Team News: Tao Geoghegan Hart Re-Signs with Sky

Tao Geoghegan Hart re-sign’s with Team Sky after a 2018 season that culminated in his debut Grand Tour appearance at the Vuelta a Espana

Team News: Tao Geoghegan Hart Re-Signs with Sky

Tao Geoghegan Hart is aiming to build on an encouraging start to his pro career after signing a new two-year contract with Team Sky.

The young Brit has impressed during his first two seasons in the professional ranks, gaining valuable experience and demonstrating his ability in some of the biggest races on the calendar.

Geoghegan Hart’s 2018 season culminated in his debut Grand Tour appearance at the Vuelta a Espana, with the London-born rider keen to takes the lessons he’s learned into next year.

“I’ve gained more and more WorldTour experience and I’m starting to get closer to a few more significant results,” he said. “I’ve been chipping away on that front and I’ve also gained experience in different roles. I was fortunate enough to be road captain in a few races this year and then have a protected status in a few others. I’ve also been working for some of the bigger names in the team in other races so there’s been some nice variety in that sense. I’ve learned some big lessons but overall I’m happy with how it’s gone.”

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The 23 year old played a key part in a trio of successes this season, supporting Egan Bernal in victory at Colombia Oro y Paz and the Tour of California, in addition to Geraint Thomas’ Criterium du Dauphine win.

“Colombia came quite unexpected really,” he explained. “We chanced it with some aggressive tactics on the last day and because of the way the team was riding, and also Egan’s individual brilliance, it paid off.”

“That was a really nice way to start the year. The opposite end of the spectrum is the Dauphine, where we were definitely going in with the expectation of trying to win. To see G so dominant with the Tour coming up and to see how he rode was pretty special to be a part of. That was the biggest race that I’ve done in my career up until that point, so to come away with the win at the end after four big mountain stages was something I’ll remember for a long time.”
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As the team races into its 10th season on the road in 2019, Geoghegan Hart is clear on where he wants to progress as a rider.

He added: “Looking to improve in terms of Grand Tours is probably my biggest ambition. Then also on a more personal level I’m hoping to keep stepping forward in the week-long WorldTour level stage races. California was a really great race this year and I missed a podium on GC by a few seconds lost getting held up behind a crash on a sprint stage. If I can rectify small things like that next year it will lead to bigger and better results.

“I definitely want to try and target the Giro for 2019 and go there with everything I learned about Grand Tour racing at the Vuelta, but also the training and build-up to the race. Trying to get that right is key as it felt like I didn’t quite get as much from myself performance-wise as I’d hoped in Spain. It’s about continuing in the direction I’ve been going and to keep building forwards.”