Exclusive: British Cycling throws weight behind Tour de France host bid
British Cycling has thrown its weight behind plans to bring the Tour de France Grand Depart back to the UK for the first time since 2014 and insisted it would “love” to stage it in London.
Funding body UK Sport identified the 2027 Tour as one which could begin in Britain – with the Tour de France usually starting each race outside of its borders – in their International Event Hosting Opportunities document earlier this year.
This year the Grand Depart was in Italy while next year, interestingly, Lille will host the first stage. Barcelona will host in 2026. Previous years have seen Copenhagen and even Dublin take part.
And British Cycling chief Jon Dutton, who was involved in organising the 2014 Grand Depart in Yorkshire, has given the bid his firm backing.
Tour de France impact
“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,” he told City PM
“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.
“The cost is still in the process of being worked through [with UK Sport] 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.”
The Tour of Britain, which finished on Sunday and had the backing of banking giant Lloyds as well as Kettle Chips and Gaucho, started in Kelso and concluded in Felixstowe.
But a potential Grand Depart later this decade could see a finish along the iconic Mall.
“We would love to come to London,” Dutton added. “We’re looking at big population centres – London, Glasgow, Cardiff and more. 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. 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].
Ambitious
“But we are really ambitious to deliver and innovate. We are in pursuit of a younger, more modern audience and we need to change our behaviour accordingly.
“We are moving into LA and what will be a pretty expensive Olympic and Paralympic Games and that’s the reason to modernise, to change behaviour and support the ecosystem. But also having cycling events in Britain as a commercial landscape organisation allows us to behave slightly differently and deliver events like the Tour of Britain and onboard commercial partners. I think we appreciate that sponsorship has changed quite radically, brands want different things, We are absolutely able to deliver that.”
A UK Sport spokesperson confirmed talks remain ongoing, adding: “The Tour de France does not have a formal bid process or deadline and any decisions on future international hosts of the Grand Depart is at the sole discretion of the organiser [the ASO].”