Tao Geoghegan Hart's trophy cabinet (may contain traces of spoiler)

No_Ta_Doctor

My Man™ Tao Geoghegan Hart has been doing some sterling work this season as the last rider in the mountain train. While it doesn't win him much in the way of placings he now has a grisly trophy cabinet of the legs he's ripped off other riders.

Just today he acquired the bloody stumps of Julian Alaphippe, Damiano Caruso and Bob Jungels. I'm hoping he's got a huge walk-in freezer in his cellar to store and display them.

Which other rider's legs does he have? He did some damage yesterday as well, not to mention causing utter devastation in California.

specialgueststar

No tA Doctor wrote:

My Man™ Tao Geoghegan Hart has been doing some sterling work this season as the last rider in the mountain train. While it doesn't win him much in the way of placings he now has a grisly trophy cabinet of the legs he's ripped off other riders.

Just today he acquired the bloody stumps of Julian Alaphippe, Damiano Caruso and Bob Jungels. I'm hoping he's got a huge walk-in freezer in his cellar to store and display them.

Which other rider's legs does he have? He did some damage yesterday as well, not to mention causing utter devastation in California.

just out of interest what does he weigh now...?

No_Ta_Doctor

No idea, tbh. He's always been a fairly slim build, though that didn't stop him getting a 3rd in P-R Jnr edition back in the day.

No_Ta_Doctor

If Rick was here he'd list all the riders dropped in the ToC, plus the last couple of days in the Dauphine.....

;-)

Vino'sGhost

he's ridden really really well. So has Thomas.

No_Ta_Doctor

Vino'sGhost wrote:

he's ridden really really well. So has Thomas.

Thomas is looking very impressive. Not just hanging in with the climbers, but able to follow the surges from Martin, Alaphilippe etc. Those guys have a serious kick.

No_Ta_Doctor

Just watching the replay from yesterday:

Alaphilippe, Caruso, Jungels, Benoot - please collect your legs from Tao's ice-box. Other teams - please send a van for your domestiques' legs.

Agent57

Love seeing Tao do the business. Mainly because he used to ride with Cycling Club Hackney, the club my nephew was in as a junior (might still be, I'm not sure).

No_Ta_Doctor

Agent57 wrote:

Love seeing Tao do the business. Mainly because he used to ride with Cycling Club Hackney, the club my nephew was in as a junior (might still be, I'm not sure).

Similar here, I've never been a club rider but grew up in Hackney, so he's from my manor, guv.

DeVlaeminck

I hope he doesn't stay too long at Sky if he continues to progress and isn't getting the opportunities.

ddraver

...dunno

There's some form of article with a headline saying he "wants to move down the Sky Train" suggesting he's lovin' it there. He strikes me bit at the moment as someone who loves ripping races apart and is happy just to sit back and watch the carnage with a m'wah ha ha ha haa laugh (or as close to that as he can produce with his baby face...)

No_Ta_Doctor

He's always had a very mature approach to his career. He's talked before about trying to work on weaker areas and not trying to specialise too early, and he stayed an extra year at Axeon, where he thought he'd develop better than being ground through the WT mincer. I get the sense he's trying to make steady progress, rather than explode onto the scene. A target of "moving down the train" seems like a calm considered approach to this. We know that the last rider in the train is one who is likely to get his own chances, though still expected to pull for others in e.g. The Tour.

I don't think he knows what his level is yet either, just that he's got plenty of potential. He's remarkably well grounded.

No_Ta_Doctor

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

daniel_b

Turning out to be quite the example of how to be a very decent human being / sportsman.

Chapeau.

RichN95.

Good for him. Let's hope he finds someone who can maximise the opportunity. I think he's rare (for a European) in that the grew up in a multi-cultural community, which is really the real block to non-white riders in Europe.

On the downside though, just watch 'media figures' use this as an excuse to ask other riders 'what are you doing'.

phreak

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

I'd say cycling doesn't just have a racial diversity problem (although it obviously does that too) but a class diversity one. It's a bloody expensive sport these days and seems a million miles away from the working-class sport that Hinault and Coppi were in. Go to any club ride and the overwhelming majority are middle aged (men) as they have the means to buy the gear.

pblakeney

phreak said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

I'd say cycling doesn't just have a racial diversity problem (although it obviously does that too) but a class diversity one. It's a bloody expensive sport these days and seems a million miles away from the working-class sport that Hinault and Coppi were in. Go to any club ride and the overwhelming majority are middle aged (men) as they have the means to buy the gear.

