Tour de France Femmes: World’s best cycling event returns to Sheffield in key moment for women’s sport
Sheffield set to play major part in 2027 Tour de France Femmes
Sheffield is set to play a major part in a landmark moment for women’s cycling when the first-ever team time trial in the history of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift takes place next summer.
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is an annual women's cycle stage race which started in 2022. It’s organised by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), which also runs the Tour de France.
It’s an event which has improved cycling for women, ensuring them a minimum wage and giving them more opportunities than ever before to have a top career in the sport.
It will be the first time that the men and women’s cycling teams will both be riding in the same country outside of France.
It is anticipated to be the most attended women’s sporting event ever staged in Britain, underlining the scale and significance of this momentous moment for the sport.
The last time the Tour de France graced British shores was in 2014 when huge crowds of Sheffielders and tourists cheered from the roadsides as cyclists were put to the test with the steep hills and long and winding country roads that the Steel City has to offer.
And now it’s heading back to Sheffield, as the female cyclists, just as the men did in 2014, prepare to start their journey in Headrow in central Leeds.
The cyclists begin the free-to-attend event at Headingley on Friday 30 July 2027 in the west of Leeds, crossing into Kirklees and passing through Heckmondwike and Mirfield, and tackling the Côte de Kirkheaton before reaching Huddersfield.
They’ll then make the 53 mile route south to cross the Pennines taking in the second Queen of the Mountains climb before descending into Oldham alongside the Dove Stone Reservoir.
Racing resumes a day later from Manchester as the cyclists travel through Derbyshire and the Peak District National Park to make it to Sheffield.
In the Steel City, the riders face a succession of short but punishing climbs including the Côte d’Oughtibridge and the famous Côte de Jenkin Road , both used when the men’s Tour de France finished in the city back in 2014.
The Sheffield section of the tour ends at Attercliffe Common, using the same finish line where Vincenzo Nibali won 12 years ago, only this time it’ll be approached from the opposite direction.
The spectacular finale will see riders tackling team time trials on day three passing many of London’s popular landmarks, with thousands of fans expected to line the route close to prominent locations such as the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and Tower Bridge.
The exact details of that particular stage in the capital are expected to be announced later this year in October.
Jon Dutton, Chief Executive, British Cycling, said: “This is a hugely exciting moment for women’s cycling in Great Britain. Through the JOY programme we want to ensure this moment inspires more girls and women to discover the joy of cycling and help communities across Britain get active.”