Tao Geoghegan Hart adapting to steep learning curve in debut Grand Tour
The Briton heads into the unknown with his first three-week race, but is taking notes from the more experienced riders in his team

Tao Geoghegan Hart with his Team Sky team-mates at the 2018 Vuelta a España (Sunada)

Tao Geoghegan Hart is taking notes in the Vuelta a España, his first Grand Tour, and learning lessons for the future.
Team Sky's 23-year-old is riding deep into the second week of the Spanish Grand Tour, further than he has ever raced before.
"It's my first time racing more than nine days consecutively and the first time doing stuff like a rest day, and the overall workload obviously," Geoghegan Hart told Cycling Weekly. "I'm seeing how I respond.
>>> ‘The dynamic of the race feels different’: Is this Vuelta the most open Grand Tour in years?
"I have to say so far I'm not super happy with my level of performance, but I've been feeling better day by day. I think the heat was a problem for me at the start. I knew about it, but maybe I didn't prioritise it enough and didn't quite expect it to be so extreme. That's a big lesson for the future definitely."
Unfortunately, a crash also affected the Londoner in his first Grand Tour. He fell with team leader Michal Kwiatkowski on stage seven but could continue.
Now, he is heading into the unknown having only raced a maximum of nine days previously. It is a step ahead for him and Pavel Sivakov, both making their debut and testing the waters over three weeks.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"Just staying on top of the small things and not letting them become monotonous, and not taking you eye off the ball, fuelling is probably the big thing, hydration," he continued.
"And then just getting enough sleep and especially here in the Vuelta, it's quite difficult. It's almost like going to a different time zone with later nights and sometimes later mornings, but not always.
"I'm not most flexible with my sleeping patters. They stay rigid especially if I interrupt them a day or two. It's about adapting to those things and taking note of them for the future."
He has made several small steps towards the Vuelta ride. Last year, he was on the long list and missed out when Sky took a super squad to support Chris Froome, who eventually won. This year, he supported Geraint Thomas to his win in the Critérium du Dauphiné and turned heads doing so.
Team boss David Brailsford selected a young team with Geoghegan Hart for the 2018 Vuelta a España. It's an ideal low-key entry into a Grand tour, even if the team is supporting bigger names like Michal Kwiatkowski and David de la Cruz. The team already needed to defend Kwiatkowski in the first week when he had the leader's jersey for three days.
"Definitely," he said when asked if he is learning from the bigger names in the team. "We have a nice squad here and we always race with a great depth with a lot of experience and a lot of strong guys, good leaders.
"I'm looking forward to this block, seeing what the time trial holds and the next stages. I'm looking forward to racing in Andorra as I know those roads well.
Sky has kept a close eye on him. Many tip Geoghegan Hart as Great Britain's future Grand Tour star. He hopes his future is in the three-week races, too.
"I hope so. That's the direction I see myself going," he said. "I've always been pretty good with races as they get longer. So we will see how it goes."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
Can anyone stop Primož Roglič or Juan Ayuso from winning the Giro d’Italia?
Roglič and Ayuso's form suggest they are the two outright favourites for overall victory in Rome next month
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
How to watch Dwars door Vlaanderen 2025: Everything you need to live stream the cobbled Belgian Classic
All the information on broadcasters and live streams for Dwars door Vlaanderen on 2 April, as Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Marianne Vos and Lotte Kopecky take on the cobbles.
By Tom Davidson Last updated
-
'An unprecedented opportunity for brands to be part of the evolution' - Ineos Grenadiers sponsor hunt steps up with sales agency partnership
Sportfive have been employed to find "non-endemic global partners for the team"
By Adam Becket Published
-
'We've all got a little bit extra in us this year' - Ineos Grenadiers recapture 'fighting spirit' with aggressive Paris-Nice display
British team continue to put tumultuous 2024 behind them with momentum and a new found mentality
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Could a TotalEnergies deal be the end of Ineos Grenadiers as we know them?
Reports suggested this week that Ineos could be close to signing a deal with the French petrochemical firm
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'They’re racing with their hearts again' - Robbie McEwen on Ineos Grenadiers' bright start to 2025
The British squad have already won four times in 2025
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers are entertaining so far this year, but how long will it last?
The British WorldTour squad have won four times already in 2025, but more than that, they have been fun. Is this the new dawn?
By Adam Becket Published
-
Caleb Ewan says he was put in a 'bad situation' by Jayco AlUla before he joined Ineos Grenadiers
Ewan joined Ineos Grenadiers in January after spending just one year with Jayco AlUla
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'There's no bull****, that's what I've always liked' - Geraint Thomas's first BC coach Rod Ellingworth on the retiring Welshman
The 2018 Tour de France winner will step away from professional cycling at the end of the season
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'It is time to change goals' - Egan Bernal's coach confirms Ineos Grenadiers exit
'I want to thank all the cyclists I have had the opportunity to coach over the past ten years' Xabier Artetxe says in LinkedIn post
By Tom Thewlis Published