IN BRIEF
Christian Prudhomme unveiled the route of the 114th Tour de France in Paris on 22 October. The race will start in Edinburgh on 2 July 2027 and finish on the Champs-Élysées on 25 July, after 21 stages and 3,479 km. It includes two individual time trials, totalling 71 km, and six mountain stages, three of them with summit finishes: the Grand Colombier, Les Saisies and the Col du Portet, the highest point of the edition at 2,215 m. The Tour de France Femmes will run from 30 July to 7 August, with a finale on the Puy de Dôme.
The 2027 Tour will begin far from France, in Scotland, and will be decided largely against the clock and in the mountains. Here is what we know about the route.
Tour de France 2027: three stages across the Channel
The Edinburgh Grand Départ will be the 28th held abroad and the third in Great Britain, after London in 2007 and Yorkshire in 2014, the official website points out. The race opens with three stages in Scotland, England and Wales before returning to France via Normandy, Velo details: Edinburgh – Carlisle (185 km), Keswick – Liverpool (223 km), then Welshpool – Cardiff (223 km).
The route totals 3,479 km before official measurement, over 21 stages: 7 flat, 6 hilly and 6 mountain. ASO states that, of the 38 host towns, nine will appear on the Tour map for the first time.
71 km against the clock
Two individual time trials are planned: 38 km between Blois and Chambord on the 7th stage, and 33 km around Toulouse on the 16th. The official website states that this 71 km total is the longest since 2012.
The Col du Portet, roof of the Tour
The three summit finishes are the Grand Colombier, Les Saisies and Saint-Lary-Soulan Col du Portet. The official website specifies that the Col du Portet, at 2,215 m and the finish of the 18th stage, will be the highest point of the edition. Velo lists, among others, the stages Villars-les-Dombes Parc des Oiseaux – Grand Colombier (162 km), Pau – Saint-Lary-Soulan/Col du Portet (174 km) and Hasparren – Laruns (160 km). Total elevation gain will reach 53,450 m.
In the Alps, the peloton will climb the côte de Domancy twice, a foretaste of the 2027 World Championships course, Velo notes. The American website also points out the absence of Alpe d’Huez and Mont Ventoux, and a Massif Central barely touched.
Montmartre, then the Champs-Élysées
The Tour will end on 25 July with three ascents of the Montmartre climb, before the traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées, Velo writes.
The Tour de France Femmes 2027 will be held from 30 July to 7 August. Its official website announces a crowning on the summit of the Puy de Dôme.
