Following a number of frustrating years due to injury, illness and repeated setbacks, Tao Geoghegan Hart began his 2026 season hoping that he has finally turned the corner on the bad luck that has hindered him since he signed with Lidl-Trek.

The Londoner agreed to depart Ineos Grenadiers to join Lidl-Trek in the spring of 2023, but just weeks later he fractured his left hip and femur at the Giro d’Italia.

At the time he was third on GC and many people’s favourite to win the race for the second time, after his success at the 2020 edition

Since then Geoghegan Hart managed to race throughout the 2024 and 2025 seasons, but he struggled for both form and consistency, with illnesses and injuries holding him back from reaching his previous heights.

But the 30-year-old, who finished the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana in 19th place, before racing the first two stages of the Tour de la Provence, is finally optimistic of enjoying a more fruitful racing campaign.

“It’s the first normal winter I’ve had since I’ve been on the team,” he told CW last month. “I was really good until early January and then I got a bit sick which was a shame, but I feel alright.

“I finished racing well in China [in October], and then everything was easy restarting without surgery and rehab. It’s been nice and you can also bounce back quicker from setbacks.

“I was sick before this race [Valenciana], but I had a base to rely on, whereas when you don’t have that base those small setbacks push you further away from where you want to be.”

Asked if he’s feeling like the older version of himself, Geoghegan Hart said: “Physically and with fresh numbers, I’ve had no problems for a few years now, but that’s different to translating it to a race.

“I’ve not had one day on a bike where I really had magic legs or was feeling great for a few years now, but in the end you just have to keep working away.

“It’s easy to expect more from a period like this [winter and spring racing] than is realistic, but I had a good winter, am happy where I am at, and looking forward to getting stuck into a couple of more races.”

When Lidl-Trek signed Geoghegan Hart from Ineos Grenadiers, they did so with the intention of making the Briton their main GC leader. But events have panned out differently: Geoghegan Hart has struggled for form, and new signing Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose have stepped up as the protected Grand Tour leaders.

Geoghegan Hart is on the longlist for both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, but he has work to do before he gets selected for either. “The more important thing is to feel really good, and have good form and condition,” he said.

“The best place for me in cycling when I’m healthy and good is the last seven to 10 days in a Grand Tour. Without doubt. But if you’re not 100% you’re never going to get there feeling good.

“I don’t really think too much about those next goals or steps, because there is a lot of stuff you need to do before then. Getting stuck in and getting good racing in my legs is more of a focus for me and we’ll see how my place in the sport develops in the next six months.”

2026 is also a contract year for Geoghegan Hart. Perform well in the first half of the season and he’ll have a greater number of offers on the table.

“I know I have a lot of experience, I’ve been a part of a lot of super nice victories, but also part of groups and collectives, and building something more than just values that you see on a computer. Those are things I really value,” he said.

“Of course I still really want to try and be on my best level and do results, but I’m also focused on all parts of the sport, and part of that is using your experience.

“We use the word ‘leader’ in a weird way in cycling, I’d say, because a guy with good legs is not necessarily a leader. They are two different things.

“I really enjoy being at races, I’ve super enjoyed this winter – the training, the process, it still brings me a lot of joy – so we’ll see what happens.”

There’s a hope that it will be third time lucky for the former Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart at Lidl-Trek, as he starts his third season with the WorldTour team.

The Brit has endured two years of misfortune and injury since joining the squad in 2024. In his first year, a fractured rib and a Covid infection ruled him out of the Tour de France, while last season, he was sidelined by a stomach illness in the spring, and a chest infection in the summer.

Writing on Instagram last June, the 30-year-old said it was “proving quite tricky to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together at once” in his career.

Lidl-Trek’s performance manager, Josu Larrazabal, has now said he’s “optimistic” about Geoghegan Hart’s prospects for 2026.

“With 2026, we're entering the final chapter of his project: he had a three-year contract. The first two years went badly for various reasons, but I'm optimistic,” Larrazabal told Italian outlet bici.pro.

“We finally managed to have a good winter. We're keeping our fingers crossed, but so far it's been ideal. He feels it too; he's happy. He's had a smooth run.”

Geoghegan Hart’s highest race placing since joining Lidl-Trek from Ineos Grenadiers in 2024 is third overall at last year’s Tour of Slovenia. His last victory came at the 2023 Tour of the Alps, where he won two stages and the overall.

According to Larrazabal, the 2020 Giro winner will not have a “rigid” race programme this season. He will open his campaign at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, with either Tirreno-Adriatico or the Volta a Catalunya to follow.

From there, the Brit will aim for a possible return to the Giro for the first time since 2023, when he abandoned the race with a fractured hip. He has only raced one Grand Tour – the 2024 Vuelta a España – since then.

“No matter how strong you are, no matter how many victories you've had in the past, when you go through such a long period where things aren't going smoothly, things get tough, really tough,” Larrazabal said. “This time we're taking it one step at a time. And for now, the only certainty is that the winter went well.”

Commenting specifically on the Giro, Lidl-Trek's performance manager said Geoghegan Hart will need to be “in certain conditions” if he is to be on the start line. “He can't just go there for the sake of it. It's a race he's won. To be there, he must first rediscover himself, the confidence and stability he's lacked in recent years,” he added.

“We don't even know if we'll make the Giro, because we have to take several steps first. The priority is health, then consistency.”

The Lloyds Tour of Britain Men is by some distance the biggest bike race in the UK for male cyclists and is well respected on the world stage too. As such, it is always able to attract a field with at least a smattering of big-name riders, with many warming up for the World Championships.

This year does not buck that trend; in fact, with Geraint Thomas riding his last ever pro race, his presence alone is likely to bring out huge numbers of fans to the roadside. But there is also double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, former world champ Julian Alaphilippe and more. You can discover the whole start list here, as well as our guide to the race route.

Ahead of the race beginning on Tuesday, 2 September in East Suffolk, we take a look at the riders to watch this week.

Geraint Thomas

Ineos Grenadiers, GBr, 39
Previous ToB starts: 9

It will not be news to many British bike racing fans that Geraint Thomas has had a long (and illustrious) career. But what might raise eyebrows is the fact that he first rode the Tour of Britain a full 20 years ago, back in 2005.

Aged just 19 at that point, he would have scarcely been able to imagine the career that lay ahead, complete with Olympic golds and a Tour de France victory.

Now 39, Thomas can still turn in a handy ride, but is more likely to be riding in service of a teammate for this edition, which will nevertheless honour his career on the final stage, with a start at the velodrome named after him in Newport and a finish in his home city of Cardiff.

That day will mark his final race as a pro and Cardiff will effectively see him retire. The dry eyes will be in the minority that day.

Remco Evenepoel

Soudal Quick-Step, Bel, 25
Previous ToB starts: 1

In his first ToB participation last year Remco Evenepoel was one of the most feted riders on the start list. All eyes were on him as he suffered through the British weather to finish a disappointed 28th on GC and without a sniff of success in his post Olympic hangover.

Once again he is likely to be one of the most anticipated riders at the British tour; less might be expected of him this year though, given his season so far has been far from the glory-fest of summer 2024, where he was third at the Tour de France and scored an Olympic double.

However, the Belgian will still theoretically be one of the strongest riders, and having pulled out of the Tour will be keen to get some preparation in for the Kigali Worlds at the end of September.

It will also likely be one of the final times he races in a Soudal Quick-Step jersey, before departing for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe next season.

Oscar Onley

Picnic PostNL, GBr, 22
Previous ToB starts: 2

How else do you mark fourth place at the Tour de France? That’s right, by racing across England and Wales at the Tour of Britain. Oscar Onley became just the second Scot to finish in the top five overall at the Tour last month, after Philippa York, and will surely be greeted by an appreciative public over the six days of this race.

However, he won’t just be here on some kind of parade, as the man from Kelso finished second last year behind Stevie Williams, and could very well put in that kind of performance again this year, especially with The Tumble coming into play on stage five.

Onley is yet to win a professional stage race overall, so this could very well be his chance, even if he will be well-marked now that the peloton knows he can keep up with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard. The home favourite.

Julian Alaphilippe

Tudor Pro Cycling, Fra, 33
Previous ToB starts: 3

The French puncheur returns to the race he once won – back in 2018, when he took a stage win in Bristol and two second places on his way to overall victory.

He also rode in 2021 (he was third overall) and he came back last year too, taking a second place on the hilly stage two, behind eventual winner Stevie Williams.

This year, with new team Tudor Pro Cycling, Alaphilippe says he has "rediscovered the joy of racing" that always seemed to mark him out in his best years.

He has been relatively quiet this year, but in the low-pressure environment of the Tour of Britain – and one that he knows well – perhaps we will see him show that spark again, he is after all, only 33. A stage win is certainly not beyond his reach, with The Tumble finish on the penultimate day likely to offer a potential opportunity.

Olav Kooij

Visma-Lease a Bike, Ned, 23
Previous ToB starts: 1

Olav Kooij is a sprinter, so you would expect him to be counted out of a list of overall contenders for the Tour of Britain. Last time he was at the race, however, he won half the stages – four of eight back then. He might still have finished 48th overall, but on that kind of record, he can’t be counted against.

There will be at least three sprint stages on the road from Suffolk to Cardiff, and expect Kooij to be in the conversation for every single one of them. The 23-year-old has won six times this season, including twice at the Giro d’Italia, and has the speed and the nous to dominate at a race of the Tour of Britain’s level. He’s expected to leave Visma-Lease a Bike for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at the end of the year, so think of this as a last hurrah for Kooij at the Dutch team, on roads where he has been successful before.

Tom Donnenwirth

Groupama-FDJ, Fra, 27
Previous ToB starts: 1

A late bloomer, the not-very-French-sounding Tom Donnenwirth joined the WorldTour with Groupama-FDJ this season, aged 27. His signing wouldn’t have been wholly based on his performances at last year’s Tour of Britain, when he was racing for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development, but it won’t have hurt that he finished eighth overall.

The man from Aurillac has history at this race, then, and is also in form, taking his first ever professional victory at the Tour de l’Ain in early August, leading home his teammate David Gaudu and Andrea Vendrame of Decathlon in a small bunch sprint. Perhaps Donnenwirth is a Tour of Britain specialist - this year will improve on a small sample size so far.

Other than the Tour de l’Ain, though, this year hasn’t been a barnstorming step up, with top fives at the Muscat Classic and a stage of the Route d’Occitanie the only other notable results.

Others to watch

Tao Geoghegan Hart | Lidl-Trek | GBr | 30
Previous ToB starts: 4
One of two British Grand Tour winners on the start line, alongside Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart hasn’t ridden the Tour of Britain since Team Sky existed. Similar to Thomas, it would be a surprise if the Londoner challenged for the overall, but his climbing skills are well known.

Mark Donovan | Q36.5 Pro Cycling | GBr |26
Previous ToB starts: 4
Fourth last year at the Tour of Britain, Mark Donovan returns to try and go at least one better. He has finished in the top 10 three times, so is a safe bet to do so again in 2025. The man from the Lake District hasn’t won a race this year, but did finish second at Coppi e Bartali.

Andrea Vendrame | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | Ita | 31
Previous ToB starts: 0
Andrea Vendrame has never raced the Tour of Britain before, but he is a two-time Giro d’Italia stage winner, so has the ability to perform at the highest level. The Italian won a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this year, out-sprinting Tom Pidcock in Colfiorito, and he is one to watch on stage four in Warwickshire.

Fred Wright | Bahrain Victorious | GBr | 26
Previous ToB starts: 1

A late announcement for the Tour of Britain, the former British national champion comes to the Tour of Britain after fourth place at the Renewi Tour, a not dissimilar race across Belgium, and is looking to test his late-season legs on home roads.

British riders to watch

As the only British WorldTour team, Ineos Grenadiers come replete with British talent, beyond Geraint Thomas. There is national champion Sam Watson, who will be seeking to replicate the form he had in Wales in June, as he comes off the back of a first Tour de France. He was a late replacement in the eight-man squad in France for Ben Swift, who will be making his 11th appearance at the Tour of Britain, but has only won a stage once.

The Great Britain squad is replete with up-and-coming talent, including Ben Wiggins and Joshua Golliker, both of whom finished on the podium of the under-23 race at the National Championships in June. Josh Charlton will also ride, primarily a track cyclist, but using the ToB as an opportunity to see how he goes on the road. Matt Bostock, an ever-present rider at domestic road races and crits will relish the chance to sprint against WorldTour opposition. Harrison Wood, previously of Cofidis, now rides for Portuguese team Anicolor-Tien21, and will hope to impress at his home race.

Matthew Brennan of Visma-Lease a Bike is probably the best British rider this year, and could add to his 11 pro wins this season in his own country.

Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart has said the rising cost of watching cycling in the UK is a “huge problem” and a “huge shame” for cycling fans.

In a candid Instagram post, the 29-year-old became one of the first UK pros to speak openly about the issue, and called on viewers to “question the monopoly” over cycling coverage in the UK.

Geoghegan Hart’s comments follow the news on Tuesday morning that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is shutting down its Eurosport channels in the UK next month, and moving its cycling coverage to TNT Sports, a premium service that costs £30.99 a month. Until now, most UK viewers have received Eurosport free with their TV packages, or have been able to purchase a Discovery+ pass for £6.99.

This cost is now set to rise from £83.88 to £371.88 annually.

“Let’s be clear, the sport going behind such a large paywall is a huge problem,” Geoghegan Hart said.

“Professional sports are all competing for the same audience. Cycling is completely reliant on this audience, it is how teams justify themselves to sponsors spending millions a year. Only a few teams can realistically promise a sponsor to win the Tour, but all teams can demonstrate good ROI when capturing so many eyes, hearts & minds. It’s not only wins that can be of value. It’s the journey and the heartache too.

