Event organizers ASO officially unveiled the complete routes for the 2027 men's and women's Tour de France races on Thursday. The men's 114th edition will conclude with a crucial mountain showdown in the Pyrenees before the traditional finish in Paris, while the women's peloton will tackle a dramatic finale atop the volcanic Puy de Dome peak in central France.
Starting abroad for the fifth time in six years, the men's Grand Depart in Edinburgh will see the Scottish capital set a new geographic milestone for the event. Coming a year after the 2026 race's southernmost start in Barcelona, the Edinburgh launch moves the Tour even further north than its 2022 start in Copenhagen. Although the Scottish start had been confirmed for over a year and the opening three stages across Scotland, England, and Wales were announced in January, Thursday's release provided the complete route design for both races.
The men's course features two individual time-trials and concludes on the streets of Paris, where riders will navigate the Montmartre climb for a third consecutive year. The Montmartre inclusion follows dramatic recent finishes, including Wout van Aert's victory in 2025 and Mathieu van der Poel's narrow victory in July when he held off a charging peloton by inches with assistance from overall champion Tadej Pogacar.
Before the 114th edition reaches Paris or the high mountains, the initial stretch offers ideal terrain for the sport's puncheurs. Tour director Christian Prudhomme told AFP that stage three in Wales mirrors the famous hilly spring classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Prudhomme explained that the opening ten days are specifically crafted to keep the leader's yellow jersey changing hands, setting up an early battle between world-class puncheurs and general classification contenders.
Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar, who excels in both punchy finishes and overall contenders' battles, will be seeking a record-breaking sixth yellow jersey. Organizers designed the 2027 layout to prevent a repetition of the 2026 race, where Pogacar maintained an unchallenged lead virtually from start to finish. Prudhomme noted that the intent was "to muddy the waters, to have a route which allows for anything to happen."
Following the British opening leg, riders cross into France for a windy fourth stage along the Normandy coast on the Cotentin peninsula. Sprinters will find few opportunities in the early phase, even prior to stage nine's first mountain test, which finishes on the Grand Colombier in the Jura mountain range.
Time-trial specialists, particularly Belgian Olympic and world champion Remco Evenepoel, stand to gain significantly from the stage setup. Stage seven features a flat 38-kilometer time-trial that could allow Evenepoel to build a crucial lead over Pogacar before reaching the high mountains. Evenepoel, who finished runner-up to Pogacar in July, will also target a second 33-kilometer individual time-trial scheduled around Toulouse on stage 16.
Mountainous terrain remains central to the 2027 layout, encompassing 28 total climbs and 53,450 meters of elevation gain across six mountain stages, though only three will feature summit finishes. The highest altitude will be reached on stage 18 at the Col du Portet in the Pyrenees, towering 2,215 meters above sea level. Traditional giants such as Alpe d'Huez, Mont Ventoux, the Galibier, and the Izoard are omitted in 2027, though the route includes the iconic Tourmalet and traverses Domancy, the host location for the world championships the following month.
Addressing the selection of climbs, Prudhomme emphasized the desire to introduce varied geography, noting that exploring new ascents requires stepping away from traditional choices. He highlighted that the 2027 edition will mark the first time the race links the Tourmalet and Portet back-to-back, followed the next day by steep Basque climbs Burdincurutcheta and Bagargui, returning to the race for the first time since 2023. Unusually, stage 20—the penultimate leg—is styled for sprinters, meaning the overall general classification contest will likely be decided two days before the ceremonial Paris finale.
The fifth edition of the Tour de France Femmes will run over nine stages from July 30 to August 7, 2027, starting in Leeds, England. The race begins with three English stages, featuring the women's Tour's first-ever team time-trial, which will route past London landmarks including Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.
The women's general classification will culminate on the grueling Puy de Dome, situated at the conclusion of the race's longest stage, stretching over 170 kilometers. Race director Marion Rousse told AFP that organizers aim annually to select a mountain with an iconic place in Tour history. The steep 11.3-kilometer ascent, averaging a 7.8 percent gradient, made its return to the men's competition in 2023 after a 35-year absence.
The inclusion of Puy de Dome follows a sequence of legendary finishes in the women's event, which previously featured Super Planche des Belles Filles in 2022, the Tourmalet in 2023, Alpe d'Huez in 2024, Col de la Madeleine in 2025, and Mont Ventoux in 2026. Rousse noted that with the final four kilometers exceeding a 12 percent gradient, dramatic changes can still occur on the ultimate climb.
Recent editions of the women's race have produced tight outcomes, such as Kasia Niewiadoma's four-second victory margin in 2024, alongside dramatic finishes won by French rider Pauline Ferrand-Prevot in 2025 and Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering in 2026. Rousse described the upcoming 2027 Grand Depart as the most demanding in the race's history, highlighting that stage two to Sheffield already packs more than 3,000 meters of elevation gain before opening into classic-style racing every day.
