Tour de France Grand Depart and football World Cup part of Rishi Sunak’s budget proposals

Fans Cheer on cyclists as they tackle the Holme Moss climb on the Tour de France Stage 2, 6th July 2014 (Picture: Simon Hulme)

The Tour de France Grand Depart could be coming back to England in 2026.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce at Wednesday’s Budget £30m of funding to prepare the UK bids to host the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup and the 2026 Tour de France Grand Depart.

The former was last staged in England in 2010, when New Zealand beat England in the final at Twickenham Stoop, while the latter was last held in this country in 2014, when Yorkshire staged the ‘Grandest of Grand Departs’ as Tour director Christian Prudhomme said.

In addition, Sunak is set to promise a further £11m for the UK and Ireland’s bid for the 2030 men’s football World Cup, the Treasury has announced.

Marcel Kittell wins the first stage of the 2014 Tour de France in Harrogate from Peter Sagan after Mark Cavendish crashed at the bottom of Parliament Street. (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

He said: “I’m excited at the prospect of bringing more world-class sporting events to the UK. That’s why I’m backing these British bids, with over £40m of funding to make our case.

“Our bids will include events taking place across the country, and I’m hopeful that everyone will get a chance to cheer on their sporting heroes.

“Britain is world-beating in both rugby and cycling, and bringing these events home will allow thousands of people to see the next generation of British sporting heroes.”

Yorkshire hosted stages one and two of the Tour de France seven years ago, with the event then moving to London before heading to France.

Crowds line the Headrow at the start at the first stage of the Tour de France in in Leeds in 2014 (Picture: Bruce Rollinson)

British Cycling chief executive Brian Facer said: “The 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart in Yorkshire was an unforgettable celebration of our sport and is still talked about to this day, inspiring a new generation of cyclists.

“More importantly, those few days showcased our country’s credentials as one of the world’s best cycling nations, and we’re delighted to be supporting the UK Government’s bid to bring the sport’s showpiece event back to these shores in 2026.”

The Rugby Football Union plans to adopt a multi-city and multi-region approach to delivering the 2025 global showpiece.