.jpg) Geoghegan Hart at the2021 Tour de France | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Tao Geoghegan Hart |
| Born | (1995-03-30)30 March 1995 (age 30) Holloway, London,[1]England, United Kingdom |
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] |
| Weight | 67 kg (148 lb; 10 st 8 lb)[3] |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Lidl–Trek |
| Disciplines |
|
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climber[2] |
| Professional teams | |
| 2014–2016 | Bissell Development Team |
| → 2015 | Team Sky(stagiaire) |
| 2017–2023 | Team Sky[4][5][6] |
| 2024– | Lidl–Trek |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Tao Geoghegan Hart (/ˈteɪoʊˌɡeɪɡənˈhɑːrt/ ⓘTAY-ohGAY-gənHART;[7] born 30 March 1995) is a British cyclist who currently rides forUCI WorldTeamLidl–Trek.[8]He rode for Team Sky as astagiaire in late 2015,[9] and joined the team permanently for the 2017 season.
He was the winner of the2020 Giro d'Italia, taking the jersey following the final day time-trial and becoming the first winner in the history of the Giro never to wear themaglia rosa until he had won it outright. As such, he was the fifth British rider to win agrand tour (afterBradley Wiggins,Chris Froome,Geraint Thomas andSimon Yates), the second Briton to win the Giro (after Froome in 2018) and the youngest British rider to win a grand tour.[10]
Tao Geoghegan Hart was born inHolloway, London. The eldest of 4 siblings, he grew up in theLondon Fields neighbourhood ofHackney, attending Gayhurst primary school.[1][11]His family is of Scottish and Irish ancestry. He has described the name Tao as theIrish version of his father's forename Tom and his first surname Geoghegan as the Irish spelling of his father's surname Geoghan.[12][13] He played football until he was 12 and was a goalkeeper.[14] He was brought up as avegetarian. He also became a keen swimmer after starting secondary school atStoke Newington School; on 28 July 2008, when he was 13, he was part of a cross-Channel swimming relay with Clissold Swimming Club. The team of six completed the crossing in 11 hours 34 minutes.[15][16][14]
Geoghegan Hart learnt to ride a bike when he was five,[17] and first had aBMX cycle as a young boy. He has said he recalls being impressed when attending the2007 Tour de France prologue in London as a spectator.[18] He gained a serious interest in cycling after his father bought him a second-hand women'sSpecialized Dolce when he was 13.[14] He took part in theDunwich Dynamo cycle ride in the summer of 2008.[11] In 2009, Tao attended the launch ofTeam Sky, joining an amateur peloton riding behindBradley Wiggins andChris Froome.[19][18][14] He also took a Saturday job atCondor Cycles that year,[20] and was supported with bicycles, wheels, and kit by the London bicycle manufacturer.[21] He was also sponsored by London company Rapha as a young rider.[22]
Geoghegan Hart is currently in a relationship withLotte Wubben-Moy, a professional football player who, like Geoghegan Hart, also grew up in East London and also attended Stoke Newington School.[23]
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Geoghegan Hart started competitive racing at the national level in 2010 with the East London-based club Cycling Club Hackney. He joined the British Cycling under-16 development programme in 2011, followed by the Olympic Development Programme for under-18s.[11] He also competed internationally, and attracted attention for victories abroad and podium places at races including 3rd place at the 2013Paris–Roubaix Juniors.[24] He also took a clean sweep of mountains, points and general classification jerseys at the Giro Internazionale della Lunigiana in 2013.[2]
In 2014, Geoghegan Hart rode forAxel Merckx'sBissell Development Team. He finished third inLiège–Bastogne–Liège U23 and rode his first UCI 2. HC ranked race at theTour of California in May 2014 before completing a second at theTour of Britain in September when, riding for the Great Britain national team, he finished 15th overall.[2]
