THE BIG INTERVIEW

TAO GEOGHEGAN HART 

Tao Geoghegan Hart is the Giro d’Italia winner no one expected last autumn. He wants to use his ever growing platform to revolutionise Britain’s cycling scene. Procycling speaks to the proud Londoner to find out how

Writer Sophie Hurcom Portrait photography Ross Cooke

Typically, in the weeks and months after a rider wins their first grand tour, they’ll be revelling in the celebrations that come with their newfound fame, making the most of the press, media exposure and opportunities. It’s understandable: winning a grand tour is one of the hardest feats in cycling, and only 12 riders in the current peloton have ever done it. All at the same time as sorting a race programme for the next year.

But Tao Geoghegan Hart, in the two and a half months since he won the Giro d’Italia in October, has been thinking less about what he’s going to do next on the road and more about something a bit different: how to revolutionise the cycling scene in the UK, to encourage more young people to take up the sport.

“I think cycling, and within that cycling in the UK, has a big problem,” he tells Procycling. We’ve been speaking about the Giro victory, how he won pink and how his life and outlook has -or rather, hasn’t -changed since. (When I ask if it’s sunk in yet that he’s a Giro d’Italia winner, he replies: “It’s one of those things, really.”)

Yet this is the subject that clearly matters most, and he talks about it at length.

“It’s a difficult sport to access,” he says. “It’s not available to everyone and it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently and still developing how I’m going to work out the way I’m going to try and be a protagonist, and lower those barriers to entry, if you want to put it really economically and unromantically.

“For me, I think it’s a big thing to focus on British cycling with a small c, and I think there are some small changes that can be made by British Cycling with a big C that can completely change the sport for everyone in the UK, for bringing more people in, especially at a young age, that will no doubt be cyclists and fans of the sport and racers and participants for the rest of their lives.

“Without wanting to put too much on the table I would love to see a big event back in London. A real event that resonates with the public and young people especially. That’s something I’m working on at the moment.”

It’s refreshing to hear a rider, and one still so early in his career, talking so passionately about a cause beyond their own performances. In a world dominated by soundbites, clickbait and tweets, riders today are trained to smooth out any rough edges. To have an opinion or speak loudly opens you up to controversy and for most, it’s not worth the hassle. Usually, athletes gain this kind of confidence with success; confidence to speak out more or the confidence to not care as much for the consequences if they do. But in the case of Geoghegan Hart, his success at the Giro doesn’t appear to have been the trigger. His ability to cut through has always made him unique.