Tao Geoghegan Hart signs for Team Sky on a one-year contract

The young British rider had already raced in Team Sky colours as a stagiaire, and will now join full time for the 2017 season

(Image credit: Watson)

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.”

Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Jack Elton-Walters hails from the Isle of Wight, and would be quick to tell anyone that it's his favourite place to ride. He has covered a varied range of topics for Cycling Weekly, producing articles focusing on tech, professional racing and cycling culture. He moved on to work for Cyclist Magazine in 2017 where he stayed for four years until going freelance. He now returns to Cycling Weekly from time-to-time to cover racing, review cycling gear and write longer features for print and online. He is not responsible for misspelled titles on box outs, and he lost the argument about using UK spellings