In 2023, he had another chance to win the Giro, but two years Later, Tao Geoghegan Hart doesn’t even have a cycling program

It has been a while now, but we should not forget Tao Geoghegan Hart's victory in a grand tour. The rider from Lidl-Trek won the Giro d'Italia in 2020 but could not repeat it. A new team was supposed to create change, but crashes and performance pressure made 2024 another disappointing year for the 29-year-old climber. That is why he is doing things differently in this new season. He told IDLProCycling.com and others what 2025 will bring for him.

Various riders have already outlined a complete race calendar, but that is not the case for Geoghegan Hart. "Honestly, I can't say anything about it yet," he explained. "I want to focus on the first period; that's my big goal. It's silly to look beyond that and think about big goals. I tried that last year. We talked about the tour before I got on the bike last winter. That was super inspiring then, but now it feels more logical to focus on how to get back to my best and put the 2023 leg fracture behind me."

During that year's Giro, the 29-year-old rider, then with INEOS Grenadiers, was enjoying a great round. But a hard crash and subsequent leg fracture changed everything. "I was sure I could fight for the GC in that grand tour. That's why I started this sport. So the goal is to return in the grand tours, but there will be other steps."

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With a complicated leg fracture, Hart dropped out of the 2023 Giro, something he suffered from for a long time.

Previous bad luck no longer worries Geoghegan Hart: "That book must be closed"

That means he doesn't want to look beyond his first race, the Tour of the Algarve on February 19, on principle. That way, he wants to recover from the bad luck of recent years. Last year was also one full of bad luck: for example, he got a corona just before the Tour de France and crashed hard in the Tour of Burgos, so the focus in the Vuelta a España was finishing it. "I felt reasonable last year, but there wasn't a single day I felt like I did the year before. That was difficult."

The last two years have been the most difficult of his career. But it offers Geoghegan Hart a new perspective. He no longer wants to look to the past and think what could have been done differently but is committed to living in the moment. "I'm more focused on the here and now. I'm not spending a second on what I've done in the last five years: there comes a time when the book must be closed, and the focus shifts to the present."

Living in the moment that's the motto. But the Lidl-Trek leader cannot resist looking ahead to the Giro, a race he likes. "It's a beautiful route. It's a pity they are only bringing it up now, though many riders will have already decided. It is a traditional Giro with a big final week where the race is turned upside down. It's not too difficult, but not too easy either, and that makes racing better."

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 Last year's Vuelta was not what Hart had hoped for due to a crash in the Tour of Burgos

Does cycling need to change? "The story of the sport needs to be more distinct"

The Scottish rider who was born in London doesn't often sugarcoat his words. He knows what he thinks and then says it. This is how he sees the sport of cycling developing, but according to him, they need to do more to get into the spotlight. "The story of the sport must become distinct and easier to follow. The scene in the sports market is busier than ever, and with new competition from E-Sports and gaming, which attracts young fans, I think cycling needs to make more of an impact on young fans."

So, should the sport reinvent itself? Not at all, says Geoghegan Hart. "It doesn't mean changing the sport's fundamentals, but simplifying the calendar would already help a lot. I think casual fans would already be more interested if the year had more rhythm. He looks to tennis for inspiration but knows that model is not entirely applicable. 'There are only four Grand Slams in the year. In cycling, that's not realistic because there are so many different beautiful races. Besides, the diversity of winners would drop even further, and the sport needs the fairy tales. That inspires."

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