Allez l'Écosse! Tour de France to hold its Grand Départ in Edinburgh in 2027

The men's Tour de France will return to Britain in July 2027 with a spectacular city-centre Grand Départ in Edinburgh and three stages that trace a route from Scotland through England and into Wales.

- Jeremy Whittle Severin Carrell

It will be the third Tour race start in Britain in the last 20 years, after London in 2007 and Yorkshire in 2014, and the most logistically demanding Grand Départ in the century-long history of the race.

In an unprecedented move, the Tour de France Femmes will also begin in the UK in 2027, with the start of that race expected to be staged in Yorkshire later that summer.

The success of the UK bid to bring the world's biggest bike race back to Britain was confirmed yesterday afternoon in Edinburgh as Mark Cavendish, the record stage winner in the Tour, led celebrations on the Royal Mile.

Recalling the Grand Départ in London in 2007, Cavendish, who retired last season, said his main memory was "not being able to stop to pee because there were so many people at the roadside".

"Edinburgh fits perfectly into what the Tour is about," he added. "It's only going to inspire. You can't help but want to go out on your bike."

The Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, described the spectacle of the race as "the only sports event made for people who don't like sport" and recalled seeing riders applauding spectators in Yorkshire in 2014. "That's very rare," he said.