“I find it hard to believe many fans will be able to justify this increase in costs to follow our races and those of our female colleagues. This is a huge shame,” the Lidl-Trek rider continued.

Some within WBD have argued the increased price will help the company invest back into the sport and its teams.

“To be clear on something that many don’t understand,” Geoghegan Hart said, “teams receive zero remuneration from tv rights.

“For amateur riders, cycling has become a very expensive sport or passion. Now as a British fan, following the upper echelons of the sport has also suddenly and massively increased in cost. I think it is now very relevant to realise where this money is going and where it is not. And perhaps to question the monopoly held over the sports U.K. coverage.”

WBD’s decision to move cycling to its more expensive TNT Sports offering came in a plan to align its sports coverage in a “single destination”, said Scott Young, group senior vice president of WBD Sports Europe.

“What’s more important is the ecosystem of sports content in this market, and for sports fans now to come to one destination, and not try and pick which destination they’ve got to go to,” he said.

The changes, and price rise, will come into effect this 28 February. From 2026, the Tour de France will also be shown exclusively on TNT Sports in the UK, with no free-to-air live coverage.

Unlike many other WorldTour riders, Tao Geoghegan Hart sees little point in publicly outlining grand plans for 2025 and is opting to instead take each race as it comes once the new campaign gets underway.

The now 29-year-old previously won the Giro d’Italia in 2020 and appeared to be returning to the form of his life in 2023 before suffering a broken leg in a high speed fall at the Giro that year. Geoghegan Hart won the Tour of the Alps that spring and explained in a recent media call that he had initially believed he was on track to challenge once more for the Giro GC had he not crashed out.

The London-born rider believes that he is more than capable of returning to those heights once more. But he says he is a realist and explained that he knows it will take time to reach that level again. Instead he wants to focus on the process and returning to being competitive in smaller races before he can consider bigger ambitions.

He said: "When I was a much younger rider, one of the managers in my previous team said there are basically three types of riders. There are riders who win races, riders who are learning to win races and riders who help others win races.

"This is the period of my career where I really want to be a rider that makes results. The day I broke my leg, I was 100% sure I was going to fight for the GC in that Grand Tour and that's something that's super inspiring to me. That's the reason I started this sport.

"That's the aim, to come back there. But first, there are steps before that, which is being competitive, even in smaller races. My aim is to be back competing and leading my team and leading my teammates, making a nice group around me to really try and win races in a nice way or at least to give it a good try."

Geoghegan Hart’s seven year spell at Ineos came to an end in August 2023 when it was announced that he had joined Lidl-Trek on a three-year deal. He was aiming to ride the Tour de France in 2024 with his new team before a period of illness meant he needed to change his plans.

Given all that he has experienced in the last two years he now sees little point in making big statements of intent as it traditional at this time of year and instead he believes it makes far more sense to take it step by step, starting with the Volta ao Algarve in February which will be his first race of the season.

"I really want to take the focus not necessarily race by race, but certainly to focus on the first period," he said. "That’s my big goal. At this time of year there’s a lot of headlines about people’s targets and announcements but that's the reality for me. I think it’s a little nonsensical to look past that and to start looking at big goals."

He added: "I really tried that last year after coming back. We were already talking about the Tour with the team before I’d even ridden the bike. It was super inspiring at the time but now it feels like a more logical approach is just to focus on getting back to my best."

Ultimately, Geoghegan Hart hopes to continue to be a positive influence within his new surroundings at Lidl-Trek and to help push the team on wherever he can.

"It would be super nice to get some wins," he continued. "I would like to be here next year and see that the team recognizes me as someone who's contributing at races, leading the team, doing that off the bike as much as on it. That's important for me. It's about feeling like the purpose is being fulfilled."

Tao Geoghegan Hart will not ride the Tour de France after crashing at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and then contracting Covid.

The Lidl-Trek rider was set to co-lead his team at the Tour, a goal he had been working all season towards, but fractured a rib in the Dauphiné crash earlier in June, and has since suffered from illness.

Stage five of the Dauphiné was neutralised following a mass crash, which took down many key riders, but it was not known until now that Geoghegan Hart had broken a bone. To then contract Covid was a bonus which has kept him off his bike.

"The Brit has being sidelined for longer than initially expected after the Critérium du Dauphiné due to illness and injuries sustained, including a fractured rib, in the crash on Stage 5," a Lidl-Trek statement on Friday read.

"Wishing Tao all the best for a good recovery. The Team can’t wait to see him back racing at 100 percent as soon as he is ready."

Geoghegan Hart announced the news of his Covid positive on Instagram on Thursday.

"One of the questions journalists always ask is what we miss when travelling on the road," he wrote. "I guess they think it’ll make the oddities of sitting atop a mountain or racing across an entire country seem a little more relatable to their reader. I always say I miss buying fresh groceries and cooking. Even the simple decision of actually choosing what to have for lunch and dinner. 

"This week has seen plenty of time for that, with zero bike riding and five days of Covid positive. I thought those days were long gone but unfortunately I’ve been super sick. Take care everyone. And make sure you eat all the colours of the rainbow."

The Londoner joined Lidl-Trek at the beginning of 2024 with the Tour de France as his big goal; he was set to lead a team at the Grand Tour for the first time, alongside Mads Pedersen.

The 29-year-old won the Giro d'Italia in 2020, and after a quiet couple of years, he looked back at his best in 2023, winning the Tour of the Alps, and coming third at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

He looked good and was riding high on general classification at the Giro d'Italia last year before he fractured his hip in a crash; his then teammate Geraint Thomas would go onto finish second.

Geoghegan Hart returned to racing this year, with the highlight being a top ten overall at the Tour de Romandie in late April.

Lidl-Trek will announce their Tour de France team in the coming days.

Once Strade Bianche on Saturday has been and gone, the men’s WorldTour season rolls on with Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico getting underway, on Sunday and Monday respectively.

The provisional start lists for both week long stage races are littered with an array of cycling’s biggest stars and should be quite the spectacle. Remco Evenepoel will continue his preparations for his Tour de France debut at Paris-Nice where he will face off against Primož Roglič. 

Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard will be looking to carry on his hugely successful start to his  new campaign at Tirreno-Adriatico. The defending two-time Tour champion opted to ride Paris-Nice last year where he finished third, but is going to Italy this time. He will return to Tirreno for the first time since 2022 in which he finished second to Tadej Pogačar. 

Away from the general classification action, both races should see plenty of aggressive racing from stars including Ben Healy, Tom Pidcock and Mads Pedersen. The sprinters will also get their moment in the limelight on the flatter stages too. 

Here are seven things to look out for once the racing gets started. 

Primož Roglič’s Bora-Hansgrohe debut 

All eyes will be on Primož Roglič this weekend as he gets set to make his Bora-Hansgrohe debut after making the move from Visma-Lease a Bike at the end of last season. 

Roglič has forged a solid reputation as being one of the very best stage racers. As well as winning the Giro d’Italia last year, the Slovenian won every week-long race he entered, winning 10 of the last 13 he has entered, in fact.

It will be intriguing to see how he approaches Paris-Nice with his new teammates. Will he look to take the race on and ignite it or simply get his legs going, and ominously tick over in the background? You would be best placed putting your money on the former. 

There is plenty of firepower in the provisional Bora squad for next week. Backed up by the likes of Aleksandr Vlasov and Bob Jungels, Roglič won’t be short of support as he locks horns with Remco Evenepoel and looks to land his first trophy in his new team's colours. 

Tao Geoghegan Hart continuing comeback 

Geoghegan Hart made his long awaited return to action after injury at the recent Volta ao Algarve, which was also his debut for Lidl-Trek. 

The Londoner fractured his femur in a crash at last year’s Giro which left him side-lined for months prior to his off season transfer to his new team. There were no expectations on his shoulders when he returned to action in Portugal, but he finished seventh on the race's two key mountain stages. 

It was an impressive return given his long layoff and one which he will have been more than happy with. Geoghegan Hart is set to lead the line for his new team at the Tour de France this summer, alongside Mads Pedersen, so Tirreno is another step on the way there.

After a long absence from competition, it’s difficult to predict how comeback races will pan out for a rider but based on his performance in the Algarve, it’s like he was never away at all. 

Explosive racing from Jonas Vingegaard

While everyone was tuned in to Opening Weekend, Jonas Vingegaard was busy getting his season underway at the relatively new Spanish stage race, O Gran Camino. With the four stages out of the way, the consensus is that Vingegaard looks very, very good indeed. 

The defending Tour de France champion completely obliterated all competition to win the general classification, and three stages along the way. It was the second year in a row that he’d pulled this off. 

What was particularly notable was his willingness to take the race on, and ignite the action earlier on in stages than we are perhaps used to seeing. There were early attacks to test rivals legs, pushing away from the main field before sitting up and coming back into the fold. That’s the type of behaviour that you would expect from his rival, Tadej Pogačar, more so than the Dane. 

If Vingegaard looks to continue that attacking style at Tirreno-Adriatico next week, then we could be in for a gripping week of racing from the word go. 

Josh Tarling looking to hit out for Ineos Grenadiers

Josh Tarling is gradually becoming one of the most talked about riders in the sport, despite being just 19-years-old, down to his top time trialling. 

Hailing from Aberaeron in west Wales, the Ineos Grenadiers rider is already one of the best time trialists currently riding in the WorldTour and will only get better. Last summer, Tarling took the bronze medal at the World Championships behind Remco Evenepoel and Ineos teammate Filippo Ganna. He then went on to win the European time trial title just a few months later. His unbeaten streak in ITTs currently stands at four, with Chrono des Nations, one at the Renewi Tour, and the opening stage of O Gran Camiño thrown in.

Paris-Nice lacks an individual time trial this year, but stage three is a team time trial in Auxerre, which he could well help his team out in, despite its hilly profile. Tarling is also looking to claim a road race at some point this season, and where better than in a long range attack on a stage of Paris-Nice?

In other British interests, Tom Pidcock will be one to watch on the punchier days at Tirreno.

Remco Evenepoel's next move

Evenepoel has started the new season with a bang after coming out of a block of racing in Portugal with GC victory to his name at the Volta ao Algarve as well as a win at the Figueira Champions Classic. 

In the Algarve, he demonstrated that he was in fine time trial form, landing a first victory in the rainbow bands as time trial world champion. 

However, Paris-Nice will provide a much sterner test than what Evenepoel faced in Portugal, especially with Primož Roglič present.

Roglič got the better of Evenepoel at the Volta a Catalunya early on last year but, after such a strong start, Evenepoel will be keen to continue the momentum as he builds towards July and a Tour de France.

Will Mads Pedersen continue his sparkling early season form?

So far in 2024, Mads Pedersen’s form book reads two stage races, two overall victories, and four stage wins. The former World Champion completely steamrolled any form of competition at both the Tour de la Provence and Etoile de Bessèges to get his season going with a bang. 

Alongside Mattias Skjelmose, Pedersen will be one of Lidl-Trek’s leaders at Paris-Nice and, judging by his current form, will be a solid bet for a stage win somewhere along the way. He has won stages at Paris-Nice before, including stage two last year, and knows what it takes to outfox the sprinters or win from a breakaway on hillier terrain. 

With the Classics hotting up in the weeks ahead, it will be interesting to see if Pedersen’s hot streak continues in the coming days. 

Ben Healy on the attack

Ben Healy will line up in Italy once again after lighting it up at the Giro d’Italia last year. 

The EF Education-EasyPost rider was regularly on the attack at the Italian Grand Tour and was rewarded with a stage win for his efforts on stage eight. He very nearly landed a second too, and some of the terrain at Tirreno looks perfect for him.

Healy is explosive, punchy and aggressive and always looking to get up the road in pursuit of breakaway opportunities. 

EF are also expected to take Richard Carapaz to Italy in search of GC opportunities. When not working for the Ecuadorian, Healy will hopefully be let off the leash as he should flourish on some of the hillier stages at Tirreno.

Tao Geoghegan Hart is heading into the "unknown", as he prepares to make his Lidl-Trek debut at the Volta ao Algarve this week, his first race in nine months after crashing out of the Giro d'Italia.

The British rider was left with a broken femur after the serious crash in May 2023, which meant he had to complete months of rehabilitation. In the off-season, he moved to Lidl-Trek from from Ineos Grenadiers. 

The 28-year-old will start the Portuguese stage race on Wednesday, marking a huge step forward in his comeback. Geoghegan Hart will lead the line for Lidl-Trek this summer at the Tour de France, sharing leadership responsibilities with Mads Pedersen. 

Ahead of the race in the Algarve, Geoghegan Hart said that he was relishing being back in a team environment after spending months rebuilding his strength post injury, in an interview released by the team.

“It’s been super exciting for me to be back in the environment of a team full stop having been half a year away from cycling, a life I’ve been so accustomed to in the last 15 years," he said. "I missed that dynamic of being in the group and with your teammates.”

Geoghegan Hart inked a three-year deal at Lidl-Trek after seven years with Ineos during which time he won the Giro d’Italia in 2020 and the Tour of the Alps last year. He explained that he was looking forward to racing alongside new faces, as well as more familiar ones, in Lidl-Trek colours this year. 

“I love meeting new people and understanding more about their culture and everyone's journey that has got them to this point,” he said. “The nice thing in cycling is there's a lot of people that I've come across at different moments throughout my career and you get to know them better and I look forward to racing with them. 

“For me, it is like really a sense of excitement after that period of dreaming to be back in this scenario, to now be here and appreciate that."

Geoghegan Hart was in strong form prior to his crash at the Giro last year, which ended his season. His comeback race and season comes with little expectation or pressure from the team, but instead a step on the way back to full fitness and form.

“I think having the ability at the end of the season to look back and be really proud of the adventure of coming into a new team and a new environment,” he said when describing what a successful 2024 would look like.

