Tao Geoghegan Hart makes season debut at Tour du Var

Ineos Grenadiers have announced their lineup for the upcoming Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, with Giro d'Italia champion Tao Geoghegan Hart making his 2021 debut, alongside Rohan Dennis and vaunted neo-pro Tom Pidcock, who won the U23 Giro last season.

The trio, who will be joined by 2018 Tour winner Geraint Thomas after his season opener at the Étoile de Bèsseges, will start their season at the three-day stage race, which runs from February 19-21, and features a summit finish in Gourdon on the opening stage.

Pavel Sivakov will also form part of the British squad's seven-man team in France, with Jhonatan Narváez and Dylan Van Baarle completing the powerful lineup. All three men will be making their 2021 debuts, while Thomas finished 49th at Bèsseges, his first race since crashing out of the 2020 Giro on stage 4.

The race marks the first step on the way to Geoghegan Hart's Tour de France debut this summer. He'll be joined by Thomas in July, while 2019 Tour winner Egan Bernal, who took third at the Tour de la Provence last week, is targeting the Giro d'Italia in May.

The three-day Tour du Var kicks off Friday with a 186-kilometre stage from Biot to Gourdon, which takes in three second-category climbs. A hilly 177km day around Fayence awaits on stage 2, while the final day is another tough one, with three first-category climbs on the 135km stage in Blausasc.

Cyclingnews will have full coverage of the race, including live reporting, news and interviews, as well as a guide on how to watch the race in full via television and live stream.