'Super brutal' Tour de France Femmes UK stage routes revealed

Tour de France Femmes UK stage routes revealed Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, British roads will host the women's edition of the Tour de France for the first timeByMatt WarwickBBC Sport Senior JournalistPublished6 minutes agoCommentsThe routes for the three UK stages of the 2027 Tour de France Femmes have been revealed, with riders saying it will be "super brutal".A gruelling 154km second stage from Manchester to Sheffield, which includes nearly 3,000m of climbing and the iconic Winnats Pass in the Peak District, is one of the highlights, which organiser ASO says is "one of the hardest Grand Depart stages we've ever seen before".The race also travels from Leeds over 85.7km to a likely sprint finish in Manchester, before an approximate 18km team time trial finishing on London's Pall Mall for the third stage - a first for the women's event.The exact time trial route will be announced in October."Having the Tour de France Femmes Avec Swift so close to home feels like a full circle moment for me," said Movistar's English rider Cat Ferguson, who was born in the Yorkshire town of Skipton. "I watched the men's [Grand Depart in Yorkshire] in 2014 from the side of my home roads as a young kid, and now I hope to have the opportunity next year to line up and race in the peloton."Ferguson, 19, added: "I trained on those roads and I know they're going to be super brutal stages. Stage two in particular - always up and down. It's really going to be one [stage] that can change the Tour. The GC leaders can lose a lot."The opening three stages of both the men's (beginning 2 July) and women's (beginning 30 July) editions of cycling's biggest race are taking part across Britain next year.The route details for the three stages in men's race from Edinburgh, Keswick and Welshpool were revealed in January. The stages are being billed as the "the most accessible major...