“Having some performances where I can say that everything really clicked that day and all the work I did, whether that be through the rehab or through the winter on the bike, all came together and was shown in that moment.”

“Being able to look back and really feel proud that that whole journey culminated in those performances is key,” he added. “It’s going to take a lot of hard work still and that's, you know, something that is always an unknown but I'm excited for that.

“That’s kind of the adventure of any season, you start again from zero. You pin the number on the back of your jersey, and you don't know what that season's going to hold.

"You know in cycling we go from one place to the next, one race to the next but it's just about feeling the momentum and the progress and absorbing the ups and downs along the way.”

Tao Geoghegan Hart is set to target general classification at the Tour de France in 2024 for his new team, Lidl-Trek, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Londoner has joined the American squad from Ineos Grenadiers, with whom he turned professional in 2017, and will head to the Tour as a leader for the first time, alongside Mads Pedersen, who will target stage wins.

The 28-year-old won the Giro d'Italia in 2020, and after a quiet couple of years, he looked back at his best this year, winning the Tour of the Alps, and coming third at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

He looked good and was riding high on general classification at the Giro d'Italia before he fractured his hip in a crash; his teammate Geraint Thomas would go onto finish second.

“It felt like the race hadn’t really begun and I was holding back,” he said in an interview with The Times last month. “It was what we’d spoken about since January: the only thing that was going to matter was the last three stages and that it would flip on its head, which transpired... That’s probably the only regret I have. I just didn’t feel like I’d really shown what was in the tank.”

He said he lost two to three units of blood in internal bleeding following the accident, and spent a long time recovering at a specialist centre in Amsterdam. 

Geoghegan Hart will make his debut in Lidl-Trek colours at the Volta ao Algarve, if everything goes to plan, after his lengthy recovering from his serious accident. 

He also took to social media on Tuesday to say goodbye to the team he has spent seven years with, noting that thanks to his accident he hasn't seen most riders or staff since March or April. He thanked them for their support, with Ineos and Lidl-Trek both providing resources towards his recovery.

"There are no perfect goodbyes in cycling," Geoghegan Hart wrote on Twitter and Instagram. "Often there are no goodbyes at all. Most of the Ineos Grenadiers riders and staff I haven't seen since March or April. In professional cycling we aren't afforded a moment to say thank you or to look back on what we've done. That's just the sport, and perhaps a good metaphor for life. People come and go. They are taken from us unexpectedly every day. 

"We picture a perfect way to say goodbye, but it rarely goes quite as we expect. A rider's time in a team seems to almost fizzle out in the winter months, overshadowed by news of new adventures and the future. 

"The world keeps moving forward. In cycling there isn't a clear moment to step from the past to the future, it's a gradual and mostly unseen change, that has been a new experience for me. Midnight on New Year's Eve, when our contracts change, is hardly the moment to think about starting a new job. I'm jealous of the way in which other professional athletes can say goodbye to their teams and sponsors before they move on to their next chapter."

"And so since no perfect time exists, it's time today to say goodbye to the team that's been my home since 2016," he continued. "It's a goodbye with a h(e)art full of amazing memories, knowledge and rich experiences. Having had the chance to work with so many great people has been a privilege. 

"I'm especially grateful for the organisation's support during my extensive rehab this year. If I look back at all these photos, the journey from my first training camp with the team in 2014 has been incredibly fulfilling. Thankyou to all the equipment partners and fans too. 

"I couldn't be more grateful for all your support. It makes the difference when searching for a raison d'etre in this tricky world of 2023. So arrivederci to all my Ineos Grenadiers colleagues of this season and those of the last years too. Thankyou for all your hard work and companionship, I'll see you at the races soon."

Lidl-Trek also announced that Giulio Ciccone would lead the squad at the Giro, alongside Andrea Bagioli, Jonathan Milan and Jasper Stuyven, while Mattias Skjelmose would be the GC leader at the Vuelta a España.

Milan, Pedersen and Stuyven will form the core of Lidl-Trek's men's Classics squad, while Lizzie Deignan, Elisa Longo Borghini and Elisa Balsamo will do the same for the women's team.

Deignan, Longo Borghini and Gaia Realini are all expected to ride the Vuelta Feminina, Giro d’Italia Women and Tour de France Femmes, with Balsamo joining at the Giro and Tour.

Tao Geoghegan Hart is to ride for Lidl-Trek from 2024, leaving Ineos Grenadiers after seven years with the British team.

The long-rumoured transfer was confirmed by his new squad on Thursday morning, which sees the Londoner join Lidl-Trek on a three-year contract.

The 28-year-old is currently out of action with a fractured hip which he suffered during the Giro d'Italia while he was riding high on general classification. 

He joined then Team Sky in 2017 from Axeon Hagens Berman, netting his first win at the Tour of the Alps in 2019.

Geoghegan Hart won the Giro in 2020, pipping Jai Hindley to the maglia rosa. After a quiet couple of years, he looked back at his best in 2023, winning the Tour of the Alps, and coming third at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

According to the Trek press release, he has been undergoing "intensive rehabilitation" at a clinic in Amsterdam to "regain his strength and mobility day by day".

Geoghegan Hart said he was "looking forward to this new chapter", and that he still has "plenty of growth as an athlete" to come.

"After seven years within the same organisation there are many different emotions to approaching a new challenge in 2024," he said in the Lidl-Trek statement. "However, knowing plenty of faces within the Lidl-Trek organisation already, and having had conversations with Luca [Guercilena], Josu [Larrazabal] and Elke [Weylandt] in the past weeks, I am really looking forward to this new chapter in my career come 2024.

"A new challenge is definitely exciting, to encounter different perspectives, athletes and cultures. That is one of my favourite things about cycling; the exploring and learning that we constantly encounter as athletes. 

"With Lidl coming onboard as a new partner of the team, alongside Trek, who have owned the team for a long time now, it felt like a project I really wanted to be a part of at this moment in my career."

"The team has big goals and partners who are willing and able to support those ambitions," he continued. "I believe I still have plenty of growth as an athlete and showed in 2023, up until the injury, what I can do as a leader. I’m incredibly motivated to get back to that feeling and place, and I believe that Lidl-Trek will be a brilliant place for me to do so."

Luca Guercilena, Lidl-Trek's general manager, said: "Tao Geoghegan Hart’s dedication and resilience epitomize the spirit of Lidl-Trek. His journey serves as a testament to the power of determination, and we are excited to welcome him to our team. As Tao embarks on this new adventure, we stand united in our commitment to pushing boundaries, achieving greatness, and creating a legacy of excellence.”

Geoghegan Hart is the second Giro stage winner to sign for Lidl-Trek this week, joining Jonathan Milan. Quinn Simmons, Daan Hoole, Edward Theuns, Alex Kirsch and Otto Vergaerde have all signed contract extensions too.

The Giro d’Italia gets underway this Saturday in Pescara, a city in the Abruzzo region of Italy, with some of the world's best cyclists itching to get their hands on the race's pink jersey.

While it’s often an unpredictable and dramatic affair, the Italian Grand Tour always guarantees an action packed three weeks of racing with some of the biggest names set to take part.

One of the biggest pulls of this year’s Corsa Rosa is the 70 plus kilometres of time trialling on offer, which is spread over three stages, including a terrifying mountain time trial to Monte Lussari.

Last year’s top three: Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost, formerly of Ineos Grenadiers, and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) won’t be present. However the competition will still be fierce in the fight for the Maglia Rosa, with some other faces.

As well as the two outright favourites, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), here are several other riders worth paying close attention to once the race gets underway and the battle for overall victory gets going.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)

The reigning road world champion comes into the Giro in sensational form.

Two weeks ago, Evenepoel won a second Liège–Bastogne–Liège at a canter, and looked absolutely imperious as he added yet another huge result to his palmares. After the 2021 edition of the Italian Grand Tour, won by Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), which he rode but abandoned, Evenepoel has unfinished business with the Giro and will be looking to right a few wrongs in Italy.

With the experience gained in the last 18 months, which included a Vuelta a España and World Championship victory, the Belgian is rightly one of the outright favourites, and will fight all the way to Rome for the overall title.

Quick-Step come into the race with a squad stacked full of climbers, similar to when Evenepoel won in Spain. With that in mind, the Belgian team will present formidable opposition to Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers in the tough final week in the Dolomites. 

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) 

After spending weeks at altitude in Tenerife with Evenepoel for company, Roglič has certainly gained an eagle eye view of his opponents strengths and weaknesses ahead of the Grande Partenza in Pescara on Saturday.

The duo were staying in the same hotel on Mount Teide, finalising their individual preparations for a shot at Giro glory.

Over the off season, Roglič had surgery to correct a longstanding shoulder issue, but has hit the ground running earlier this season. The Slovenian won both stage races he started, Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya, and showed in the latter that he’s learnt from the Vuelta and now has the measure of his young Belgian rival.

With two intensive stage races ticked off, Jumbo-Visma’s star man recently told Cycling Weekly that he’s more than ready to attempt to add a fourth Grand Tour to his palmares in the coming weeks. 

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers)

The 2018 Tour de France winner comes into the Giro sharing leadership at Ineos with Geoghegan Hart, but still in contention.

Thomas explained at the Tour of the Alps that having plenty of cards to play at the Giro will work in their favour when the going gets tough in some of the latter stages. After crashing out on other occasions, including in 2020 when Geoghegan Hart went onto win, the Welshman has said that he has unfinished business with the Italian Grand Tour.

If he can stay in contention in the opening time trial, Thomas will hope to stick to his rivals like glue over the three weeks and is more than capable of finishing on the podium. Perhaps even the top step if all goes to plan, and Roglič and Evenepoel show weakness.

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates)

UAE Emirates’ João Almeida knows a thing or two about taking the maglia rosa and then keeping it.

Back in 2020, the Portuguese rider took hold of the pink jersey on stage three, and then led the race for the following 14 days. He would eventually finish fourth overall. The 24-year-old is a formidable talent, and while he didn’t finish the Italian Grand Tour last year, he finished sixth in 2021 and is developing a real love affair with the Giro.

So far in 2023, the UAE Emirates rider has been firmly in the mix each time he’s gone up against the likes of Evenepoel and Roglič. Almeida finished second to the Slovenian at Tirreno, and third behind the two Giro favourites at the Volta a Catalunya.

If either of them crack in the high mountains in Italy, Almeida has all the strengths needed to capitalise and potentially even beat them to the top step of the podium in Rome.   

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers)

After a difficult two years blighted by illness and injury, the 2020 Giro winner has bounced back in 2023 with a win at the Volta Valenciana before then winning the general classification at the Tour of the Alps.

The British rider grabbed two stage wins on his way to overall victory in northern Italy and Austria, proving that he’s hit a rich vein of form in perfect timing for the Giro on Saturday.

On paper, Evenepoel, Roglič and arguably Thomas are rightly above Geoghegan Hart due to their time trialling prowess. However, the Londoner is a solid climber and packs a powerful final sprint in any uphill finish.

If Roglič still has Geoghegan Hart on his wheel at the summit of some of the races biggest mountains, then he may find he suddenly has a rider capable of matching him when there are bonus seconds up for grabs in the fight for pink. 

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe)

While last year’s winner Jai Hindley is skipping the defence of his title, his team Bora-Hansgrohe come into the Italian Grand Tour with multiple riders to deploy in the fight for the overall classification.

In recent years, Aleksandr Vlasov has more than proven himself as a solid Grand Tour rider, with fourth and fifth place finishes at the Giro and Tour de France respectively.

The 27-year-old is a respectable climber, and has won tough mountain stages at both the Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie, so certainly won’t fear the tough summit finishes facing the riders at this year's Giro.

As well as Vlasov, Lennard Kämna will be another card to play in the mountain stages. With the German fighting his corner in support of a high GC finish, Vlasov certainly won’t hesitate to get up the road when his rivals are there for the taking.

If the right scenario plays out, the 27-year-old is more than capable of recording his best result in a Grand Tour yet. 

Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious)

35-year-old Damiano Caruso may not seem like the most likely candidate for a podium finish in Rome, but the Italian has previously pulled it off, taking third place behind Bernal in 2021. 

Caruso is a solid climber, and has stage wins to his name in all three Grand Tours. While it’s likely he will be utilised as a support rider for Jack Haig, the Italian is capable deputy if the Australian should falter, and won’t shirk away from a fight.

If he finds himself within reach of the podium in the savage final week in the mountains, the Italian will be immensely difficult to shake off in the fight for overall.

HUGH CARTHY (EF Education-EasyPost)

Since his third place finish at the Vuelta in 2020, which included a stage win on the Angliru, EF Education’s Hugh Carthy has floated around the top ten in the Giro without matching his success of the 2020 season.

Carthy finished eighth in 2021 and ninth a year later in the Corsa Rosa, but would need to display a significant upturn in form to hit the podium.

However, earlier this year the British climber kept himself in contention during Tirreno-Adriatico on all of the tougher stages, finishing eighth behind Roglič. He then improved on his form at the Tour of the Alps, finishing second overall behind Geoghegan Hart.

If his recent results mean anything, Carthy could be about to hit form at just the right time. If he can grab a stage win or two in the high mountains, the Lancashire born rider could be a solid outside bet for the podium in Rome. 

After his excellent first stage win in Alpbach, it was rarely in doubt that Tao Geoghegan Hart would win the Tour of the Alps. Ineos Grenadiers, led by the Londoner, dominated proceedings from the word go in order to give Geoghegan Hart his second-ever general classification victory.

Stage five was won by Simon Carr from the breakaway, meaning that Ineos could roll into Brunico unchallenged to savour a resounding win. 

Speaking to the media in his post-race press conference, Geoghegan Hart explained that after allowing himself time tonight to celebrate the win with the team, his and the group's attention would be swiftly turning towards the huge goal of Giro d’Italia victory from tomorrow. 

