Tao Geoghegan Hart

Team Sky’s new signing tells Cyclist about psychoanalysis, Ottolenghi couscous and swimming the Channel

Cyclist: Tao, you rode for Sky as a stagiaire in 2015 but a full-time contract didn’t materialise until now. How come?

TAO GEOGHEGAN HART: There was strong interest from the team but I wanted another year at under-23s. Why? The most polite way of putting it is that I didn’t win a race in 2015 and felt that was something I had to do before turning professional. That said, my final year with Axel [Merckx’s UCI Continental team Axeon Hagens Berman] also provided me with opportunities to race at the highest level, competing at the Tour of California [where he finished as second-best young rider] and the Tour of Britain. It proved a great learning curve.

Cyc: Did it feel strange when you first started racing in the same events as guys like Sir Bradley Wiggins?

TGH: Maybe a little bit beforehand, but when you get into a race everyone is there to race so it becomes less and less strange. If you spend too much time thinking about it, it won’t go well. But, yes, it is special and I have never lost that feeling. I appreciate big-name riders, and what they have done is always there. But the more races I do, the more normal it seems.

Cyc: Has Mark Cavendish been a good mentor for you?

TGH: I stayed at Cav’s house in Italy a few years ago when I needed somewhere to train but his advice is the main thing for me. I remember speaking to Mark about when I was a junior and had an offer from Axel to join his team. Axel was one of Cav’s first roommates when he went pro so he only had good things to say about him. If being able to tap into that experience helps me make less mistakes in my career I’m lucky to be able to have it. Cyc: Have you specific goals this season?

TGH: Something I’ve learned from British Cycling is that it’s more profitable when goals are more controllable than when they’re less certain, like where I might try and finish in a race. We’re lucky there are so many metrics – time on a climb, power, weight – so you can aim to improve one facet or other and track that progression. Less pragmatically, I want to show my new teammates that I deserve to be on this team, and that they can rely on me when needed.

Dave Brailsford told us at the December camp that we go to races either to help someone win, learn to win so we’ll return to that race with knowledge, or to win. There will be no situation where I won’t be going for one of those three aims. At this time of the season it makes sense, although things might be different