In 2027, the biggest race in the world will finish a stage in the birthplace of Cyclry.
We have endured many things since we launched this site back in the hazy 2006 spring of a Liverpool soon to be European City of Culture. We survived Floyd Landis’s chin, emails to our boss from an aggrieved cycling journo, and toothless legal threats from the BNP.
We escaped to the rocky Atlantic coast. We thought it was all behind us. But.
The ASO has officially confirmed that the 2027 Tour de France Grand Départ will take place in the UK. Yes, it starts in Edinburgh, and yes, it finishes in Cardiff. But buried in the middle of the “British Trilogy” press release is the only sentence that matters to us:
Stage 2: Keswick > Liverpool. A Yellow Jersey on the Mersey
On Saturday, July 3, 2027, the peloton will roll out of the Lake District, dodge the sheep, navigate the endless rolling roads of Lancashire, and thunder into the city centre of Liverpool for what looks like a flat-out sprint finish.
For the general cycling public, this is a chance to see Pogacar necking down curry and chips in the Lobster Pot. For us, it’s a homecoming.
Cyclry—or DerailedUK, for the OGs who remember when our logo was a stolen bike we smashed the little chainring off—was born in this city. It is where we paid for the first seven years of the site gambling on bike racing before the bookies wised up. It’s where girls thought we were famous because Eurosport mentioned us once. Then we moved to London, sold out, relaunched as a monthly magazine, then disappeared for a couple of years while we launched cycling products for a living.
The Stage Details (If You Care)
The stage itself is a monster. At 223km, it’s a proper day out. It starts in Keswick, which means the peloton will get a scenic tour of the Lake District before things get serious.
The ASO describes the run-in to Liverpool as “fairly flat” and running through “built-up areas.” Anyone who has ever tried to ride a bike into Liverpool city centre knows that “built-up” is a polite way of saying “technical, chaotic, and loud.”
There is a descent mentioned just before the flamme rouge (1km to go), which suggests a finish that will be fast, sketchy, and absolutely terrifying to watch. Just the way we like it.
The “Trilogy”
To be fair to the rest of the island, the whole route looks decent.
- Stage 1 (July 2): Edinburgh to Carlisle. A 184km scenic warm-up.
- Stage 2 (July 3): Keswick to Liverpool. The Main Event.
- Stage 3 (July 4): Welshpool to Cardiff. A 223km lump-fest in Wales.
But let’s be honest. The headline here is that the Tour de France is coming to the city that gave the world the Beatles, Liverpool FC, and DerailedUK.
We’ll be there. Probably in the VIP area we usually complain about.