'It's hard to win in cycling' - Tao Geoghegan Hart celebrates first stage win since Giro d'Italia triumph in Valencia

ByAlasdair Mackenzie

Published 04/02/2023 at 21:00 GMT

Tao Geoghegan Hart claimed victory at Stage 4 of the Vuelta a Valencia to record his first win in almost three years. The INEOS Grenadiers rider was without a victory since his 2020 Giro d'Italia triumph, but came out on top of a sprint finish in Spain to claim his maiden triumph outside of Italy. Geoghegan Hart is second in the General Classification, four seconds behind Giulio Ciccone.

Tao Geoghegan Hart celebrated his first victory since a 2020 Giro d’Italia triumph but apologised to his brother for a muted celebration after winning stage 4 of the Vuelta a Valencia.

The 27-year-old Ineos Grenadiers rider, a Grand Tour winner in Italy three years ago, ended a long wait for a race victory on Saturday when he surged to a summit finish at the Alto de la Cueva Santa.

Geoghegan Hart pipped Thomas Gloag (Jumbo-Visma) and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) to top the podium in the final climb and move second in the General Classification, four seconds behind Ciccone.

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“I think it’s my first ever victory outside of Italy. Maybe one on the border in Austria, in Trentino, but yeah, it means the world,” Geoghegan Hart said.

“It’s really hard to win in cycling. This isn’t meant to be a world tour top level race, but the level is, in my opinion, really high. It has been at the start of the last two or three seasons.

"You just have to be grateful for every small thing and being sick and having crashes and stuff in the last couple of years reminds you of that even more.

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“It’s been a really good winter, a big thank you to my new coach because he’s been really supportive in the last couple of months and made a big difference to me. And my girlfriend and all my family.

“I’m a bit disappointed because my brother told me to do a good celebration this morning, but it wasn’t really the best finish for that, so next time!”

Geoghegan Hart paid tribute to team-mates Thymen Arensman and Omar Fraile at the finish line for their efforts in helping his cause.

“It was a bit open, we wanted to have someone in the break,” said the Brit.

Vuelta a Valencia - Stage 4 highlights as Geoghegan Hart comes out on top of summit finish

“It was a nice opportunity for Thymen to try something, which he did and wow – he must have been flying in the front because for a long time the gap didn’t change at all.

“It was nice for him to have a chance, Omar was up there with him which was perfect because we could sit back all day. The boys were really strong on the last climb and put us in position.

“The puncture with 15km to go wasn’t ideal but I was calm and patient. Omar took me back through and then they did a perfect job.

“It wasn’t an easy final because there was a headwind and not that steep. It would’ve been nice to try something earlier but in those conditions we were going at least 30 km/h, maybe more, so we just had to be patient and wait. I’m super happy thanks to the team.”

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