Volta ao Algarve: Tao Geoghegan Hart matches favourites on first climbing test since comeback

Seventh on stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve might not jump out as a major result but for Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) the performance represented a victory of sorts after a long rehabilitation and comeback following his crash at last year’s Giro d’Italia.

That incident in May of 2023 left the British rider with a broken femur, among other injuries, and while Algarve was his first racing return since then, expectations were somewhat of an unknown coming into the race.

Read more: Volta ao Algarve: Tao Geoghegan Hart rides into the unknown on Lidl-Trek debut

On stage 1 the Lidl-Trek rider held his own, finishing safely in the bunch and avoiding the scattered crashes that held up several riders. Stage 2 to Alto da Fóia provided a different sort of test with a steep final climb through the mist and high winds.

For much of the run-in to the last ascent, Geoghegan Hart was present and accounted for, sitting just off the Soudal Quick-Step train that splintered the main peloton until only two dozen or so riders remained. Once the remnants of the lead group hit the final slopes and the Belgian team properly put the hammer down through James Knox and Mikel Landa it was time to see just where Geoghegan Hart’s form and fitness truly were.

Even when the front group was reduced to 10 riders Geoghegan Hart remained glued to Evenepoel and then Wout van Aert’s wheel. He wasn’t able to match Dani Martinez’s winning surge with around 300m to go, but the Lidl-Trek rider still managed to finish in the same time as another team leader, Tom Pidcock. Losing bonus seconds and nine more on the line is little matter in the grand scheme of things but being back in the peloton and competitive at this early stage will mean a huge amount for both the rider and his team, even if Geoghegan Hart himself was playing down the situation somewhat at the finish.

“Maybe I’m cross with myself a little bit because I hesitated with the first go, and I was there. Sometimes one or two wheels make such a difference because you’re left closing a metre here and there. I just missed a little bit in the final 500 to 200 metres to have the gas to really go but it was a really nice job by the team all day, and I was just really happy to make the final and be good until the last 500 metres,” he told GCN and Cyclingnews at the finish.

“I told you already back in December that there were no expectations or way to know. The training has been good, really good, and better than I expected but in terms of racing you never know how it’s going to transfer. Yesterday I could tell that I would be all right, and I was feeling good. Normally on a stage like that, the first day of the year, it’s hard but I’m happy and I’ll try and have a good rest of the week. I think that the TT will be hard for me, to be honest, but this was already a nice day and I’ll say a big thanks to the team later on and then move on.”

Read more: Serene expectations: Tao Geoghegan Hart’s new adventure at Lidl-Trek

Understandably, Geoghegan Hart continues to quell expectations and hype. It’s early days, and this is the Volta ao Algarve and not the Tour de France. Small steps must be taken with incremental improvements. There may well be minor setbacks at some point, and the season is long, but sports director Steven de Jongh was certainly pleased with what he and the rest of the team had seen.

“We are super happy,” he told GCN.

“Yesterday we were super happy because there were a lot of boxes to tick. It was his first time back in the bunch, riders were nervous with the wind and rain. There were crashes and he avoided it all. That was good for confidence. The team did a super job yesterday to keep him up there and the same today. He’s in seventh, and that’s a nice result. It’s his first race since his crash in the Giro and we’re super happy with how he’s performing in the Giro. It looks good and he’s on a good way."