The road from Edinburgh to Paris - These are the 2027 Tour de France route rumours

The 2027 Tour de France route will be presented in Paris on Thursday October 22, giving us a taste of the new season just days after this one has come to an end.

Race director Christian Prudhomme will unveil the route of the 114th edition of the men's Tour, which will be held from July 2-25. Tadej Pogačar will turn 28 before the 2027 Tour starts in Edinburgh. He joined the select group of five-time Tour winners this year and will surely be targeting a sixth win in 2027.

As ever, ASO tries to keep the route under wraps until the big reveal, but local media has already uncovered details of stages and even a map of the possible 2027 route has emerged on social media. Thomas Vergouwen's velowire.com website has started compiling the reports and rumours and so the route is starting to emerge.

The 2027 Tour de France will start in Great Britain with three stages in Scotland, England and Wales that have already been revealed.

This is the Tour's fourth visit to Britain. The first was in 1974, while the 2007 London Grand Départ inspired the cycling boom in Britain. The 2014 Yorkshire Grand Départ came after Bradley Wiggins historic 2012 victory and attracted huge crowds.

The 2027 Tour will begin on Friday, July 2, a day earlier than usual, to allow for an extra rest and travel day on Monday to head to France via plane and ferry to northern France.

Stage 1 is over 184km from Edinburgh to Carlisle on rolling Scottish lowland roads. It should give the sprinters a shot at taking the first yellow jersey.

Stage 2 is over 223km from Keswick to Liverpool, via the hilly Lake District area. The final 50km climbs into the Pennines but a fast run-in to the Liverpool finish could suit the sprinters.

Stage 3 is from Welshpool to Cardiff, with the hills of northern and central and southern Wales providing 3000 metres of elevation gain. The stage is also indicated as 223km long but stage 3 will be much harder than stage 2 and probably a GC racing day.

Following the Monday transfer to France, stage 4 is widely expected to be held around the port of Cherbourg, with Velowire reporting a possible hilltop finish on the Côte de la Glacerie. 

Ouest Francehas reported the likelihood of a stage to Plumelec near the Brittany coast, close to UCI President David Lappartient's hometown, after suggestions of a Mûr-de-Bretagne finale fell through. The route will probably then turn southeast via Angers, with the first time trial expected around Blois on stage 7 on Friday July 9, according to La Nouvelle République.

Other stages to Le Creusot and Bourg-en-Bresse have been reported locally, which will take the Tour to the Alps for the second rest day. 

The 2027 will follow an 'S' shape rather than a loop, with the Alps coming before the final decisive stage in the Pyrenees.

Three days of Alpine stages are expected early in week two but the profiles might not be too tough and may avoid the highest climbs to ensure Pogačar does not take control of the race before the midway point. 

Le Dauphinéhas reported a mountain finale on the Plateau des Saix up to Samoëns 1600, and around Sallanches to promote the 2027 Haute-Savoie super World Championships. The newspaper has also reported the candidature of the Col du Granon for a stage finish, either in 2027 or 2028.

Stage 11 around Sallanches could be on July 14, Bastille day, with stage 12 expected to ride out of the Alps and into the Drôme-Ardèche. A finish atop the climb to Mende in the Massif Central has been reported by MidiLibre.fr and then a stage to Albi could end week two and take the Tour towards the Pyrenees. 

The final rest day could be in Toulouse, with riders staying in the city for several nights.

Velowire expects stage 16 on Tuesday July 20 to finish in Piau-Engaly,  Piau-Engaly), with a 19.6km climb, with the final 7km at 7.5%.

Le Dauphinérecently revealed some key details of the 2027 Tour route and highlighted rumours of stages between Saint-Gaudens and Pau and then Pau and Laruns but some may be just hillstages, with Pau as a central base.

Stage 19 could be the toughest stage, with the Col d'Aubisque, Col du Tourmalet, Hourquette d'Ancizan and Col de Portet climbs all slated to feature, according to La Nouvelle République des Pyrénées.

This could be an epic final mountain stage before a final time trial or road stage around Maubourguet and a TGV train to Paris for the final stage on Sunday, July 25. With French contender Paul Seixas so strong against the clock, the 2027 Tour is likely to have more time trial kilometres than seen in recent years.

The final stage is expected once again to include climbs up to the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre but with the traditional finish line on the Champs Elysees for a sunset podium ceremony.