“Everything is unique, different and special in cycling. To have every victory is a massive honour, but you’re never looking backwards that’s for sure, you have to look forwards,” Geoghegan Hart said. “You savour the moment, but basically after tomorrow it’s time to move on, look forward to the next races and the rest of the season.”

Throughout the week, the Londoner benefited from sterling work from the likes of Geraint Thomas, who could also aim for GC in the Giro. Geoghegan Hart heaped praise on all his teammates, and explained that everything had gone to plan for the group from the beginning.

“It was another solid day out there, and another amazing performance from the team,” he added. “So I’m really happy for all the boys, everyone finished the week in a great place, even better than we started, and that’s a big success along with the victory.”

With victory in the Alps chalked off, Geoghegan Hart will fly home to Andorra for some much needed rest and recuperation, before then returning to Italy for the grande partenza of the Giro on 6 May. As part of his recovery, he’ll enjoy some downtime watching Liège–Bastogne–Liège on the sofa, before turning his attention to the battles ahead. 

Two of the Londoner’s teammates in the Alps, Laurens De Plus and Pavel Sivakov, flew straight to Belgium on Friday evening ready to ride La Doyenne on Sunday.

“I’ll be watching with bated breath, in anticipation of hopefully a memorable race,” Geoghegan Hart said. “I have a lot of history with that race, I was twice on the podium at under 23 level. Probably the most destroyed I’ve ever been as a professional is also at the end of that race. So good luck to everyone who's doing it.”

“We have a super strong team lining up there…they’re really keen for it, so good luck to them as well.”

So far in 2023, Geoghegan Hart has reaped the benefits of a new training programme developed by Dajo Sanders, enjoying a solid run of results as the Giro draws near. Ineos are widely expected to deploy a similar line up at the Italian Grand Tour, enabling them to utilise the togetherness built in recent months in the brutal final week.

“It’s going to be a very big first nine days, and then a huge final week with I think three stages exceeding 5,000 metres,” he explained. “I think it’s important to enter the race fresh, and to take each day as it comes.”

“The winner of the Giro will need to be in top shape in that final week, it’s impossible not to be with how many hard stages you have.”

Any potential winner of the Giro will face a major scrap with Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič, two riders of the highest calibre, with the latter also happening to be bang in form. Geoghegan Hart acknowledged that the duo are the outright favourites, but backed his team to return to Italy and be competitive. 

“Ineos Grenadiers turn up to races to try and win," he said. "All big teams have that same expectation, there’s not only two teams going to the Giro.

“We’ve taken good things from this race, tomorrow we turn the page, and it’s another story to tell in terms of approaching the next goal, which is a very different goal. We’ll take it in our stride, stick together as we have done these past five days, and look forward to what the road ahead holds,” he added.

It had been a long two years for the Ineos rider, blighted by illness and injury. After bouncing back in style, the Londoner explained that he feels he is constantly improving in the hope of continuing his outstanding run of form this season.

“This sport is increasing in level all the time, so I think everyone has to improve or they’ll be left behind. I certainly always feel that I’m learning and getting better, and a big satisfaction this season has been the consistency, it's been a good step forward."

 

Four days have passed at the Tour of the Alps, and barring a major mishap on the final day, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) should wrap up overall victory in Brunico tomorrow. 

Stage four was a day for the breakaway, with victory coming from Movistar’s Gregor Mühlberger. What made it more meaningful for the Austrian was the fact he had not taken a victory for 1,000 days.

Geoghegan Hart, the man in the green leaders jersey, had gone 832 days without a victory between his 2020 Giro d'Italia victory and his victory at Valenciana in February this year. Should he wrap up Tour of the Alps win on Friday, it will break a 908-day dry spell between GC crowns.

On Thursday, Geoghegan Hart finished safely in the main field, retaining his overall lead by 22 seconds over Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost). 

Throughout the race, Geoghegan Hart has been a picture of calmness during the race - apart from his frustration at the stage finish on Tuesday - and has looked in control of proceedings throughout, winning two stages along the way. All things considered, the Londoner has evidently entered a rich vein of form ahead of the Giro d’Italia. 

Speaking to the media post-stage, the race leader explained that ultimately any potential leader will need to "have the legs" to lead his team Ineos Grenadiers in the weeks and races to come. 

“I’ve seen many different types and kinds of leaders in this sport. Some have all the tools in their toolbox and others don’t," he said. "If you have the legs then you have the legs, and if you don’t, you don’t. Maybe some victories teammates enjoy it more… every situation is different, but definitely in a Grand Tour having a good feeling goes a long way.

“In the last week, every rider in the peloton starts to be very tired, and having the motivation to really push yourself makes a huge difference.”

“Every Grand Tour that I've watched since I’ve been a professional and also been a part of, you see the teammates of the leaders jersey step up to levels that you often don’t see from them in the rest of the year,” Geoghegan Hart added. “A lot of that is the extra motivation to push that extra bit when you have something to dig so deep for.” 

“For sure, if you have a good relationship with the guy you're working for, then I think that can also be a great help, but finally the leader has to have the legs.”

At the Tour of the Alps, Ineos has been testing out what’s widely expected to be the team’s Giro d’Italia line up, something which DS Matteo Tosatto explained as the race got underway. Throughout the race, Geoghegan Hart has referenced the togetherness and unity within the Ineos camp, and explained that it’s noticeable when other teams don’t possess that same ethos. 

“I think in the end, you certainly notice when a team is more divided or has different agendas… the closer you are and the more you understand each other, it’s only going to help,” he said. 

With the Giro just weeks away, the Londoner recalled the positivity surrounding his 2020 victory, particularly as it came in a season heavily disrupted by the global pandemic. 

“I’ve never seen a reaction to a victory like that to be honest,” Geoghegan Hart explained. “Not just the GC, but the race as a whole. In my time in the sport, that really stands out, not just for my success in the maglia rosa. Something resonated with the timing of that race, coming out of a very difficult 2020, but still into a very tricky 2021 winter with further lockdowns.

“You have to be proud that you inspire people, and that they really feel emotion from watching the television or occasionally being on the side of the road at a bike race. Ultimately that’s our responsibility to inspire people and to give them joy. I know I feel that when I watch the sports that I’m a huge fan of as well.” 

Ahead of the race's final tough stage in the mountains, Geoghegan Hart explained that the plan would remain the same in order to bring home the title. 

“We just need to stick together, and pass the final day well… I think just stay calm and relaxed, and enjoy another stage at the Tour of the Alps.”

Tao Geoghegan Hart played down suggestions he could lead Ineos Grenadiers at the fast-approaching Giro d’Italia on Wednesday, and said he does not consider himself a favourite amongst the other potential challengers.

After finishing fourth on stage three of the Tour of the Alps behind German Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), the British rider retained his overall lead.

Speaking in a post-race press conference, Geoghegan Hart said he would be just one of many “pieces in the puzzle” for Ineos at the upcoming Italian Grand Tour. 

“100%, I’m not going there as a favourite,” Geoghegan Hart said. “We have a lot of top riders in the team, also with their own ambitions for that race… I’m looking forward to it though, and I’m sure it’s going to be a beautiful start in the Grande Partenza in Pescara.”

“In the end the first week of a Grand Tour is a success when you come out the other side with everything intact, and without a trip to the hospitals.”

Despite finding form at just the right time- already taking two stage victories in the Alps - Geoghegan Hart explained that he wouldn’t be getting carried away, and that he felt it was a “dangerous game” to only validate a performance by the result. 

“There’s been many great riders that have never won a race in their entire career,” he said. “I think there is of course some validation from winning, without a doubt. But now in the last years of cycling, we’ve seen less and less riders winning, it’s more often the same guys winning.”

“For me personally, it’s been two years without victory before this February…many times I rode for the other guys in those two years, and I was part of some really big wins,” Geoghegan Hart added. “It’s really nice that the wind has turned in my favour… it’s not like I’m going anything drastically different, but it takes so many things to fall into place to succeed in this sport.”

“We see it every year that the level is getting higher and higher. For example the level is much higher here than it was in 2019.”

As the 2023 Tour of the Alps moves into its closing stages, Geoghegan Hart is likely to face an ever increasing threat from the likes of Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious). The duo sit 22 and 28 seconds from the overall lead respectively. 

However, the Londoner explained that he believes that with the togetherness, and unity within the Ineos camp, anything is possible. 

“I think that energy is more important than anything,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade those moments and that feeling with your teammates for any results. We spend so much time on the road together, and more importantly the staff spend even more time on the road together… they feed off that and feel that.”

“It’s very important and many of us have raced together for a long time… all of us grew up idolising Swifty [Ben Swift] and Geraint [Thomas], so it’s special to have a good group together, and you pass the tricky days when they eventually arrive much easier.”

On stage two of the Tour of the Alps Tao Geoghegan Hart doubled his victory tally from this year's race, winning the sprint from a reduced group to grab a stage victory in the leader's jersey in Ritten. 

However, as he came across the line, the Ineos rider banged his bars in frustration at what he later highlighted as a problematic course finale. 

As they hit the summit of the final climb, the riders faced a rapid, downhill finish into the Ritten Arena. Prior to entering the finishing straight, Felix Gall of AG2R Citroën moved up on the outside of the group, before crashing as the riders entered a tight, narrow sweeping bend in a roundabout.

Geoghegan Hart then managed to outsprint the Bahrain Victorious duo of Jack Haig and Santiago Buitrago to grab another victory after already winning the opener in Alpbach, further strengthening his grip on the overall lead in the process, but was unhappy with the tight twisty course finale.

Geoghegan Hart said: “If the winner of the race pedals maybe 80 metres in the last 300, I’m not sure that’s typical for a bike race to be honest.

“For me it wasn’t really the correct last 300 metres. I didn’t really want to say that to be honest, but at the end of the day there’s also not many people that are prepared to put their head out there… To see Felix Gall crash there in that corner just to try and make a normal sprint was a bit on the limit.”

“I really like this race, I really like the organiser but I wasn’t really a fan of that final. If it had been wet on that concrete last 300, I don’t know, for me it was too much.”

The race leader looked to quickly clarify that his frustration was not at the movement of any other riders in the run in, particularly Haig.

“I don’t want to see any colleagues in this race crash,” he added. “A lot of guys are preparing for their coming big goals, and also this is a really nice race… We could have also finished on the other lovely road, it’s a beautiful day.

"I understand doing something different, but it needs to be in the right way. For me, it was a little bit too much today.”

Reflecting on the day's proceedings, Geoghegan Hart was full of praise yet again for the work of his Ineos teammates.

After controlling the breakaway of three riders including EF Education EasyPost’s Simon Carr, the Ineos-led peloton finally reeled in Carr - the last man standing- as the final climb began.  

“We knew the roads from past editions of this race. There was a bit of a headwind on the Brenner pass… We just rode our tempo on the final climb as we were pretty happy to try to have as many of us as possible on the final climb,” he said. 

“In the end Thymen [Arensman] did a really great pull, and then Laurens [De Plus]. Then as you’ve seen Pavel [Sivakov] did a really great job in those last few kilometres also.”

Looking ahead to stage three’s tough summit finish at Brentonico San Valentino, the Londoner said that he was “looking forward” to the final climb which is longer than today's.

“I told my girlfriend last night on FaceTime that it was an easy stage today, and then I checked the parcours and it was not looking so easy to be honest,” he added. 

“I don’t like to look too much in the future, but I think it will be a really different effort... I think it’s really important these next three days for testing the condition for the future. We’ll take each day as it comes, we’re in a privileged position to have myself and Pavel [Sivakov] in the front, and a super strong team.”

Tao Geoghegan Hart dedicated his spectacular victory in Austria on stage one of Tour of the Alps for Ineos Grenadiers to his Dad.

The British rider timed his final kick to the line to perfection, passing Jack Haig of Bahrain Victorious and Hugh Carthy of EF Education-EasyPost to take control of the race on day one, exactly as Ineos DS Matteo Tosatto had pre-empted prior to the race getting underway. 

After receiving the leader’s jersey on the podium, Geoghegan Hart spoke to the media, and dedicated his stage win to his father as a belated birthday present. 

“Today was really important, it was my father’s birthday yesterday, and I was really wanting to win for him,” Geoghegan Hart said. “We don’t get to spend much time together these days, so it was really special for me to win today, and it was for him.”

Ineos Grenadiers rode aggressively throughout the latter half of the opening stage, and thanks to stirling work from the likes of Ben Swift, Geraint Thomas and Laurens De Plus, Haig-a late attacker on the penultimate climb- was reeled back in just in time for Geoghegan Hart to launch his sprint.

“Of course when you sit there in the sixth or fifth wheel all day, and watch those guys pushing like they did and really flying all day, you also want to win for them too,” he added. “We’ll just look at each day now as it presents itself, and a few years ago I was in this same position from stage one, then we used our numbers and Pavel [Sivakov] won the GC.”

“We’ve got a really nice group here, and we’re all in for the goal of the team winning as much and as often as possible. We’ll do whatever we can in the race to make that happen.”

Prior to the Tour of the Alps beginning, a lot of riders had spoken about how they would look to use the race as key preparation for the fast-approaching Giro d’Italia. However, Geoghegan Hart explained that he believes it did a “disservice” to the race and that he disagreed with the characterisation of it as simply a “warm-up” event. 

“Every race is very important,” he said. “I’ve said that all year. Every time you pin on a number you have to respect that race. Nothing is preparation, and certainly not in this modern cycling of the last three to four years.”

“For me personally, not speaking on behalf of anyone else, I’ll look to do a good five days here. I don’t turn up to races to prepare for something else.” 

Since winning the Giro in the pandemic-affected 2020 season, Geoghegan Hart has struggled for form with ilness and injury impacting him at various points last season. 

Now, just a few months into the current campaign he’s recorded a stage victory at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, as well as his win in Austria this afternoon. 

