Major London cycle route named after Tao Geoghegan Hart

A major cycle lane in London is to be renamed after local star and Giro d’Italia victor Tao Geoghegan Hart.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider won the Italian Grand Tour in October in thrilling fashion, starting the race as Geraint Thomas’ key domestique and ending it by claiming the pink jersey on the final stage.

Now, the 25-year-old’s name will be used in reference to the Cycle Superhighway 1, a 14.5 mile route that starts in Tottenham and terminates at Liverpool Street.

Transport for London say that the route takes riders on dedicated paths and quiet roads. But some users on Twitter questioned the statement, including @hackneycyclist.

Geoghegan Hart was born and raised in the borough of Hackney, and the CS1 highway passes directly through his hometown. It will now be called ‘Tao’s place’.

The name change is part of a ‘Name Our Lanes’ initiative which will see the capital’s nine major cycleways being renamed.

The member of public who nominated the Londoner said: “I’ve named this route after Tao Geoghegan Hart to represent him in his home town where he grew up after he just won the Giro d’Italia.

“I thought it was quite poignant that the first cycle route is not far from where he grew up.”

The CS2 highway will be renamed after trailblazer Beryl Burton, who remains one of the country’s greatest ever female cyclists. Known as Beryl Burton Way, the route takes riders to the Olympic Park in Stratford.

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Burton never competed in the Olympics because female cyclists weren’t permitted to until 1984. She was twice road race and five times individual pursuit world champion.

In south London, Maurice Burton will take the name of CS7. The Londoner was Britain’s first ever black cycling champion, but he was perpetually frustrated by racial prejudice.

He was an established and successful figure in the Six Day scene during the 1970s and 1980s. His son Germaine, the same age as Geoghegan Hart, was a former member of the British Cycling Academy U23 team.