London set for historic team time trial as 2027 Tour de France Femmes starts in Britain

2027 will mark the first time the women's race has started in the United Kingdom, and the first year both Tours, men's and women's, have begun in the same country outside France.

Race director Marion Rousse framed the TTT as a statement of intent: "The team time trial has always been one of the most exciting and spectacular formats in cycling, and we are very proud that the first one in the history of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will take place in London."

Movistar's Cat Ferguson, a Yorkshire teenager who watched the 2014 men's Grand Départ from the roadside as a child, described the prospect as a "full circle moment". 

For Flora Perkins of Fenix–Premier Tech, who grew up riding in London, lining up for a TTT past her home landmarks in front of family and friends will "feel surreal." 

The Tour Femmes sets off from the Headrow in central Leeds, the same start line the men used back in 2014, before heading through Headingley and crossing into Kirklees for the first categorised test on the Côte de Kirkheaton (1.7km at 7.5%). A drop south across the Pennines takes in the Côte de Meltham (3.2km at 8.2%) in the Peak District, followed by a late kicker on the Côte de Delph (2.1km at 6.3%) with just over 20km to go, before a finish on Deansgate in central Manchester.

Saturday delivers close to 3,000 metres of climbing across the Peak District, headlined by Winnats Pass (1.4km at 12.3%) and Snake Pass (5.4km at 4.6%). The Sheffield finale piles on the Côte d'Oughtibridge (1.5km at 9.1%), Côte de Jenkin Road (0.8km at 10.8%), before the line on Attercliffe Common.

The British section closes with the team time trial, which weaves past the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and Tower Bridge before a finish on The Mall. The precise distance and course will be confirmed later this year, when ASO presents both 2027 routes in full at the official Paris launch in October.