British Cycling has backed the return of the Tour de France to the United Kingdom for a future Grand Départ, with the organisation signalling it's interest in bringing back the Tour for 2027.
The race last visited British shores for a trio of stages in Yorkshire and London back in 2014, while in 2007 the capital hosted the prologue and stage 1.
Grand Départs in Lille and Barcelona have already been confirmed for the next two editions of the race, meaning that a British bid could be successful in 2027.
British Cycling CEO John Dutton gave his backing to the idea in an interview with London newspaper City A.M. earlier this month, though stressed that the decision to bid for the Tour start wasn't up to the organisation.
"The Tour de France would have a hugely positive impact, it would create incredible visibility and it would allow all partners to deliver more social value over a period of time," Dutton said
"It wouldn't just be about the race coming and going, there’s a massive cycle tourism aspect.
"It's not our decision but it is why events are so important, and that they can be delivered in a financially sustainable way more than the sum of the parts."
Neighbouring country Ireland, which hosted the Grand Départ in 1998, had submitted an expression of interest in bidding to host the Tour in 2026 or 2027.
That bid was withdrawn in January, however, with the country's Department for the Economy citing "Funding reductions this year and a lack of certainty about the budget position in future years."
The budget for a potential British 2027 bid is still being worked on, with Dutton sounding positive about the possibility of it coming to fruition.
"The cost is still in the process of being worked through but we would definitely be within our means and prepared to step up and support against the value of just getting more people on a bike," he said, before shedding some light on where a potential Grand Départ may visit.
"We would love to come to London. We're looking at big population centres – London, Glasgow, Cardiff and more," said Dutton
"We are doing a mapping exercise at the moment on the Tour of Britain to look at areas we haven't been to previously. Hopefully we can reach more people in more places.
"The Tour de France is a commercial organisation and so it is a project led by UK Sport," he added. "But off the back of the Grand Depart in 2014, which I was personally involved in, and seeing the millions of people come to the side of the road and the reach across the geography of the UK, we are fully supportive [of its return]."
