Event guide · Jul 30–Aug 7, 2027
The first women's Tour stage in Britain: 86 km from Leeds across the Pennines to Manchester, flat on paper with three climbs in the finale.
Stage 1 of the 2027 Tour de France Femmes runs 86 km from Leeds to Manchester on Friday, July 30, the shortest road stage of the race and the first ever held in Britain. ASO lists it as flat, with about 1,400 meters of climbing.
The race starts on the Headrow in Leeds, passes through Heckmondwike, Mirfield and Huddersfield, crosses the Pennines and finishes on Deansgate in Manchester. Domestique Cycling lists three climbs in the finale: the Côte de Kirkheaton (1.7 km at 7.5 percent), the Côte de Meltham (3.2 km at 8.4 percent) and the Côte de Delph (2.1 km at 6.3 percent).
A sprinter can win this stage, but the climbs mean the first yellow jersey will not necessarily go to one. Lorena Wiebes won the first two stages of the 2026 race. The Headrow was also the start of the men’s Grand Départ in 2014, when Marcel Kittel won the opening stage to Harrogate.
ASO has not published a kilometer-by-kilometer profile for the women's race yet, so this stage shows the climbs reported so far. The places are from the April route guide and may change.
| # | Climb | Position | Length | Average | Altitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Côte de Kirkheaton | 1.7 km | 7.5 % | ||
| 2 | Côte de Meltham | 3.2 km | 8.4 % | ||
| 3 | Côte de Delph | 2.1 km | 6.3 % |
Places on the route, in order: Leeds (The Headrow), Heckmondwike, Mirfield, Kirkheaton, Huddersfield, Meltham, Delph, Manchester (Deansgate).
Leeds, in West Yorkshire on the River Aire, starts the race on the Headrow, the broad street beside the Victorian town hall. The men's Tour began on the Headrow in 2014, and Marcel Kittel won stage 1 to Harrogate. The women's Tour has never raced in Britain.
The stage finishes on Deansgate, the main street through the city center, which runs from Victoria Street to Castlefield past the John Rylands Library. Manchester is also the home of the National Cycling Centre velodrome, which opened in 1994 and is British Cycling's base.
Course figures: Climb figures from ProCyclingUK, Domestique Cycling and CyclingUpToDate, read 2026-10-22. Distances and altitudes may change when the route is homologated.
