Tao Geoghegan Hart: I want to be in the mix and I’m hungry for more
Comebacks are never easy, but in this exclusive interview, the Lidl-Trek leader describes the improvements he's made in the last 12 months
On Thursday, Tao Geoghegan Hart delivered a determined performance on the opening uphill finish at the Volta ao Algarve, just as he did twelve months ago.
Last year, the Brit finished seventh on the Alto da Fóia, and on the same climb in 2025, he secured eighth place.
The difference in results between those two rides means very little, although the field is deeper this time. However, the key narrative around Geoghegan Hart, as far as I was concerned when I spoke to him ahead of stage 4, was whether he feels better in himself as he continues to search for his best form.
Rewind twelve months, and the former Giro d’Italia was using the Volta ao Algarve as his comeback race following a career-threatening crash at the 2023 Giro. He was understandably cautious when setting goals and targets in public but emerged from the race with respectable results.
The rest of the year proved to be a stop-start campaign, with lousy luck sidelining him on two separate occasions; however, he returned and delivered a solid performance at the Vuelta a España before making his 2025 debut at the Figueira Champions Classic, where he secured a commendable 25th place.
“The legs are feeling good. It’s been a busy start with Figueira before, which was a really nice race, and the first time since 2017 that I’ve started the season with a one-day race, so I wasn’t too sure how that would be. I’m happy though, and glad that I did it,” he told us as we chatted at the start in Albufeira.