Despite recent results pointing to a rapid upward trajectory in form, the Londoner played down suggestions that he was back where he belonged. 

“Everything is different, and every preparation is different. Certainly in these last six or seven months, I learned a lot about the best training for me,” he said. “That was something that I always felt I’d missed, kind of like a recipe. I saw it with other riders, but I always felt like I hadn’t really found that recipe.

“Of course, you don’t follow it like for like every time, but you have confidence in a certain methodology. I’ve had six or seven coaches in the last seven or eight years, and this year getting a new coach was something I was really nervous about to be honest, but it was something that I wanted to take on.”

Geoghegan Hart explained that he hoped he would continue to reap the rewards of the new training programme cooked up by Dajo Sanders throughout the remainder of the season.

“Certainly for me, but also something that I see with a lot of my colleagues, is that it's so easy to do too much training, and always to do more,” he said. “I think just having this year a really clear plan with good communication with Dajo, and working super closely together.” 

“We’ve spent almost six weeks on the road together this year, my coach and I,” he added. “These last three weeks, and also in January before Valencia we were everyday together. We’ve just always had a clear plan… I’m just really grateful to have his support.”

'Domestically we have a big problem'

Geoghegan Hart also used the platform of his race win to elaborate on social media comments he had made in the aftermath of the demise of AT85 Pro Cycling, one of the last UCI Continental teams based in Britain, last month. 

The Ineos rider explained that he had a personal connection to the team.

"I spoke a few weeks ago about a dear friend of mine's continental team that folded. It was quite emotive as he was someone I raced with," Geoghegan Hart said. "Since I first started, his father helped me a lot, and he's a dear friend of mine. Often when something hits really close to home, you stop a little bit more than you would do in another scenario."

The Londoner wrote a long Twitter thread lamenting the demise of the team and what it said about the state of pro cycling in Britain. But he received some criticism from some within the scene who pointed to the efforts of those within the sport's grass roots.

“I think some people took it very much to heart that I said cycling in the UK was dying. But it’s not that I said it was dead,” he said. “There’s a big difference. It’s the fact that one small stone falling down a hill overtime, or one snowflake rolling down a slope eventually adds up to a really big change. The erosion over time is a big problem.”

“It’s great to see a team like Trinity here. It’s really amazing what Andrew McQuaid is doing for those riders, because I think without that team, it would be another step worse. Especially domestically in the UK. 

"I was never saying that there aren't races, or there aren’t people doing great things. But compared to when I first started cycling in about 2010/2011 domestically we have a big problem… the domestic scene in the UK is really struggling.”

Ineos Grenadiers directeur sportif Matteo Tosatto has backed Tao Geohegan Hart for Tour of the Alps success as the team finalises its preparation for the Giro d’Italia. 

The British squad have a variety of cards to play at the week-long stage race, including Geraint Thomas, Pavel Sivakov, Thymen Arensman and Geogehegan Hart. 

This is likely to be the core of the team's Giro squad, which begins at the beginning of May.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly before stage one, Tosatto explained that he believes the course particularly suits Geoghegan Hart, and that Ineos would look to take control of the race from the word go. 

“I have a lot of confidence in Tao for today,” Tosatto said. “I think it's the best day for him along with tomorrow. I spoke with the riders this morning, and explained the importance of group communication, and if they’re all happy in the race.”

“It’s not a long stage today, we’ll be waiting for the second last climb when it’s super hard to do anything. I think today is the first opportunity for us to try to win the stage and take control of the race.”

Geoghegan Hart finished second at the 2019 edition of the race behind eventual winner Sivakov. Thomas also won the race himself for Ineos in 2017. 

Ahead of the Giro, much of the pre-race hype has been around the widely-anticipated two-way scrap between Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) for the Maglia Rosa. 

However, Tosatto feels that Ineos can arrive at the Giro in good shape, and certainly look to get amongst the overall battle in the general classification. 

“A lot of people talk of the big fight between Remco and Roglic, particularly after the Volta a Catalunya,” he added. “The Giro is super hard, especially the last week. Ok, Remco and Roglic are the favourites, but the last week will decide.”

“I have a lot of confidence in the shape of my guys. You look at the last five or six Giro’s, and it was decided in the last week.”

Tosatto told CW that barring any major incident, the same line up selected for Ineos Grenadiers at the Tour of the Alps is likely to be the squad selected for the Grande Partenza on 6 May. 

“I think yes, in the team bus here you have the seven riders,” Tosatto said. “It’s not decided if the lineup is complete, but this race is the last step.” 

Tao Geoghegan Hart believes Ineos Grenadiers can mount a strong challenge at the Vuelta a España, despite the British team taking four Grand Tour debutants to the Spanish race.

Richard Carapaz, Dylan van Baarle, Pavel Sivakov and Geoghegan Hart make up the experience in the team whereas Ben Turner, Carlos Rodriguez, Ethan Hayter and Luke Plapp are all making their Grand Tour debuts.

At the Ineos Grenadiers press conference on Wednesday, the 2020 Giro d'Italia winner Geoghegan Hart said that the exciting Ineos line up means they can challenge when racing gets underway this Friday. 

“We definitely have a few good cards to play, I would say that there are bigger favourites outside of our team but we’re looking forward to the next few weeks," he said. 

“I think we have a strong team with eight super strong guys on different terrain. The last few years have shown that some of the Grand Tours can be quite open with really dynamic racing.  That’s something our team has pursued in the last few seasons and the best races I’ve been a part of are those when every rider has a valued role to play in a team."

The Londoner missed the Giro d’Italia this year due to illness and admitted he had been side lined by other illnesses earlier this season

“There wasn’t too much rearranging as the plan for me always finished at the Giro," Geoghegan Hart added. "So it was more just about resetting goals. I got pretty sick after the Basque Country, that was the third virus for me in the space of less than two months so it wasn’t ideal. 

“I was on antibiotics, so it just wasn’t realistic to go into the Giro in good shape especially after a spring of basically being off of the bike three times for a week. I think that’s a pretty familiar story that a lot of people in the peloton and in wider society have gone through in the last 12 months.

"Unfortunately I then got another stomach virus in the week before the Tour of Norway so that was tough again.”  

The 27-year-old recently rode the Clásica de San Sebastián and Vuelta a Burgos with the latter being won by teammate Pavel Sivakov. Geoghegan Hart admitted that on the final day of the pre-Vuelta stage race he didn’t feel at his best, although the successful result for the team was the ideal build up to the coming weeks. 

“It was a pretty short training block before Burgos. San Sebastian was good at opening up the legs to then try to prepare for Burgos. It’s a really good race there to prepare for the Vuelta.” 

“I think we had a really nice group there [Burgos] and we had a nice feeling. Obviously we won that race and then Ethan [Hayter] won in Poland as well. So almost everyone here is coming off of those two races which were super successful for the team," he concluded.

“I felt good and was there or thereabouts every day so that was good and I’ll just look at trying to progress at the Vuelta although it’s obviously a long three weeks.” 

Hagens Berman Axeon and Tao Geoghegan Hart have revealed who is the stagiaire recruited in their newly created cultural and racial diversity scheme.

Red Walters is a 22-year-old British rider who has been riding in France at under 23 races this year, despite facing significant hurdles to get there due to Brexit and Covid-19.

Geoghegan Hart announced in February his desire to sponsor a rider to join his old team as a step towards improving diversity in cycling, with the 2020 Giro d'Italia champion saying cycling has not done enough to address the ongoing issues of underrepresented groups within the sport.

The British Ineos Grenadiers rider joined forces with his old team, Hagens Berman Axeon to get this started with Walters one of the first riders to get into contact with them when the scheme was announced.

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In a team press release, Geoghegan Hart said: "We were immediately impressed with [Red's] enthusiasm and the data that he shared with us. However, both Axel [Merckx] and I were really persuaded by his commitment and determination to go over to France to race. 

"Walters is in his last year of the u23 category, but we hope we can help him make it a final few months to remember, and vitally, an important stepping stone in his career and development as a cyclist."

Walters has spent his last couple of years jumping between teams after riding for Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother, but he was not picked once to race for the team. He then managed second place at the London Six Day before joining Nopinz-Symec where he put in good performances but was forced to leave the team in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, switching to ride with the Black Cyclist Network race team.

Speaking in the same press release, Walters said: "When Tao told me I'd be selected, I was honestly over the moon. I can't emphasise enough how hard I tried to get this kind of opportunity for this year, so to get the chance to race with an U23 team of this calibre in my final year as an U23 is incredible. On top of that, I'm really excited about the calendar and having a chance to get more experience racing at this level."

Walters was also keen to praise Geoghegan Hart for setting up this stagiaire scheme along with Hagens Berman Axeon.

"It's well known that cycling is hugely lacking in diversity," Walter said, "and while we are slowly making progress at the grassroots level, it hasn't seemed to me like there was a lot of acknowledgement from the higher levels in the sport.

“So to go out there and actually make that commitment and take action is really commendable in my opinion. 

"Then from my personal perspective, of course, it was an opportunity I jumped at. I knew the value of it and was incredibly motivated to do everything I could to give myself the best chance of being given the opportunity."

It's not yet known where Walters will make his first appearance for the American team.

The Olympic road race is one of the toughest and most unpredictable races on the cycling calendar, but how do the men’s squad see this year’s event playing out?

Team GB have four riders competing in the 230km men’s course around Mount Fuji on Saturday (July 24), who all have a chance at competing for the win. 

The four British male riders are Geraint Thomas, Tao Geoghegan Hart, and Simon and Adam Yates, but it’s not yet clear who will be the chosen leader. 

Speaking from a video press conference ahead of the event Geoghegan Hart, winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia, said: “I think it's going to be probably one of the most physically demanding races that we'll do this year, if not in our careers potentially if the temperature and humidity and everything line up.” 

Temperatures in Tokyo leading up to the road race have hit mid-30s with humidity up at 80 per cent, with the forecast for Saturday putting the temperature at 32 degrees. 

The course itself is also brutal, with five categorised climbs spread over 234km.

Geoghegan Hart, who has just come out of the Tour de France a week before the race, said: ‘’I wouldn’t be here [if I didn’t think I was capable of winning]. I think that’s the big strength of this team, we’ve got options to play. 

“It’s a really small team, so it’s important to have cards to play. 

“With the long climb up to Fuji I think you’ve probably got three hours of racing left to go, but I think the race will be on from there.

“It’ll definitely be very unpredictable and hopefully quite an open race. That’s what we’ve seen historically in the games.” 

Simon Yates will also be racing in Tokyo alongside his twin brother Adam, after Simon abandoned the Tour de France on stage 13 following a crash.  

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He said: “It’s always going to be difficult to win and I think as a team we will try and do the best we can.

“The course is hard. I think it’s going to be a very selective course, not just the parcours but the conditions as well. 

“We only have a four-man squad. We don’t even have a full team.

“It really changes the dynamic to what we’re used to on the WorldTour. 

“As a team we’ve got a really good chance. It’s just about putting those pieces together.” 

Great Britain are not expected to represented with quantity at the 2021 Tour de France, but instead with a little more than a handful of star quality.

Although official team sheets have yet to be announced, it is thought that six British riders will line-up for the start in Brest, with UK-registered team Ineos Grenadiers fielding half.

In 2020 there were just four Brits present as Tadej Pogačar claimed his maiden yellow jersey, but this time around there are two from the country with genuine aspirations of succeeding the Slovenian, and maybe even a third if circumstances fall his way.

Geraint Thomas, Ineos Grenadiers

The Welshman won the race in 2018, finished runner-up in the defence of his title and returns to La Grand Boucle after missing out on selection in 2020.

His form this season suggests that he is as strong as ever and it would be a major surprise were he not to cause Pogačar and Primoż Roglič problems in the mountains and time trials.

The 35-year-old knows that time is running out in his quest to win at least one more Grand Tour, and it appears that he is determined to add another to his collection, bruised by his Tour snub last summer, an untimely fall at the Giro d’Italia and perception that his best days were behind him.

Tao Geoghegan Hart, Ineos Grenadiers

It was Thomas’s crash at last autumn’s Giro that ultimately paved the way for Geoghegan Hart’s own stab at pink which spectacularly paid off in the final time trial.

The Londoner crashed hard at March’s Paris-Nice and was off the pace at his comeback race, the Tour of the Basque Country. Since then, he has slowly returned to form, with a second-place on stage six at the Criterium du Dauphine and finishing 10th overall.

Whether or not he is in the same shape as when he won in Italy is a question that no-one, probably least of all him, has the answer to.

It’s most likely he will ride in support of Thomas, but given his win in Italy, he should not be ruled out for a high-GC placing.

Simon Yates, Team BikeExchange

Off the back from finishing third at the Giro d’Italia where some days he looked the best climber in the peloton and other days he seemed to be a shadow of his previous performances, the Bury-man returns to the Tour for a fifth time.

He claimed two stages in the 2019 edition and that’s what his goals are this time around as well, with the Olympics road race deemed his season objective.

 But should the 28-year-old happen to be in an advantageous position on GC after a week’s racing, you would be foolish to think the 2018 Vuelta a España victor would forgo the chance to win a second Grand Tour.

Chris Froome, Israel Start-Up Nation

The four-time winner returns to the race for the first time since 2018. 

He may not be going to win a fifth title, and instead riding in support of his team leader Michael Woods, but the 35-year-old’s mere presence at the race is an achievement in itself given the injuries he sustained two years ago at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

It’s been well-documented that Froome is more acquainted to the rear than the front of the peloton nowadays, but expect the TV cameras to focus on him a lot.

Luke Rowe, Ineos Grenadiers

There are few road captains more trusted and respected in cycling than Luke Rowe, who will line-up for his seventh Tour.

Prior to last year, Rowe had a 100% win record in the Tour, a remarkable return on five appearances.

