Tour de France 2027 opens in Edinburgh on 2 July, women's race ends atop Puy de Dôme

The men's route

The 114th Tour de France starts in Edinburgh on Friday, 2 July 2027, the northernmost Grand Départ in the race's history and the fifth start outside France in six years. Three British stages follow, in Scotland, England and Wales, before a transfer flight to the Continent on the first Monday. The French part begins in the Cotentin, and the final stage finishes on the Champs-Élysées on 25 July, with the Butte Montmartre on the route for a third consecutive year. The Pyrenees come late in the race and are expected to be its decisive passage. The route was unveiled on Thursday, 22 October 2026, at the Palais des Congrès in Paris.

Stages that could decide the race

Organisers placed the first big turning point on Friday, 9 July 2027, a 38 km time trial described as very rolling and built for pure specialists. The first mountain stage ends on the Grand Colombier after 3,750 m of climbing. The Annecy to Sallanches stage follows the second rest day, and the day after it covers 4,750 m of climbing in 150 km. Stage 14, from Montpellier to Mende, carries 4,300 m of climbing. For the Edinburgh opening, Paul Bush, managing director of Grand Depart UK, described a neutralised section of about 13 km through the city centre, with major roads closed for safety.

“The major roads on the route will be closed, as one of the most important things in road cycling is to deliver a safe environment.”

The women's race

The sixth Tour de France Femmes starts in Leeds on Friday, 30 July 2027 and covers 1,156 km before finishing on the summit of the Puy de Dôme on Saturday, 7 August. The women skip the Alps and Pyrenees and race in England for their first three stages, with Manchester and Sheffield as the first two finishes. Marion Rousse, director of the Tour de France Femmes, presents the Manchester to Sheffield stage as a small Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with the Winnats Pass climbing at 18%. The third stage is the first team time trial in the history of the women's race, an 18 km test in London past Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and Hyde Park, finishing near Buckingham Palace.

After crossing to France, the race runs through the Pas-de-Calais, where the Cap Blanc-Nez climb sits 12 km from the finish of the Le Touquet to Calais stage. The sixth stage, from Orléans to Bourges, is expected to suit sprinters. Stage 7 ends with a climb to La Loge des Gardes, and the eighth stage from La Bourboule to Clermont-Ferrand includes eight climbs in the Massif Central. That stage is the longest of the whole Tour, with more than 4,000 m of climbing and a hors catégorie finish on the Puy de Dôme, a volcano listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Puy de Dôme and past editions

The men's Tour last climbed the Puy de Dôme in 2023, the first time since 1988, when Michael Woods won in silence because spectators were barred from the protected natural area. The women's race will go up the mountain for the first time as the final stage of the sixth edition. Demi Vollering celebrated her second overall victory in the most recent women's Tour, and she also won three stages, while Lorena Wiebes won two. The women's route was announced in Paris on the same day as the men's.

Scale and expectations

In January, when the outline UK route was announced, Christian Prudhomme, the race director, said he wanted large crowds and striking scenery.

“We want huge crowds but we also want the best landscape and outstanding scenery.”

The UK section ends in Cardiff, which makes the three stages a route from castle to castle, from Edinburgh to Cardiff, according to Paul Bush. The men's race then covers the Cotentin and the rest of France, and the women's race finishes on the Puy de Dôme on 7 August.