International cycling race coming to Derbyshire next year could leave multi-million-pound economic “legacy”

Elise Chabbey in the Mountains. Tour de France Femmes generic image. Image from A.S.O & Pauline Ballet via the EMCCA.

An international cycling race coming to Derbyshire next year could leave a multi-million-pound economic “legacy”, it is hoped.

The Tour de France Femmes, a women’s international cycling race, will host its “Grand Depart” in the UK next summer, with an extensive 130km journey through Derbyshire on July 31, 2027.

This will involve elite riders peddling up notoriously steep and challenging cycling routes, Winnats Pass and Snake Pass, for a total of 3,000 metres of uphill climbing.

At an East Midlands Combined County Authority meeting this week, the inclusion of a significant chunk of Derbyshire on the route was hailed as a chance to put the area “in the spotlight” on an international stage.

The event is expected to be shown in 190 countries, with the Peak District section the “star of the show”.

Leaders hope there will be a major benefit for local hospitality businesses and wider tourism spending, with a hopeful legacy of people returning to try the area out for themselves after seeing it on TV.

They approved spending up to £2.4 million to host and manage the event, including safety and security measures, road closures and diversions, and organising promotional activities.

Derbyshire County Council has already set aside £500,000 for the same aims.

The combined authority hopes the event will boost inclusion in cycling and sport for girls and young women.

Councillor Alan Graves, Derbyshire County Council leader (Ref) said the event was “extremely exciting” for the county and said the public would see it as a welcome input from the combined authority.

He said he had already booked a hotel room in the area to watch the event.

Claire Ward, East Midlands Mayor (Lab), said when the Tour of Britain cycling race stretched from Derby to Newark in 2024 there was a £4-5 million benefit to the local economy.

She said: “These things make a big difference and hopefully we will have an even bigger legacy from this one.”

Councillor Anthony McKeown, High Peak Borough Council leader (Lab) said he welcomed the 130km route coming through Derbyshire and that leisure centres would be hosting events attached to the event and the lead up to the race.

He recalled a large screen was erected in the borough and roads were closed off when the Tour de France men’s race entered Derbyshire “for about five minutes”.

The men’s race came to Derbyshire in 2014, joining the Woodhead Pass for six miles, with an estimated 15,000 people lining that section of the route.

A total of 5,000 people gathered at The Manor Park in Glossop to watch the stage on a large screen.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Derby City Council leader (Lab), said the Derby Arena velodrome would be involved in some way in the lead-up to the event.

A combined authority report details: “Stage 2 is expected to be one of the flagship stages of the Grand Départ, alongside the London finale, placing Derbyshire and the Peak District at the centre of global media and sporting attention.

“While the race itself takes place over a single day, its value is realised through the wider programme and legacy activity, providing sustained economic, social and reputational benefits.”

It says the event helps support the need to invest in the roads which will be used for the route, “ensuring the road surface is of the standard required for the race”, which will come from the already approved Derbyshire County Council highways budget.

In April, when the route was confirmed, Councillor Charlotte Hill (Ref) cabinet member for highways, said the authority would “do our utmost” to ensure the race has “safe passage” along Snake Pass, which has experienced numerous significant land slips, which the authority does not have enough funding to repair and has been dismissed for additional Government report.

“Contingencies” are said to be in place via the race organisers in case the Snake Pass route or other sections are not viable.