It’s not long until we have the first slew of articles listing which riders are looking for a contract at the end of the season. According to Pro Cycling Stats, as many as 238 WorldTour riders are in need of signing new deals. One of those names is Tao Geoghegan Hart. In a parallel universe, one that wasn’t marred by a long recovery from a broken hip and femur, things would be much different – Geoghegan Hart would be coming good on Lidl-Trek’s plan of him being their main GC rider. He may already have come good.
But we don’t live in alternative worlds; we live in reality. And for various reasons the 2020 Giro d’Italia winner Geoghegan Hart has (not yet) fulfilled what was hoped and expected of him at Lidl-Trek, and Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso have instead stepped in to fill the shoes originally earmarked for Geoghegan Hart. There’s still time to turn things around at Lidl – a whole season ahead of him that may include the Giro d’Italia and/or Vuelta a España – but increasingly it feels like the Londoner will be writing his next chapter elsewhere.
Things can only get better – “It’s not really a high bar to clear,” he says – and figuring out how to next make his mark in the sport is what is currently preoccupying Geoghegan Hart. “In my head I feel like I am 26 or something, but I’m not,” the 30-year-old says. “It’s nice to see what happens and what opportunities you have, and it's interesting to find your place.”
That place, he appears to hint, is probably as a super domestique, a role he thrived in during his seven years with Ineos Grenadiers, where he was also afforded his own chances, claiming nine victories, including most memorably the 2020 maglia rosa. “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 says.
Winning the pink jersey of the Giro d'Italia remains the Londoner's career highlight. Image: Zac Williams/SWPix.com.
“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.”
Lidl-Trek boss, Luca Guercilena, told Rouleur last autumn that he too viewed Geoghegan Hart’s future as a support rider. “Tao is coming from a very difficult period, and we need to have him back on his best level. If he can do that, he can be very useful for the team,” Guercilena said. “He has the experience and knows how to win a Grand Tour. After two hard seasons, it’s complicated to immediately get back to a top level, but his experience can be very useful to all the guys to move forward and turn the team in the direction of being better prepared for GCs.”
The most pressing matter for Geoghegan Hart is not sorting his future out for 2027 and beyond; it’s getting back to a performance level that he last had when he crashed out of the 2023 Giro in third place. “The more important thing is to feel really good, and have good form and condition,” he says. “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.
Lidl-Trek have yet to see the best of Geoghegan Hart, but a strong winter has given him optimism for the 2026 season. Image: Zac Williams/SWPix.com.
“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. People use the word ‘100%’, but I don’t think there are many athletes who have more than a few days a year when they’re 100%.”
Geoghegan Hart raced and completed the 2024 Vuelta, but didn’t ride any Grand Tour last year, as illnesses and injuries held him back. But the Briton is not dismayed by almost three years of frustration, and his best winter’s training since 2023 gives him optimism that there might, finally, be light at the end of a long tunnel.
“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,” he says. “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.
