Tao Geoghegan Hart will return from an arduous rehabilitation period in 2024 with Lidl-Trek, with the Tour de France and a return to top form at the forefront of his goals.
The Brit detailed the return from his horrific injury sustained at the last Giro d’Italia in an interview with The Times, where he felt he ‘didn’t get to show what was in the tank’ after crashing out on stage 11 and suffering a complex fracture to his left leg.
Geoghegan Hart, a former Giro d’Italia winner, had been rising to career-best form before he abandoned, starting the stage that would end his season in third overall, just two seconds behind eventual-winner Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) and five seconds back on his Ineos Grenadiers teammate Geraint Thomas.
“It felt like the race hadn’t really begun and I was holding back,” Geoghegan told The Times. “It was what we’d spoken about since January: the only thing that was going to matter was the last three stages and that it would flip on its head, which transpired. That’s probably the only regret I have. I just didn’t feel like I’d really shown what was in the tank.”
He went into surgery on the night of his crash, staying at the Villa Scassi hospital in Genoa for 12 days where a shifting broken bone and internal bleeding compounded the gruelling experience of his injury. Geoghegan Hart also watched Thomas come agonisingly close to the maglia rosa, only to see it slip away on the penultimate stage at the hands of Roglič.
The Brit then spent nine weeks at a specialist sports rehabilitation centre in the Netherlands at Fysiomed Amsterdam to fast-track his rehabilitation, with the end of his seven consecutive years at Ineos Grenadiers announced midway through. It was an arduous recovery to regain range of motion in his knee, ankle and foot, in addition to the healing of his left femur and muscles in the quad and hip areas. It was five months before he could jump back on a bike with full range of motion.
Geoghegan Hart was linked to the US-based WorldTour team in June before his three-year deal was announced in August. His escape from any hierarchical squabbling at Ineos Grenadiers will likely lead to guaranteed Grand Tour leadership at Lidl-Trek, should he return to his pre-Giro form.
“It felt like a moment to try,” said Geoghegan Hart of his transfer. “I was quite open with Ineos and I think they understood… cycling is getting more and more competitive every year. You want to be at the big races and have a shot. I don’t think I would ever regret not doing something results-wise but I think not giving it a go is what you would regret.”
Lidl-Trek didn’t challenge the overall GC at this year’s Tour de France, instead succeeding with a stage win through Mads Pedersen and the King of the Mountains classification with Giulio Ciccone.
Geoghegan Hart would give them a real option to immediately challenge for the top 10, or even the podium, should he be anywhere close to his early 2023 form. The early season saw him end a three-year win drought with his first victory since the 2020 Giro and a second GC win at a stage race at the Tour of the Alps.
He described his debut at the Tour in 2021 as ‘far from ideal’ after involvement in the infamous spectator-caused crash on stage 1 of the race ruined any chances of fighting for the overall lead.
“Those are the things you want to change,” said Geoghegan Hart, who should have a chance to rectify his frustrating debut once the race kicks off in Florence next June.
“There is a big push towards the Tour. That is exciting, it’s really motivating.”
However, the Londoner knows he’ll have to continue the hard graft that saw him off the bike for close to four months this summer, with the peak years of his career, in theory, approaching as he’s still just 28.
“Cycling at this level is finite. I’ve been a professional for 10 years and it’s flown by. And I definitely don’t have another ten years ahead of me. It’s all about getting back to the level I was in May and doing the most with what I can.”