He and Thomas have a very strong personal friendship, while his decision-making on the road has been credited with a lot of Ineos Grenadiers’ success in the past decade. An invaluable member of the British team’s eight-man squad.

Alex Dowsett, Israel Start-Up Nation

Although not yet confirmed, Alex Dowsett is set to ride his third Tour, just five weeks after abandoning the Giro d’Italia.

The time trial specialist will have his sights set on the race’s two tests against the clock, and he will also back himself should he make it into a day’s breakaway.

Like so many riding the Tour, Dowsett has Olympic aspirations and he knows that a good showing in France could set him up for a crack at success in Toyko, should he be on the flight to Japan

Tao Geoghegan Hart has abandoned Paris-Nice 2021 after a crash on stage four.

The reigning Giro d’Italia champion went down on the approach to the final climb of the day, while descending near the front of the bunch.

Geoghegan Hart went down as the peloton descended from Mont Brouilly around 20km from the finish in Chiroubles, as he lost traction on a right hand bend and the wheels slid out from under him.

After bouncing up and quickly rejoining the bunch, Geoghegan Hart sat up shortly after.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was then forced to leave the race, organisers confirmed shortly after.

In a statement on social media, Ineos Grenadiers said: "Not our race this year. Sadly stage four concludes at Paris-Nice without Tao Geoghegan Hart.

"The young Brit was forced to abandon following a crash in the closing kilometres.

"He will now head to hospital for further assessment. Medical update to follow later."

Ineos sports director Gabriel Rasch said: "On the descent his front wheel slipped in the corner. He was in fourth position.

"It was really bad luck. I don't know if there was some gravel or why he slipped.

"He landed on his face, head and knee pretty badly and he felt a bit dizzy. We thought it was the right decision to stop him."

Rasch added: "[The rest of the team] waited at the back of the peloton until they saw what state Tao was on.

"I told them to carry on and do their very best."

Ineos have suffered a tough opening four stages to the 2021 Paris-Nice, after Richie Porte was forced to abandon following a crash on stage one.

>>> Primož Roglič launches blistering attack to take overall lead on stage four of Paris-Nice 2021 

Geoghegan Hart stayed out of trouble on the opening two sprint stages, but slipped back in the general classification in the individual time trial on stage three.

The best-placed rider overall for Ineos in Paris-Nice is now Dylan van Baarle in 19th-place, 1-43 down on the race leader.

Tao Geoghegan Hart has taken action to improve diversity in cycling, by sponsoring a rider to join his old development team.

The British pro, winner of the 2020 Giro d’Italia, has taken a knee in a moving social media post in which he discusses the lack of diversity and inclusivity in cycling. 

London-born Geoghegan Hart highlighted that while racial injustice is not unique to cycling, it is something we must face head-on. 

The 25-year-old said he will be sponsoring an under-23 rider to race with his former team Hagens Berman Axeons, run by Axel Merckx, to help improve racial diversity in professional cycling. 

Geoghegan Hart will work with the team to identify, coach and mentor a young rider, who will join the team on August 1. 

In a post on Instagram, the Ineos Grenadiers rider said: “I am a professional cyclist, a job that I see as a huge privilege and my dream. However I also draw inspiration from outside the world of two wheels; Marcus Rashford, Lewis Hamilton, Billie Jean King, the people I grew up with in Hackney, and so many more… 

“Over the past year, through these tough times, many in sport have led by example; encouraging their audiences to keep dreaming, to fight for equality, or to simply keep on keeping on. They have used their platforms to draw light to the many pressing issues we face in society. 

“Cycling has a problem with diversity and inclusivity. This is a fact. It is not unique within sport, but we must face it head on all the same.

“I feel cycling has not done enough during this past year. Furthermore, I have not done enough. 

“But what good are words without action?” 

Following the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd last year, existing racial injustice has been flagged in all walks of life, including in professional cycling. 

While other athletes and organisations from other sports made varying gestures to highlight the injustice, cycling was fairly quiet on the issue. 

The 2020 Tour de France peloton did male a small gesture of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and Kévin Reza. 

Reza, who races for B&B Hotels-Vital Concept, is the only black rider in last year’s edition of the Tour, and has highlighted pro cycling’s silence on Black Lives Matter, while other sports have made notable gestures of solidarity.

The Frenchman was seen near the front of the bunch in the neutralised zone of stage 21 of the Tour, but there was some confusion among fans and pundits about what the protest would involve, as some thought Reza might ride at the head of the race alone but ASO had previously announced the gesture would be Reza riding at the front with the leaders.    

Since then, some welcome steps have been taken towards addressing the issue of diversity in cycling, demonstrated by the continued success of Justin Williams’ L39ion of LA team, and US rider Ayesha McGowan signing with a WorldTour team as a trainee. 

>>> Ayesha McGowan takes leap in her career as she joins WorldTour as a trainee 

Geoghegan Hart said: “I don’t have all the answers but I do know that I want live in a world that fights for social justice. A world that shares all the good that we have.

“In the meantime, I'll always look to you out there for inspiration, advice and ideas on how I can try to contribute to moving this incredible sport forward. Ultimately I can only control my own actions, but I’ll do my utmost to make that small influence as impactful as possible.” 

Tao Geoghegan Hart has been tempted away from wearing number one at the 2021 Giro d’Italia, as he instead plans to race the Tour de France this year. 

The 25-year-old Brit will be making his debut in the French Grand Tour this summer after his unexpected victory in Italy last year. 

After designated Ineos Grenadiers leader Geraint Thomas crashed out of the 2020 Giro d’Italia, Geoghegan Hart emerged as victor ahead of Jai Hindley (Sunweb), taking his first Grand Tour title. 

In an interview with The Telegraph newspaper, London-born Geoghegan Hart said he was 50-50 when deciding between the Giro and the Tour, but added that he wanted a new challenge, and with the blessing of team principal Sir Dave Brailsford, he landed on the Tour. 

He said: “It would be incredible to go back [to the Giro] this year with the number one jersey. I understand the significance of that. But I think as a bike racer, to put it bluntly, you can't see the number on your back. 

“Ultimately, I felt I wanted to target something new and different. And yeah, the biggest race in cycling. I think there's no argument there.”

Ineos have multiple Grand Tour winners to choose from for their 2021 Tour de France line up, as Geoghegan Hart joins Thomas, Egan Bernal and Richard Carapaz among the team’s former three-week winners.  

With Bernal rumoured to be targeting the Giro d’Italia this year, Ineos could back Thomas or Carapaz to win the yellow jersey, with Geoghegan Hart ready to step in if the road decides. 

On leadership at the Tour, Geoghegan Hart said he had not discussed the issue with the Tour and that “it’s not a conversation I’m too interested in.” 

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But after his win in Italy, Geoghegan Hart is confident he could one day challenge for the top step in Paris: “ I think three-week racing really suits me physiologically, especially that last week. 

“I showed in the Giro I was there. I think with that race in mind, that does give me the confidence to dream about trying to challenge for the Tour.”    

Tao Geoghegan Hart has earned his rest this off-season.

The Brit returned to the UK as an unexpected Grand Tour winner after his remarkable performance in the Giro d’Italia, which saw him triumph on the final stage after a tumultuous race for the Ineos Grenadiers.

But after travelling back to London to celebrate the victory and take some deserved rest, Geoghegan Hart, 25, is already preparing for 2021, and has said he hopes to race for Grand Tour victory every year.

In an interview with Italians newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Hackney-born pro said the dream is to also win the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, to complete the set of three-week victories after his success in the Giro.

Geoghegan Hart said: “Of course that's my dream. 

“I think to win the Giro as your first Grand Tour is amazing really, especially this year with everything that's happened and how difficult it's been for everyone. 

“But definitely, that's the objective. I hope that I'm going to have another 10 years or more of my career and the plan is to fight every year for those races and also for the Giro of course.” 

Ineos went into the Giro backing pre-race favourite Geraint Thomas, but after the Welshman crashed out in first week it looked as though another Grand Tour victory was out of reach for the British team.

But in the final week Geoghegan Hart emerged as an unexpected front-runner, thanks in part to some phenomenal support rides by Rohan Dennis.

The race came down to the final time trial in Milan, with Geoghegan Hart tied on time with Sunweb’s Jai Hindley as the former eventually came out on top. 

Ineos also came away with seven stage victories - two for Geoghegan Hart, four for Filippo Ganna, and one for Jhonatan Narváez.

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Geoghegan Hart said: “As a group, not only the riders, also with the staff, we had a really amazing three weeks of course, not without problems and difficulties. We lost two of our team along the way and we had some tough moments for sure. 

“It feels quite a long time ago, but I can't wait to see to see the guys again. And I'm sure it's a race that we'll be talking about for the years to come. And certainly it's a race of course that I'll never ever forget.”

He added that he is now back on the bike for the first time since the Giro, riding for up to three and a half hours as he begins his preparation for 2021.  

Giro d'Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart could have a road named after him in East London.

The road is aptly a cycle lane, the CS1 cycleway, which is being retitled and the public invited to decide who it's named after.

The name to honour the Ineos rider would be "Tao's Place", and will compete against "Bernie Grant Cycleway", in honour of one of Tottenham's first black MPs and "Starley Freeway" after J.K. Starley from Walthamstow, the inventor of the modern bicycle.

"I’ve named this route after Tao Geoghegan Hart to represent him in his home town where he grew up after he has just won the Giro d’ltalia cycle race," the member of the public who suggested the name told the Hackney Citizen. "I thought it was quite poignant that the first cycle route is not far from where he grew up."

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Voting closes at midnight on November 24 and the handful of finalist names were picked from over 1,000 submissions, the winner set to be unveiled in December.

London's nine major cycleways are being renamed as part of the "Name Our Lanes" initiatives, which was devised last year in order to rebrand the cycleways with names that are more inclusive.

Geoghegan Hart has been enjoying his off-season back home in London, where he's taken a trip to the Pinarello store in London to collect a custom pink F12 following his Grand Tour victory, as well as buying a car for his brother after losing a bet.

The 25-year-old made a bet with his younger brother in the third week of the Italian race that he wouldn't end up in the pink jersey when he reached Milan, and that he would buy him a new car if he did.

Tao Geoghegan Hart said it was a ‘massive honour’ to have the reigning British champion and a former world champion riding in support at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

The British talent was among the best in the Spanish stage race, finishing third on the queen stage to secure a podium spot overall among some big names.

While 21-year-old Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) secured the overall victory, Geoghegan Hart put in a phenomenal ride on stage four to move onto the podium and finish the race in third on general classification.

Speaking after the race, the 24-year-old said: “For me it was a massive honour to have Swifty [Ben Swift] there in the British champ’s jersey, Michał [Kwiatkowski] with the rainbow bands around his arms, and the whole team helping out.

“They took it on and gave me a lot of confidence to believe in myself to try and go for [stage four] and with that the GC.

“It didn’t quite happen but it wasn’t too far off either, so that’s a really nice start for the first race of the year.”

Geoghegan Hart declared himself as one of the front runners for the week-long stage race on stage two, finishing with the front group on the tough 2km Cullera climb.

But it was stage four to Altea when the Londoner secured his spot on the overall podium, finishing just six seconds behind stage winner Pogačar alongside the likes of Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Wout Poels (Bahrain-McLaren).

On Geoghegan Hart’s performance on stage four, Team Ineos sports director Nicolas Portal said: “It’s a huge result when you consider the parcours, with almost 4,000 metres of climbing, then you finish on this crazy monster of a climb.

“Also you have some top names in this race and it’s a really good result for Tao.

“It’s going to be a big boost to him. He’s quite far from his best condition as this race wasn’t a specific objective for him but that just confirms that he’s had a really good winter.”

>>> Racing ahead: Carapaz Ineos debut in Colombia, Pinot returns, & sprinters go head-to-head 

His third place finish shows promise for 2020, after he won his first pro races last season – two stages of the Tour of the Alps, where he also finished second overall.

Geoghegan Hart is building his season around the Giro d’Italia, where he will ride alongside reigning champion Richard Carapaz and world time trial champion Rohan Dennis.

Losing Tao Geoghegan Hart to a crash in Giro d'Italia stage 13 will affect the team cohesion going forward, says Team Ineos.

The Londoner in his first Giro, crashed after making the day's escape. Results later showed he broke his collarbone.

"He fell pretty heavy, we heard he was OK, but expecting something from regarding his shoulder," sports director Nicolas Portal told Cycling Weekly.

>>> Five talking points from stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia 2019

"They were straight to the closest hospital, but don't know any more information. He was conscious but he could not go on the bike."

Geoghegan Hart leaves the Giro d'Italia the day that Pavel Sivakov rode with race favourites including Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) on the first summit finish to Lago Serrù.

With his move, Sivakov now leads the young rider competition in the white jersey and sits 4-48 minutes behind top favourite Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma).

"It's not nice when you have a strong rider like Tao to not support Pavel, that can be hard, and for the cohesion," added Portal.

"It was a good strong group, but now it's going to be different."

Sivakov came to the Giro d'Italia after winning the Tour of the Alps with Geoghegan Hart helping. He finished second overall and won two stages for himself.

They were the two leaders of Team Ineos after Egan Bernal cancelled his participation after breaking his collarbone one week out. Now, Sivakov will have to carry the torch.

"He impressed a lot today, we were close to 5,000 metres climbing, all day was fast, first two climbs was super hard, he did a fantastic ride always on pace, not to spike too much, he was concentrated and that showed in the end," Portal said.

"Today we saw something very special from Pavel. We don't have a specific plan. We want to support as long and hard as we can."

Sivakov's ride came a day after Eddie Dunbar nearly won a stage in Pinerolo.

"They have a great future, that's why we are here. That's nice that they show this to all the world," added Portal.

"This group is really young, we've been holding them back, telling them to think about the second week, the third week. Now they can see, 'Oh it is really a different kind of Giro.'"

