The 2027 Tour de France will start in Edinburgh with the first three stages taking place in Scotland, England and Wales, the organisers ASO announced at a ceremony in the Scottish capital.

The women's Tour de France will also start from Britain in 2027, from a location yet to be revealed.

This will be the third men's start from the United Kingdom but the two previous Grand Departs both took place in England, making these the first stages ever to be raced in Scotland and Wales.

The first two stages of the 2007 edition were in London with Yorkshire hosting the start of the 2014 race.

According to an official report, the Grand Depart of the 2014 race attracted 3.5 million spectators to the roadside as two stages took place in Yorkshire, with a third between Cambridge and London.

"The popular success was absolutely phenomenal," Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. "We were faced with walls of people, a great mass of people."

Prudhomme said setting off from the "magical city" of Edinburgh was something he had in mind for some time but its remoteness had worked against it.

"Scotland was already a candidate against Yorkshire for 2014 and one of the major differences at the time was the distance from France," added Prudhomme.

"But since then, there have been new UCI regulations which mean that, once every four years, we have a 'joker' to start on the Friday, which fundamentally changes the deal."

The ASO organisers used the exemption in 2022 for the start in Copenhagen instead of a Saturday. They will use it again in 2027 to start on Friday July 2, 2027 for three complete stages on British soil.

Details of the cities have yet to be revealed, but the peloton will head straight for England, where the second stage will also take place. (AFP)