Tao Geoghegan Hart headed home to Andorra as the winner of the 2023 Tour of the Alps, happy with overall victory, his form and the dominance of his Ineos Grenadiers teammates, with morale high as the days count down to the Giro d’Italia.
In two weeks, the Londoner will be on the Adriatic coast for the Grande Partenza, the opening 19.6km seafront time trial and three weeks of intense racing.
He will start the Giro alongside team leader Geraint Thomas but knows that his chance could come just as it did in 2020 when Thomas crashed out early and Geoghegan Hart emerged in the final mountain stages to snatch the maglia rosa in the Milan time trial from Jai Hindley.
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Now older and wiser, Geoghegan Hart has overcome two years of illness and injury thanks to working with new coach Dajo Sanders. He has trained less and recovered more, building more consistency and self-belief.
“It’s very satisfying to win a race like the Tour of the Alps and especially in a controlled manner without real moments of difficulty, stress or issues,” he explained in Brunico before heading to Munich for a flight home on Saturday morning.
“To come out of it feeling well and healthy is the biggest boost you can have. It’s nice to win a race without going too deep. My one reservation was if it’d be hard to recover after five tough days but providing everything is fine in the next 72 hours, it’s a great feeling to have.”
While teammate Geraint Thomas still has some work to do and some weight to lose, and Remco Evenepoel and other rivals will race Liège-Bastogne-Liège or the Tour de Romandie, Geoghegan Hart can rest up, watch La Doyenne from the sofa and prepare mentally and physically for the Giro.
His contract with Ineos Grenadiers ends this year and the Giro will arguably shape the next phase of his career. Geoghegan Hart senses the importance of the moment but whatever the outcome in Italy, he is unlikely to change as a person. He’ll be as ambitious but as modest as ever.
“I don’t believe in proving points to people, those who know me know that I believe that things come back around in a circular way. That’s personally how I like to live this sport,” he explained.
“In cycling you savour the moment and never look back,” he added.
“The Giro is a very different race, with a big first nine days and then a huge final week, with three stages with over 5,000 metres of climbing. I think it’s important to go into the race fresh.
“From tomorrow we look to the next races and the rest of the season. I’ll go home on Saturday and recover. I’ll listen to my body, do a few training sessions and stay healthy. I’m pleased with this week, but we go forward step by step.”
Geoghegan Hart acknowledges that Evenepoel and Roglic are the logical favourites for the Giro d’Italia but Ineos Grenadiers will start the three weeks of racing with confidence.
“Ineos Grenadiers turn up to races to win, that’s expected of a big team,” he said.
“We take good things from this race and then we start another story and the next goals. The Giro is a very different goal. We’ll take it in our stride and look forward to what the road ahead holds.”