He was named in Scotland's Commonwealth Games teams for both Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018, but was unable to fit the competition into his race schedule on either occasion; he hoped to make the squad for Birmingham 2022 but was not selected.[13][20]
In 2015, he again finished third inLiège–Bastogne–Liège U23, eighth overall in theTour of the Gila, 13th overall in theTour of California and seventh overall in theUSA Pro Cycling Challenge, winning the best young rider classification.[25] He also rode as aStagiaire forTeam Sky in 2015, but opted to stay at Under-23 level for the 2016 season.[18]
In August 2016, Geoghegan Hart was confirmed as having signed forTeam Sky for the 2017 season.[26] In August 2018, he was named in the startlist for the2018 Vuelta a España.[27] In May 2019, he was named in the startlist for the2019 Giro d'Italia.[28]
On 18 October 2020, Geoghegan Hart won his first stage of a Grand Tour, taking stage 15 of theGiro d'Italia on the Alpine summit finish of thePiancavallo. Following in the steps of previous winnersMarco Pantani andMikel Landa, Geoghegan Hart rode away from the remaining peloton with theSunweb duo ofJai Hindley andWilco Kelderman, out-sprinting Kelderman at the line to take the stage win. The result also took Geoghegan Hart up to 4th in the General Classification of the race ahead of the second rest day.[29]On 24 October 2020, he won hissecond stage of the Giro d'Italia, taking 2nd overall on the same time as the leader, and on the final stage on the following day, he finished 13th in a time-trial in a time which won the Giro d'Italia.[30][31]In taking the jersey following the final day time-trial, he became the first rider in Giro history to win the overall title having never carried the pink jersey during the race itself.[10]
Geoghegan Hart had a few tough seasons after his Giro d'Italia win in 2020 having to deal with COVID and repeated infections afterwards.[32] He finished 60th on GC in the2021 Tour de France and notched only 19th in the2022 Vuelta a España.
He returned to form in early 2023 after winning the 4th stage of theVolta a la Comunitat Valenciana, his first win in over 2 years after the Giro victory.[33] He finished 3rd overall on GC, and continued on an upward trajectory by securing a 3rd place on GC in the2023 Tirreno–Adriatico in March 2023.[34] His good form continued in 2023 as he went on to win the opening stage of theTour of the Alps on 17 April and followed up by finishing first on stage 2 just a day later.[35][36] He finished the race first in GC on 21 April and claimed top spot in the points classification.[37]
Going into the2023 Giro d'Italia, Geoghegan Hart was designated as co-leader forIneos Grenadiers alongsideGeraint Thomas.[38] However, a fractured hip sustained in a crash on Stage 11 required surgery, forcing him to withdraw from the race and ultimately ruling him out for the remainder of the 2023 season.[39][40]
In August 2023, it was announced that Geoghegan Hart would leave INEOS Grenadiers, having signed a three-year contract withLidl–Trek.[41]
OverallGiro della Lunigiana
Points classification
Mountains classification
Overall Tour of Istria
Young rider classification
Road race
Young rider classification
Combativity award Stage 20Vuelta a España
OverallGiro d'ItaliaYoung rider classification OverallTour of the Alps Points classification
after Stage 1| Grand Tour general classification results | ||||||||
| Grand Tour | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | DNF | 1 | — | — | DNF | — |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | — | 60 | — | — | — |
| Vuelta a España | — | 62 | 20 | — | — | 19 | — | |
| Major stage race general classification results | ||||||||
| Race | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Paris–Nice | — | — | 32 | — | DNF | — | — | — |
| Tirreno–Adriatico | — | — | — | 30 | — | DNF | 3 | 29 |
 Volta a Catalunya | — | 53 | — | NH | — | — | — | — |
| Tour of the Basque Country | 90 | 68 | — | DNF | 29 | — | 43 | |
| Tour de Romandie | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | |
 Critérium du Dauphiné | — | 13 | — | — | 10 | 8 | — | DNF |
| Tour de Suisse | 14 | — | — | NH | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| NH | Not held |
| IP | In progress |
