Cycling-2027 Tour de France to favour time-trial specialists, Femmes finale set for Puy de Dome

The 2027 Tour de France will favour time-trial specialists with 71 km of individual ​time trials, while the Tour de France Femmes will conclude on the Puy ​de Dome, organisers said on Thursday.

The men's Grand Depart ‌will ​take place in Britain, with three opening stages, starting in Edinburgh, before the race, which runs from July 2 to 25, returns to France for stage four in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. The 114th edition of cycling's Grande Boucle (Great Loop) puts the spotlight on individual ‌efforts, with two key time-trial stages.

Stage seven, a 38-km route between Blois and Chambord, and stage 16, a 33-km course around Toulouse, will deliver the highest combined time-trial distance since 2012. "There was a desire to rebalance the race in favour of the rouleurs," Tour director Christian Prudhomme said, referring to riders who excel on flat terrain in time ‌trials.

The route appears well-suited to Belgium's four-times reigning world time-trial champion Remco Evenepoel. Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar will remain the huge favourite as he aims to win a ‌record sixth Tour de France and fourth in a row as the route does not affect the chances of the best rider in the world, who crashed at the Vuelta a Espana two months ago.

The Pyrenees will be pivotal in the fight for the yellow jersey, with two demanding stages scheduled just days before the finale in Paris. Stage 18 will take riders over 5,400 metres of climbing from Pau ⁠to a ​summit finish on the Col du Portet, ⁠via the legendary Col du Tourmalet. The following day's stage offers 160 km of challenging terrain featuring 4,300 metres of vertical gain between Hasparren and Laruns.

"It's terrain where everything can change, where the table ⁠can be turned," Prudhomme added. The Grand Colombier will provide the first summit finish on stage nine, before the peloton enters the Alps during the second week. Riders will also race on sections ​of the 2027 World Championship circuit in a stage finishing in Sallanches.

Prudhomme underlined the effectiveness of shorter but selective mountain stages. "We've wanted for years to ⁠show that you don't need climbs at 2,000 metres or higher to produce difficult stages," he said. SEVEN FLAT STAGES

In total, the 2027 men's race spans 3,479 km with 53,450 metres of vertical gain. Sprinters will ⁠have ​seven flat stages and the race will include a final stage up Paris’ Montmartre hill for the third consecutive edition. The Tour de France Femmes, scheduled from July 30 to August 7, will also begin in Britain, starting in Leeds, and culminate with a historic final-stage climb of the Puy de Dome.

As during the race's previous ⁠visit, in the 2023 men's Tour de France, spectators will be restricted over the final kilometres of the ascent, but organisers hope to welcome between 3,000 and ⁠4,000 people at the finish line. "It will ⁠be the queen stage," said race director Marion Rousse.

The women's edition covers 1,156 km across nine stages, including an 18-km team time trial in London. "It's a rare exercise, especially for women, and will be a test for the teams," Rousse said.

Dutchwoman Demi ‌Vollering will try to win ‌a third Tour de France Femmes and second straight after her triumph in August. (Reporting ​by Vincent Daheron; Editing by Ken Ferris)