Tour de France Femmes Leeds stage one route announced as businesses along the Headrow, Headingley, Kirkstall, and Bramley corridor prepare for July 2027

Leeds City Council has revealed the stage one route for the Tour de France Femmes Leeds Grand Départ, giving businesses along the corridor their first clear picture of where the race will pass on 30 July 2027. Riders will start on the Headrow, loop through the city centre, head out through Headingley past Headingley Stadium, down to Kirkstall, south through Bramley, Gamble Hill, and Farnley, then west to Drighlington before crossing into Kirklees and over the Pennines to Manchester. The council says engagement with businesses and residents will begin this summer, with road closure details to follow.

What Leeds Businesses Can Learn from 2014

The 2014 men’s Tour de France Grand Départ remains the most prominent reference point for what a major cycling event can deliver to Leeds. That event brought 230,000 people into the city centre, boosted Yorkshire’s economy by £102.3 million according to a Leeds City Council and UK Sport report, and gave Trinity Leeds 100,000 additional visitors on the Grand Départ weekend with a 19% increase in city centre footfall the following week.

“The fact that the women’s race is coming to Leeds in 2027 will be fantastic news for the city’s business community, who will benefit from increased footfall and profile in front of an international audience.”

— James Mason, Chief Executive, West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce

TDF Femmes commercial opportunity.

The most useful benchmark comes from Rotterdam, which hosted the Tour de France Femmes stages in 2024 and commissioned an independent economic impact study. That event attracted 415,000 visitors and generated €12.2 million in economic impact. The Tour de France Femmes has been growing rapidly since its revival in 2022 — total TV viewership reached 25.7 million in 2025, up from 18.3 million the year before, and the race is broadcast in 190 countries to an estimated 550 million viewers. It’s difficult to can say exactly what the commercial opportunity will look like in Leeds, but the Rotterdam data suggests businesses along the route have good reason to plan for a significant event.

With the Tour de France Femmes Leeds race broadcast to 550 million viewers in 190 countries, the city will have a global audience watching riders set off from the Headrow — making Leeds the first place outside mainland Europe to host stage one of a Grand Départ for both the men’s and women’s Tour de France. For businesses along the route, council engagement starts this summer. The smart ones will already be thinking about how to make the most of it.