British Biking has backed the return of the Tour de France to the UK for a future Grand Départ, with the organisation signalling it is curiosity in bringing again the Tour for 2027.
The race final visited British shores for a trio of levels in Yorkshire and London again in 2014, whereas in 2007 the capital hosted the prologue and stage 1.
Grand Départs in Lille and Barcelona have already been confirmed for the subsequent two editions of the race, which means {that a} British bid could possibly be profitable in 2027.
British Biking CEO John Dutton gave his backing to the thought in an interview with London newspaper Metropolis A.M. earlier this month, although pressured that the choice to bid for the Tour begin wasn’t as much as the organisation.
“The Tour de France would have a vastly optimistic impression, it might create unimaginable visibility and it might enable all companions to ship extra social worth over a time period,” Dutton stated
“It would not simply be concerning the race coming and going, there’s a large cycle tourism side.
“It isn’t our choice however it’s why occasions are so essential, and that they are often delivered in a financially sustainable far more than the sum of the components.”
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Neighbouring nation Eire, which hosted the Grand Départ in 1998, had submitted an expression of curiosity in bidding to host the Tour in 2026 or 2027.
That bid was withdrawn in January, nevertheless, with the nation’s Division for the Financial system citing “Funding reductions this yr and an absence of certainty concerning the funds place in future years.”
The funds for a possible British 2027 bid remains to be being labored on, with Dutton sounding optimistic about the opportunity of it coming to fruition.
“The fee remains to be within the means of being labored by way of however we might positively be inside our means and ready to step up and assist towards the worth of simply getting extra individuals on a motorbike,” he stated, earlier than shedding some gentle on the place a possible Grand Départ might go to.
“We might love to come back to London. We’re massive inhabitants centres – London, Glasgow, Cardiff and extra,” stated Dutton
“We’re doing a mapping train in the mean time on the Tour of Britain to take a look at areas we have not been to beforehand. Hopefully we are able to attain extra individuals in additional locations.
“The Tour de France is a business organisation and so it’s a mission led by UK Sport,” he added. “However off the again of the Grand Depart in 2014, which I used to be personally concerned in, and seeing the thousands and thousands of individuals come to the aspect of the highway and the attain throughout the geography of the UK, we’re totally supportive [of its return].”