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos) has abandoned the Giro d'Italia 2019 after crashing with 120km to go on stage 13.

The Brit had been sitting 33rd on GC, 11-49 down on race leader Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates).

Before crashing, Geoghegan Hart had been at the head of the race in a large breakaway group of 29 riders including Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Eddie Dunbar (Team Ineos), and Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott).

Team Ineos tweeted to confirm that Geoghegan Hart had abandoned the race, saying he had been "forced to abandon after a crash" and that he was ok and being attended to by the team doctor. They added a full update will follow soon.

The Team Ineos rider had already crashed twice during the first Grand Tour of the 2019 season, both times during stage three, with Geoghegan Hart saying he could "come back stronger" after losing time.

Geoghegan Hart started the Giro d'Italia 2019 off the back of an impressive Tour of the Alps performance, where he finished second overall, behind team-mate Pavel Sivakov.

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Team Ineos) has described the first stage of the Giro d'Italia 2019 as similar to "being hit by a big hammer" as the Brit posted an impressive time on the opening time trial of the Grand Tour.

One of the first riders to set off, Geoghegan Hart rode the 8.2km course in 13-29, only 35 seconds off the stage winner Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), a time which saw the Brit finish in seventh place.

The course featured 6km of flat, with 2km of climbing up to San Luca to the finish line, with a number of riders electing to switch bikes just before the gradient increased.

Despite his strong performance, Geoghegan said post-race that it wasn't as easy as he had maybe made it look: "I felt so, so good and then all of a sudden the devil came and hit me with a big hammer!

“I felt super good until the last 500 metres and I paid a little bit there – I was going backwards," he added after the opening time trial. "I think you’ll hear a lot of people say that today. Why not go big and give it a try?

“I felt good which is the main thing, I was maybe a little bit too keen on the first part of the second steep bit.”

Starting only his second ever Grand Tour, Geoghegan Hart is an outside favourite to take overall victory, as he lines up alongside a young Team Ineos squad, with Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome both electing to focus on the Tour de France in July.

After Egan Bernal, who crashed in a training ride, and Gianni Moscon, deemed to not be in good enough form, were ruled out of participating in the Giro, Geoghegan Hart lines up alongside Pavel Sivakov, who won the Tour of the Alps last month, with the British team expected to hunt for stage wins.

Primož Roglič posted an impressive time of 12-54 on the short time trial course, with Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) taking second at 19 seconds, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) third, 23 seconds down, followed by Miguel Ángel López (Astana) and Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) 28 seconds back.

Tao Geoghegan Hart kept trying, for two and a half years, to achieve his first professional victory. He did so on Monday with the help of Sky team-mate Chris Froome in the Tour of the Alps, stage one in Kufstein, Austria.

Geoghegan Hart followed an attack by Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) with team-mate Pavel Sivakov and Rafał Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe). Once they were caught, he stayed at the front and sprinted ahead of his rivals.

"As amateur always, I won in small groups like today," he explained. "There are not so many races where you can win alone, so there's always a possibility, you've got to try every time. I've been trying two and a half years as a pro, so nice to take the win today."

He turned professional in 2017 with Sky and stepped up last year to help Geraint Thomas to victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné. Team Sky then gave him his chance to race a first Grand Tour at the 2018 Vuelta a España.

Geoghegan Hart is helping in Sky's last race before the team switches to sponsor Ineos. They came here with a few leaders, including Froome, Sivakov and Kenny Elissonde. He now could try to keep the purple jersey all the way through the Alps, the remaining four days from Austria to Italy.

"It's a really open week, no mountain top finishes per se, so we'll see how it goes. It's going to be aggressive racing every day and similar to today: attacks and coming back. It's a perfect race for lots of different riders," he continued.

"We have three or four guys for final and two to support. Basso did great ride to control break all day. It was case to see how it went. The four of us went away, but could easily been Chris and Kenny in that situation, we've got a strong team."

Geoghegan Hart trained at altitude in Tenerife with Froome before coming to the Tour of the Alps, which Geraint Thomas won in 2017.

"That was good fun racing, it felt like under 23 racing at some points, just uncontrolled and no one wanted to take responsibility," Chris Froome added. "But we used our numbers in the final both with Tao and Pavel, both in that move with Nibali and Majka over the top of that last climb.

"Unfortunately that didn't stick and came back together, but it meant that our guys were at the front coming into the final few kilometres and we were able to cover all the moves, and Tao just edged the sprint and managed to hold on to it.

"Happy for Tao? Very, even though this isn't a WorldTour race, it's still tough racing and not easy by any means."

Froome added the Tour of the Alps to his schedule at the last minute. It is usually a preparation race for the Giro d'Italia, but he needed the miles heading towards the Tour de France.

"I rolled over in [sixth] place today. I think and that's all right straight after a big block of altitude," Froome said. "It's good to be back racing. Sounds like my throat is closed up after an intense final but it's good to be back racing."

If it goes well, Geoghegan Hart will compete in the 2019 Giro d'Italia next month for the first time alongside team leader Egan Bernal.

"I like racing in Italy, even if this win is here in Austria," Geoghegan Hart said. "The Giro d'Italia is the big objective of the season for me and this is one of my final races for that."

Rising British talent Tao Geoghegan Hart is hoping to take his career to a new level when he rides the 2019 Giro d’Italia.

The 23-year-old showed his ability last season, supporting team-mates Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas to stage race victory and riding his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta a España.

Geoghegan Hart will support young Colombian superstar Egan Bernal, as the 21-year-old chases victory in Italy in only his second WorldTour season.

>>> Nine young WorldTour debutants to watch in 2019

Hackney-born Geoghegan Hart said: “I’ve definitely got my eyes set on the Giro for 2019.

“I think it’s a good natural progression after the Vuelta last season.

“The second year with the team was definitely progression from the first, which was my aim coming into the year.

“I’ve always looked to do that year-upon-year and I think it’s natural for a young rider, even though I’m starting to edge out away from that category.”

Geoghegan Hart’s 2018 saw the youngster ride strong to support Bernal to victory in both the Colombia Oro y Paz and the Tour of California.

He put in a phenomenal ride on stage six of the latter race, assisting his team-mate to a stage victory and the overall win, finishing fifth overall himself.

Then he returned to a key support role at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where he helped Geraint Thomas win on general classification – Geoghegan Hart finished 13^th.

Reflecting on 2018, he said: “The first part of the season was a little more positive than the second part but I’d say if anything there are far more lessons to be learnt from that second part.

“It encompassed my first Grand Tour.

“It’s a year to look back on very positively and fondly, which is important, and there’s lots to carry forward into this year – which I intend to do.”

>>> Geraint Thomas still considering 2019 Giro d’Italia ride

The late season saw Geoghegan Hart ride the Vuelta a España, his first three week test, alongside Sky’s GC leader for that race Michal Kwiatkowski.

Geoghegan Hart said: “It was a very positive experience on the whole.

“From a results and performance perspective I was pretty disappointed with the race and that’s something I can be comfortable about being open with, because I think it’s important to not just always be too positive about everything and highlighting when stuff hasn’t gone right.

“It definitely took a few a few weeks or even a little bit longer to try and process that and boil down why that had happened.

“I’m really glad to have had it in my second year with the team.”

Geoghegan Hart and Bernal have built a close friendship in their first season riding together, with the duo likely to be a close pairing as Bernal’s career as a Grand Tour leader develops.

Finally, on his supporting role at the Dauphiné, Geoghegan Hart said: “For me it was really special racing the Dauphiné, especially with what [Geraint Thomas] went on to do the month after that [winning the Tour de France].

“I was pretty nervous for the first three or four days of the race, even on the bike, feeling stiffer and less fluid than I normally would just from the sense of occasion, and being with the ‘A team’ a few weeks out from their big goal of the season.

“To be around those guys, not only in a huge race, but also in anticipation of an even bigger goal, was great experience.”

One of the most frequent criticisms of Team Sky, until recently, was its inability to bring through a new generation of big hitters to replace the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.

But over the last two seasons, its youngsters have featured regularly in the biggest events on the calendar, giving them the opportunity to learn from the established stars at the races that really matter.

Colombian phenomenon Egan Bernal has been the most obvious example of that approach this season, but Britain’s Tao Geoghegan Hart has also been far more prominent than might have been the case two or three seasons ago.

>>> Geraint Thomas and Chris Froome set for dual Tour de France tilt

The 23-year-old Londoner’s successful campaign included fifth at the Tour of California, 13th at the Critérium du Dauphiné — where he impressed as winner Thomas’s key mountain lieutenant — and a Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España.

“California was great. It was only because of the time I lost getting stuck behind a crash on a sprint stage that I missed out on the GC podium, so that was disappointing, but with Egan up on the top step it wasn’t too bad,” Geoghegan Hart says, reflecting on the season’s high points.

“The Dauphiné was also really nice, as was the last stage at Colombia Oro y Paz when Sebastián Henao and me were in the break and we ended up dropping back in the last few kilometres to wait for Egan, who had attacked out of the bunch, and we ended up winning the GC.”

Geoghegan Hart and Colombian phenomenon Bernal have raced frequently together, developing a close friendship. But the Briton insists there’s no competitive edge to it. “I wouldn’t describe it as a friendly rivalry,” he says.

“There were only one or two riders in the world who were better than him this year, so it’s pretty special to work for him at those big races when we won or did well. Equally, he’s always supported me when I’ve had opportunities to race for the win.”

He adds that being around Bernal and the team’s other Colombians and Spanish throughout the season has vastly improved his own grip of the language.

Lessons learned

By the time CW speaks to him, his long season, stretching from February to the very end of September, has taken a toll. Though he’s always accommodating, he sounds tired.

It’s just as well his biggest joy of the year came on the way to his final races at the World Championships, when his girlfriend Hannah Barnes and her sister Alice were part of Canyon-SRAM’s World Championship team time trial winning squad.

“I watched it on my phone in Barcelona airport. I was feeling pretty tired that week, so it was pretty cool to watch that knowing how much work they’d put into it,” he says.

He could use a pick-up at that time because he wasn’t completely happy with his Vuelta performance.

“It wasn’t really what I was looking for during the build-up to the race, what I had set myself in terms of expectations or goals,” he says of finishing 62nd on GC.

“There were some big lessons to be had, mostly about how I approach the build-up to Grand Tours. I can see now that I had issues with hydration on those first few really hot days, for example. It was probably my biggest goal of the season and it didn’t go to plan, so that does leave a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth.

“I know I made some big errors around the training blocks this season — about when to rest, when to push on, and how to approach these different blocks throughout the year,” he continues.

“Every year you learn more about what works for you… You learn more about your body, about what you can deal with in terms of workload.”

He’s back in London to catch up with his family and indulge in what his home city offers, not least in culinary options.

“It’s always like a bit of a holiday being in London,” says Girona-based Geoghegan Hart, revealing he’s not one for seeking out off-season sun and is happy to be back home after a hectic season of travel.

“I think it’s important to have that time away from airports,” he says.

During this period back at home, he will also start to look at how he can maintain his progression through the 2019 season.

“The most important thing is simply not making the same mistakes again,” he says. “If you do try to keep on improving bit by bit you can all of a sudden find yourself at a much higher level when things all come together at the same moment. That’s what I’m ultimately hoping for.”

‘He’s got the numbers to be a contender’

“The second half of his season wasn’t as good as the first,” says Dario Cioni, Tao Geoghegan Hart’s coach at Team Sky. “He was very solid indeed during the first half of the season, and especially so from the Tour of the Basque Country onwards.

He was the last man for ‘G’ [Geraint Thomas] a couple of times in the mountains at the Dauphiné and went pretty close to the podium in California while still managing to hold his own place high up on GC.

“He was often the guy who made the final acceleration which provided the launchpad for Egan Bernal’s attacks and wasn’t simply following in the wheels.”

Sky will be expecting at least the same level of performance next season, says Cioni. “He’ll perhaps do another Grand Tour, with the Giro the most likely option,” the Italian coach suggests.

“He’s got the numbers to be a performer in his own right. One of the best things about Tao is that he’s got very good racing sense, far superior to other riders his age. He’s been the road captain at some races, including California and the Vuelta, which is unusual for a Sky rider who is so young.”

Tao Geoghegan Hart's hopes for a good performance during the elite men's individual time trial at the 2017 UCI Road World Championships were scuppered by an early crash and breathing problems.

The 22-year-old from London had been a relatively late call up for the event in Bergen, Norway, after the withdrawal of Steve Cummings. Any chances of a good time were spoiled when he crashed, scuffing up his right-hand side and cutting his knee. He remounted and finished the race.

"I just didn't really get on top of it," Geoghegan Hart said after his ride.

"I woke up with a tight chest and hoped I'd get over it in the warm-up but I couldn't really breathe.

"I crashed pretty early on, there's a couple of corners with bumpy lines and I just overcooked it and lost the front wheel."

Despite the incident, Geoghegan Hart said that he liked the layout of the 31km route, comprises two laps of a circuit and a tough final climb of Mount Floyen to the finish line.

"I'm fine though, I quite liked the course, but it's probably my least well-ridden time trial of the year," he said.

>>> Twitter reacts to controversial bike changeover at World Champs time trial (video)

Geoghegan Hart is now scheduled to take part in the elite men's road race, which closes out the 2017 World Championships on Sunday, September 24.

Great Britain's junior rider Lauren Dolan also endured a nasty crash on the Bergen course on Monday, cutting her right leg deeply and suffering road rash.

After changing her bike and remounting, Dolan finished her ride and was then taken to hospital for treatment.

Team Sky’s Tao Geoghegan Hart has described how his late team-mate Chad Young was in his thoughts during the Tour de Yorkshire. The two riders were both on the American Axeon Hagens Berman development team prior to Geoghegan Hart signing with Sky for 2017.

