Attempts to bring the Tour de France back to the UK in 2026 appear to have received a shot in the arm from the success of the UCI Cycling World Championships in Scotland over the past two weeks.
Updated 14th Aug 2023, 13:43 BST The men’s road race, pictured in Glasgow, was one of many success stories from the UCI Cycling World Championships. Tour director Christian Prudhomme was in Glasgow last weekend for the men’s elite road race, fuelling speculation that a bid to host the Grand Depart of the world’s biggest bike race across Scotland , Wales, and England – with an opening stage starting in Edinburgh – is making serious progress. Officials insisted Prudhomme was on a private holiday but his presence at these ‘super worlds’ – the first running of an experimental format combining 13 disciplines – was seen as significant as work continues on the bid, which was first launched in 2021 with Government backing.
British Cycling chief executive Jon Dutton greeted Prudhomme in Glasgow, and said the success of the championships, which attracted an estimated one million spectators across Scotland over 11 days, were a powerful advert for what the UK could offer. “Why wouldn’t event organisers want to bring events to the UK on the back of everything we’ve seen?” said Dutton, who worked on the Yorkshire Grand Depart in 2014. We know ASO (the Amaury Sports Organisation that runs the Tour de France) have huge respect for our ability to deliver major races. I […]
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