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CITY TO HOST WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS CYCLE RACE IN 'UNFORGETTABLE SPECTACLE'

- By LIAM THORP

stage winner Chris Boardman rudomme, director of the Tour de France, giving the Beatles statues a dash of yellow

THREE areas of Merseyside have been announced as hosts for the Tour de France next year.

Liverpool, Knowsley and St Helens will welcome the finish of stage two of the men’s event in the most famous cycling race on earth on Saturday, July 3, 2027 in what is a historic announcement by the race organisers.

Competitors will race from the Cumbrian town of Keswick through Lancashire, eventually travelling through the boroughs of Knowsley and St Helens, before finishing the stage in a super sprint along Liverpool's iconic waterfront, in front of the famous Three Graces, in what promises to be a spectacular moment.

The routes for both the men’s and women’s races in 2027 were revealed yesterday, with ten host towns and cities - including Liverpool - illuminated simultaneously in a nationwide ‘Tour de Skies’ moment, marking the next major milestone on the road to the 2027 Grand Departs - the ceremonial opening stages of the global event - which is set to be the largest free sporting spectacle in British history.

The men’s Tour de France will begin in Edinburgh on Friday July 2, with the opening stage finishing in Carlisle, before stage two travels from Keswick to finish on The Strand in Liverpool city centre.

To celebrate the announcement, all start and finish venues were lit up simultaneously last night, with a yellow beam illuminating the sky from the city's Three Graces, St George's Dock building and the Mersey Tunnels.