Young passed away on Friday after sustaining a head injury after crashing during the final stage of the Tour of the Gila the weekend before.

“I was thinking of him, and his family, and also the staff of my old team," said Geoghegan Hart, after placing eighth overall at the Tour de Yorkshire on Sunday.

"They’re just doing their job and part of their job shouldn’t have to be with a 20-year-old guy during the last moments of his life on the side of the road,” he said.

“It’s really really sad. It reaches deep into cycling. I think the one think we can take is that it’s amazing to see the support from all of cycling for Chad and his family and everyone involved with the team.”

He added: “It definitely serves as a reminder to make the most out of every day we’re lucky enough to have and value the people around me who are giving the ability to do amazing days of racing like today where there’s just people going wild all day long.

“I think it just makes you realise that everything can disappear in an instant, and to cherish it.”

>>> Tour of California 2017: Latest news and race info

Geoghegan Hart is now readying himself for an assault on the Tour of California, starting May 14.

Speaking after the three-day Yorkshire race, the 21-year-old Londoner said: “[California’s] a different race to this – you probably couldn’t get much more different. But I’m looking forward to it. I think we’ll have a pretty young but cool team there. I think it’s going to be exciting and it’s obviously a familiar event for me and we’ll see a few faces from the past.”

Geoghegan Hart has ridden the Tour of California three times — twice for US based Axeon Hagens Berman.

Geoghegan Hart is currently beginning a short US-based training block before travelling to Sacremento to begin the Tour of California on May 14, where he has twice come second on the young rider classification, and was 12th overall last year.

Few young British riders would have the courage to turn down Team Sky when they expressed an interest in signing them, and ask if they’d come back in a year instead.

But that’s exactly what now 21-year-old Londoner Tao Geoghegan Hart did in 2015 after riding as a stagiaire with the WorldTour outfit.

For someone who has ambitions of racing Grand Tours, Sky’s offer was the dream ticket.

Geoghegan Hart even recalls standing on the Mall in London in 2010 when Sky officially launched and being inspired by the sight of the new British team.

Yet rather than put pen to paper, he chose to stay with the American Continental team Axeon-Hagens Berman, believing it best to continue his development on the U23 scene for another 12 months.

>>> Axel Merckx offers young British cyclists an alternative way to become a pro

“It’s really hard when you have the opportunity that is your dream, and you don’t know if it’ll come again, to say that you’d like to wait a year please,” Geoghegan Hart tells Cycling Weekly, now sat wearing Sky team kit having joined the squad as a neo-pro for the start of 2017.

Watch: Team Sky Tao Geoghegan Hart, Facebook live at Challenge Mallorca

“It was really incredibly hard, especially because no one can really give you advice on that — it has to be your decision.”

He admits he had “a lot of doubt” after making the call in 2015 but patience is a lesson he credits Axel Merckx — team manager at Axeon and son of five-time Tour winner Eddy — with teaching him.

It’s a lesson he thinks has been vital in preparing him for what he hopes will be a long career.

“It’s a really long road if you want to be a pro for the next 15 years — so sustainability across that time is so important,” he says.

Early promise

Since he started racing in 2010 as a teenager, Geoghegan Hart quickly garnered a reputation as one of British cycling’s brightest young talents.

He began racing abroad on trips led by John Barclay in 2011, before joining British Cycling’s Olympic Development Programme, attracting attention for victories abroad and podium places at races including Junior Paris-Roubaix and Junior Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

He signed for Axeon in 2014, supported by the Dave Rayner Fund, mixing racing in U23 races with the Great Britain national squad with pro races such as the Tour of California, USA Pro Challenge and Tour of Britain, scoring impressive overall results against far more seasoned riders.

“I just wanted to do everything, do every race. The last three years I just did every race I could because I knew that was how I was going to develop,” he says.

“I’m relatively sure there’s no other amateur going pro in the world that can say they’ve been lucky enough to have the programme I’ve had.

“Half my professional races [have been ranked] .HC, not like .1s in the middle of nowhere. Big races, with a lot of attention, live TV — those things don’t make a lot of difference but they’re just little things you get used to.”

Geoghegan Hart is hugely ambitious, aiming to compete in Grand Tours in the future as well as “big one day races — Liège, the Worlds, Lombardy”.

>>> Who are the Cycling Weekly experts backing to win the big races in 2017?

“I just always like scrapping for more,” he says of where his motivation comes from. “I’ve always enjoyed proving people wrong. More just proving to myself that I can do something.”

The pressure that came from having success as a teenager, however, was hard, he says, particularly under the media spotlight, and he credits his family and school life with keeping him grounded.

“I actually feel really sad when I see cyclists now who leave school,” he says.

“I had all those friends at school and I was just a person to them. They didn’t know anything about cycling — I could win a massive race and come into the class Monday morning and the teacher would still shout at me for drawing all over my book or not listening.”

Geoghegan Hart is one of five British riders stepping up to the WorldTour this season, something he doesn’t take for granted, and it’s clear how much respect he has for the history of the sport and generations of British cyclists that have gone before him.

“Sometimes young riders now don’t appreciate how good they have it,” he says.

>>> How they used to train: Eddy Merckx’s pre-1969 Tour de France week

“Imagine what it was like for Charly Wegelius when he turned pro on his own in Italy on a team where no one spoke much English — how different it is now.”

Tao Geoghegan Hart has signed with Team Sky for the 2017 season, making the switch from the Continental ranks.

The 21-year-old has already appeared in Team Sky colours as a stagiaire, racing both the Giro del Piemonte and Japan Cup in 2015.

Moving up two levels from Continental team Axeon Hagens Berman to the WorldTour is a huge leap, but the present U23 national road race champion will be buoyed by a strong showing in the 2016 season.

"It's super exciting for me", said the rider. "This season was about getting another year stronger, becoming more consistent, and developing as a rider and as a person, before making the big step up from a Continental team to a WorldTour team."

He reiterated just how excited he was about the move, adding: "I’m 21 now, so I think this is the ideal time to be stepping up into a big team. I’m super, super excited."

As a 14-year-old Geoghegan Hart attended Team Sky's launch event, and has been on their radar almost as long.

“We’ve been following Tao for a long time now and obviously had him with us as a stagiaire at the end of last year," said Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford.

"He’s continued to show real progress this season and we’re delighted he’ll be taking the next steps in his career with Team Sky.

“Tao is another exciting addition to the group of young, talented British riders we have at Team Sky.”

Tao Geoghegan Hart came out on top of a three-up sprint to win the Trofeo Piva in Italy on Sunday and dedicated the victory to his Axeon Hagens Berman manager's grandfather.

The Brit, who turned 21 on Wednesday, outsprinted Patrick Müller (BMC Development Team) and Marco Tecchio (Unieuro-Willier Trevigiani) at the end of the 179.8km race.

And after the race he paid tribute to manager Axel Merckx's grandfather Lucien Acou, the coach of Axel's father Eddy for many years, who died in February.

"It was a bit of a longer sprint, which was good for me," he said. "I was very patient and when I was coming past Müller, he realized it was not going to happen.

"It has been a while since I have won a bike race and it is definitely a good feeling. It may not be the biggest bike race in the world. But it is nice to dedicate this win to Axel Merckx's granddad, Lucien Acou, who passed away last month. He was a big influence on Eddy and Axel's career. Like Axel said to us at the training camp at the start of the year, we are all a little bit of "Baby Merckxs" ourselves, if that is possible."

Former Team Sky stagiaire Tao Geoghegan Hart is among the 27 riders who will receive backing from the Dave Rayner Fund in 2016.

The 20-year-old Londoner receives funding for his third year as he returns to race for Axeon Hagens Berman for the 2016 season, with eyes on gaining another shot at the WorldTour from August.

In total, 26 male riders are being funded, with Jessie Walker the only female rider on the list. Walker rides in Italy for Team Servetto Footon, who she joined midway through the 2015 season.

Jacob Scott and Daniel Stewart gain funding for the season, in which they will both ride for the Sean Kelly An Post Chain Reaction team.

Five of the riders will head to Italy to race this season, while 11 will be based in Belgium, four in France and four in the USA.

Riders supported by the Dave Rayner Fund in 2016

Scott Auld, Jack Billyard, Tom Bracegirdle, Alex Braybrooke, Christopher Dredge, Callum Ferguson, Dan Gardner, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Leon Gledhill, Duncan Heywood, Robert Hogg, Taylor Johnstone, Andrew Leigh, Adam Lewis, Leon Mazzone, Peter Merritt, Louis Modell, Oliver Moors, Matthew Nowell, Kieran Savage, Jacob Scott, James Shaw, Max Spedding, Daniel Stewart, Matthew Teggart, Jessie Walker, Jesse Yates

Team Sky today announced the signing of British youngsters Alex Peters and Tao Geoghegan Hart as stagiaires for the rest of the 2015 season.

Peters, 21, will make his debut for the team in this Sunday's RideLondon-Surrey Classic after a strong season at the SEG Racing Academy, which has seen him finish second overall at the Tour of Normandy and win a stage at the Tour de Bretagne.

Geoghegan Hart, 20, joins after two years riding for Axeon Cycling, finishing third at this year's U23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege and 15th overall at the 2014 Tour of Britain.

Team Sky's head of performance operations, Rod Ellingworth, said: "We’ve been watching Alex and Tao progress over the last few years and they’re both showing real promise. It’s a big step in their developing careers and we’re happy that they are taking that step with us."

As stagiaires, Peters and Geoghegan Hart will be trainees for Team Sky, starting their apprenticeships with the team on August 1. Peters will then sign a two-year contract with the team at the start of the 2016 season.

Peters said: "When I found out that Sir Dave Brailsford and the Team Sky staff were following my career, it made me extremely proud and motivated. I want to succeed as GC rider in the future and I feel Sky is the best platform for me to listen, learn and develop. Signing for Team Sky is a dream come true and I can’t wait to start."

Check out the inside of Team Sky's mechanics truck

Tao Geoghegan Hart is one of 31 riders who is to be awarded grants by the Dave Rayner Fund for 2015.

The Fund that enables under-23 cyclists to live, train and compete away from the UK racing scene today announced the list of riders who they will support over the impending season and there are 26 male recipients of funding and five female.

The stand-out name is Geoghegan Hart who came 15th in the Friends Life Tour of Britain last year and tenth in the Tour de l’Avenir. It is the second successive year that the Hackney-born rider, this year riding for Axel Merckx’s Axeon Cycling Team in the USA, will receive funding.

Six other of this year’s riders were also funded last year: Joe Kirkham, Andy Leigh, Adam Lewis, Eoin McCarthy, Alistair Slater and Dan Whelan.

>>>Dave Rayner Fund celebrates 20 years at annual charity dinner

The Fund will be hoping for an omen with James Shaw heading to Belgium to ride for Lotto-Soudal U23 (previously Lotto-Belisol U23), the same team that previously-funded rider Dan McLay rode for before he was signed by pro-continental outfit Bretagne-Seche in the off-season.

Belgian team Matrix ProCycling has signed Molly Weaver, Jessie Walker, Penny Rowson, Harriet Owen and Melissa Lowther and all will receive funding.

The 31 riders receiving funding from the Dave Rayner Fund in 2015 are:

Scott Auld

Tom Bracegirdle

Christopher Dredge

Callum Ferguson

Dan Gardner

Tao Geoghegan Hart

Duncan Heywood

Owen James

Taylor Johnstone

Joe Kirkham

Andy Leigh

Adam Lewis

Melissa Lowther

Leon Mazzone

Eoin McCarthy

Matthew Novell

Harriet Owen

Ricky Parsons

Dan Pearson

Penny Rowson

Jack Sadler

Jacob Scott

James Shaw

Alistair Slater

Daniel Stewart

Matthew Teggart

Julian Varley

Jessie Walker

Molly Weaver

Dan Whelan

Jake Womersley

More details of the organisation can be found on the Dave Rayner Fund website.

In case you missed it the first time, here's another view of Tao Geoghegen Hart completely messing up a corner as he attacks out of the bunch on stage seven of the Tour of Britain.

Geoghegen Hart later apologised for his actions on social media having been caught on camera by both the broadcasters and by the fans standing by the barrier he collided with.

The 19 year-old was riding for GB at the Tour of Britain and finished in fifteenth place overall in his first appearance at the event.

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A fan at the Tour of Britain captured Tao Geoghegan Hart's dramatic crash in to the barriers in Brighton yesterday.

Geoghegan Hart had sprinted to the front of the yellow jersey group just before the bend and went in to it with too much speed. Slamming his brakes on he went over the bars as he hit, and broke, the barrier.

Thankfully both Geoghegan Hart and the spectator he knocked over were soon both up on their feet . He later apologised on Twitter.

Geoghegan Hart, one of three 19-year-olds in the race, had stayed with the lead group over the climbs of Ditchling Beacon and Bear road at the end of the longest stage, cementing his impressive top 20 position on GC.

He was given the same finishing time as Michal Kwiatkowski who sprinted for fourth place two move back in to second place, 19 seconds behind Dylan van Baarle (Garmin) who took the yellow jersey.

Great Britain's Tao Geoghegan Hart placed third in the Under-23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège today in Alleur, Belgium. Frenchman Anthony Turgis won and Belgian Dylan Teuns took second place.

The race covered 181.5 kilometres on many of the same roads that riders like Sky's Chris Froome will race next Sunday in the professional version. Instead of starting and finishing in Liège, the Under 23's race began in Bastogne and traveled north to Alleur. The professionals end their race five kilometres to the south in Ans.

Geoghegan Hart became only the second Brit in the races's 29-year history to step onto the podium. He matched the result by Charly Wegelius in 1999.

The 19-year-old of team Bissell placed 15th in the Tour of Flanders last weekend. The results add to his third place in Paris-Roubaix and overall wins in the Tour of Istria and GC Giro della Lunigiana last year.