The return of the Tour de France Grand Départ to the UK, along with a first-ever British start for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, will help generate a "revival" of the domestic racing scene and "inspire" the next generation of British professional cyclists, according to a handful of British cycling stars.
It was announced yesterday evening that the two events will return to Britain in 2027 as part of a collaboration between British Cycling, UK Sport and the race organisers, the Amaury Sports Organisation [ASO]. It will be the first time that both events will start in the same country in the history of the two races. The men’s race will involve stages in Scotland, England and Wales while plans for the women’s race are still to be fleshed out.
The announcement has caught the attention of some of Britain’s most well known WorldTour professionals - including Fred Wright, Josh Tarling, Lizzie Deignan and Pfeiffer Georgi - who all will be hoping to be on the start line in Scotland and Leeds for when the two races get underway.
"It’s pretty exciting, isn’t it," Wright told Cycling Weekly at Paris-Nice. "To do that and be a part of that in my career would be a dream come true, actually. My very early experience of the Tour was watching it when it came to London. When it starts in the UK again, I’d love to be there. I think if everything goes to plan then I would think that’s exactly what we need for cycling in the UK at the moment, another revival sort of thing."
"I hope I can be there, it would be a proud moment for sure," Ineos Grenadiers' Josh Tarling added. "I think it will inspire more people on the outside of the sport to get involved."
Tarling and Wright are just two of many that were inspired to take up cycling by the London Olympics and the 2014 Tour de France Grand Départ in Yorkshire. Picnic PostNL’s Pfeiffer Georgi is hoping for a repeat of the huge crowds when the Tour de France Femmes makes its first visit to the UK.
"I remember watching the men’s Tour when it came to Yorkshire in 2014, and I saw how crazy the support was, so I can’t wait to experience that myself," she said. "It’s always special racing in the UK and I’m really excited to see the full details of the stages, but this announcement definitely motivates me to be in the best shape possible for the start of the Tour.
"I also hope that it can inspire more young girls to start riding a bike, and I know first hand how much impact events like this can have, as I was hugely inspired by watching some of my idols at the London 2012 Olympics."
Lizzie Deignan is due to retire at the end of the current season, but she said that her absence from the peloton won’t dampen her enthusiasm for the two events.
"If the excitement, racing and crowds are anything like they were the last time the Grand Départ came to the UK when it was in Yorkshire then we are in for a real treat," she said, echoing Georgi’s view. "The support and the crowds in the UK are like nowhere else and it will be great for the fans to see these great races on our home roads."
The opening stage of the men’s race in Edinburgh will be the first time that the Tour de France has visited Scotland. Edinburgh-based pro Sean Flynn said that it had given him huge amounts of motivation to ensure he gets a spot on Picnic PostNL’s team for the event. The Dutch WorldTour team has two Scottish riders currently contracted to its men’s squad, Flynn and Oscar Onley.
"I think this will be massive, you see the impact it has wherever the Tour goes," he said. "It will give such a boost to cycling in Scotland and it will be an incredible event. This has now become a long term goal. There’s a lot to be done for me before then, but this is now undoubtedly in my sights moving forward."
