"You want to be at the big races and have a shot" - Tao Geoghegan Hart opens up on departure from the INEOS Grenadiers
CyclingSaturday, 04 November 2023 at 00:35
With Tao Geoghegan Hart's near decade-long spell at the INEOS Grenadiers coming to a close, the 28-year-old, former Giro d'Italia winner has opened up on the move and why Lidl-Trek was the right choice for his next step.
“It felt like a moment to try,” said Geoghegan Hart of his transfer in an open and honest interview with British newspaper, The Times. “I was quite open with INEOS and I think they understood… cycling is getting more and more competitive every year. You want to be at the big races and have a shot. I don’t think I would ever regret not doing something results-wise but I think not giving it a go is what you would regret.”
Despite having three Vuelta a Espana's and three Giro d'Italia's in his legs, only once before has Geoghegan Hart been at the startline of the Tour de France. That was back in 2021 and it's fair to say things didn't go to plan. Describing his Tour de France debut as 'far from ideal', the Brit was almost immediately ruled out of GC contention by a crash on the opening stage.
“Those are the things you want to change," Geoghegan Hart continues, referencing the fact that this year, he will hopefully get the chance to challenge for the Maillot Jaune with Lidl-Trek. “There is a big push towards the Tour. That is exciting, it’s really motivating. Cycling at this level is finite. I’ve been a professional for 10 years and it’s flown by. And I definitely don’t have another ten years ahead of me. It’s all about getting back to the level I was in May and doing the most with what I can.”
At the 2023 Giro d'Italia, Geoghegan Hart was given co-leadership of the INEOS Grenadiers alongside eventual runner-up Geraint Thomas. Things could have been so much different though had the younger of the two Brit's managed to avoid his race-ending crash.
“It felt like the race hadn’t really begun and I was holding back,” Geoghegan Hart reflects. “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.”
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Yes, thank you Maria. He has a fractured skull but no pain or sequels and there should be no consequences after the small bump deflates. If anything, he is more likely to get something from the radiation he received when they “investigated” for abuse, CT scan, MRI, a dozen x-rays and he will have to have a follow up scan too. But as said, all due to childbirth, if we hadn’t noticed or worried and not taken him to emergencies, he’d have had no tests at all and instead of one to check the fracture wasn’t serious he got far more :-(Mistermaumau24-11-2024
- Obviously there is the question of enormous willpower but some injuries are extremely specific. A torn meniscus for example can function pretty well during cycling whilst making it close to impossible to go up or down stairs or walk normally.Mistermaumau24-11-2024
- First of all, I hope now all is ok with your baby!. Yeah, about to not accept foreign phone number is a big problem also for me. I have economic interests in 2 countries, I think that all can be ok with my Italian number... but NO! The world is globalized but not for bureaucracies.
maria2024202424-11-2024 - First of all, calm, this is a site to share point of views, doubts, intuitions about cycling. Let's think about it: if someone tells you that he is very tired but is going to run unimportant races immediately, ignoring a world championship much further away in time that would give him the opportunity to rest, there is something very contradictory. Maybe it is fair, but as a simple spectator I (and many others) do not understand it, it does not make sense.maria2024202424-11-2024
- I think the other side has said plenty, given comments about her reputation like what Renz said above. Perhaps this is her chance to speak up against that reputation? I have no idea but her comments seem pretty human, even if each person has their own version of the story.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Give her a team built around her with no competing leaders, like Pogacar has at UAE or Vingegaard has at Visma (seeing how Roglic left), and I wonder how Vollering would do. She’s already so good, and a team dedicated to her could make her even better.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Those injuries, an ability to manage pain and push himself, probably a load of TUEs to help him get back from an awful moment, and competing that hard without the long exercise base that was the norm - no wonder he was exhausted. We’ve now had two consecutive seasons of the second place rider having an injury that interrupts training, and it shows to what level their bodies are tuned for the insane task of winning the Tour. I certainly hope both (and their teams!) are healthy next year. It would be a first, after 4 years.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Winners seem to be like this. Win or lose, it is always on to the next thing. They don’t celebrate the big win, they don’t worry about the painful loss. They move on. It’s an amazing skill. But to be able to ride (and win) while not being able to walk? That’s a level of pain management that boggles my mind. Of course they have it, given what they put their bodies through, but it’s just crazy.RidesHills24-11-2024
- Poor Demi. But she behaves the same way when riding for the national team. Bring me my tiny violin.Renz24-11-2024
- good pointsmij24-11-2024