Scotland start for British Tour de France bid

Spectacular Welsh stage would be the highlight of the three-country Grand Départ in 2026

- Chris Marshall-Bell

Scotland would host the start of the 2026 Tour de France if a three-nation bid to bring the race to the UK is successful, Cycling Weekly has learned.

The intention to welcome the Tour back to the British Isles for the first time since 2014 was set out in the chancellor’s Budget last week, with the government committing £30m to fund the Tour’s Grand Départ and the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.

There were few details in the announcement, but CW understands Edinburgh would host the team presentation and the start of stage one. The following day would take place entirely in northern England, with stage three set to finish in north Wales, potentially with a summit finish.

The Great Orme in Llandudno, which hosted stage four of this year’s Tour of Britain, has been mooted as the most probable destination. One insider with knowledge of the race route told CW that the Welsh stage “is the most exciting and will be the stage with the fireworks, especially for the GC men.”

The bid is being led by UK Sport with British Cycling, Welsh Cycling and Scottish Cycling assisting. Work has been going on behind the scenes for a number of months with everything almost signed off in preparation to deliver the bid dossier to Tour organiser ASO in early 2022.

Northern exposure

Edinburgh has previously declared a strong interest in holding the Grand Départ and it is viewed as unlikely that Glasgow will welcome the Tour given it is hosting the the inaugural combined UCI World Championships in 2023.