that there's been a peak in cycling interest after that, and that's what we hope for this time round, that people who haven't come in contact with cycling before see this bike race and see especially women at the top end of the sport competing and think, 'This is great, I love this, I want to do this more often' or 'I want to watch these women more often'.
The three stages will be harder than th
The team time trial has always been one of the most exciting and spectacular formats in cycling, and we are very proud that the first one will take place in London. It's a huge moment in the history of the race.
I watched the men's race in 2014 from the side of my home roads, sitting there with my parents, as a young kid, and this feels like a full circle moment for me. I will do everything to be there.
I would like to think that I can be an example, that if we'd had a women's race in 2014 it would have inspired many more young girls. That's what we're hoping to achieve next year.
People don't always realise that London is a great place to ride a bike. I really hope the Femmes makes London even more of a bike city.