Do they win the races though?
There is a huge gulf between club rides and club races.

yorkshireraw

Good interview with Tao in the latest ProCycling mag, where he talks about some of the same issues.
Also in his recent Cycling Podcast interview - he wanted to do school visits etc in Hackney to utilise his profile after the Giro, but obv couldn't make that work in current times.
He really is an all round decent bloke with his feet on the ground it would seem. Top man.

phreak

pblakeney said:

phreak said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

I'd say cycling doesn't just have a racial diversity problem (although it obviously does that too) but a class diversity one. It's a bloody expensive sport these days and seems a million miles away from the working-class sport that Hinault and Coppi were in. Go to any club ride and the overwhelming majority are middle aged (men) as they have the means to buy the gear.

Do they win the races though?
There is a huge gulf between club rides and club races.

Your club has a lot of working class youngsters? I know my local club certainly doesn't.

pblakeney

phreak said:

pblakeney said:

phreak said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

I'd say cycling doesn't just have a racial diversity problem (although it obviously does that too) but a class diversity one. It's a bloody expensive sport these days and seems a million miles away from the working-class sport that Hinault and Coppi were in. Go to any club ride and the overwhelming majority are middle aged (men) as they have the means to buy the gear.

Do they win the races though?
There is a huge gulf between club rides and club races.

Your club has a lot of working class youngsters? I know my local club certainly doesn't.

Late teens and 20s, yes. One even made the UK squad.
Born again cyclists can't keep up on training runs. I gave up trying. 😉

No_Ta_Doctor

phreak said:

pblakeney said:

phreak said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

I'd say cycling doesn't just have a racial diversity problem (although it obviously does that too) but a class diversity one. It's a bloody expensive sport these days and seems a million miles away from the working-class sport that Hinault and Coppi were in. Go to any club ride and the overwhelming majority are middle aged (men) as they have the means to buy the gear.

Do they win the races though?
There is a huge gulf between club rides and club races.

Your club has a lot of working class youngsters? I know my local club certainly doesn't.

You mention Hinault and Coppi, harking back to when pro racing was for farm labourers and miners looking for a way out, which is fair. But... You may be looking at this from a bit of a British perspective - in Denmark, for instance (noted that the class system isn't nearly as stratified) clubs still have a wide range of members.
Class is a problem in the UK especially, which has the lowest social mobility in Europe. Also worth noting that BAME are underrepresented in the middle classes, so usually have to deal with both racial and class barriers.

bobmcstuff

phreak said:

pblakeney said:

phreak said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

I'd say cycling doesn't just have a racial diversity problem (although it obviously does that too) but a class diversity one. It's a bloody expensive sport these days and seems a million miles away from the working-class sport that Hinault and Coppi were in. Go to any club ride and the overwhelming majority are middle aged (men) as they have the means to buy the gear.

Do they win the races though?
There is a huge gulf between club rides and club races.

Your club has a lot of working class youngsters? I know my local club certainly doesn't.

The guys in my club who race are a lot younger than the regular club riders for sure, and a bit of a different clique - they used to do a lot of their own rides and you'd hardly ever see them if you just rode with the club normally. I've only really got to know them since I've been racing with them on Zwift (and getting my arse handed to me every week).

Not sure if any of them could really be described as working class though... Guess it's only relevant to the bit above about club rides being overwhelmingly middle aged men, which is my experience too but there's also another group of younger riders who aren't necessarily interested in the social Sunday ride.

I can think of a few club riders who are traditionally "working class" but they are the exception.

rick_chasey

Honestly isn't that one of the good things about a cycling club - that class means f*ck all and is hard to spot anyway?

I've only ever seen the vast majority on the club run in lycra so you never really knew what their background was and you never really wanted to anyway. Club run was about enjoying being out riding together and having naff cycling banter.

pblakeney

Clubbies in Rapha kit on £10k bikes are fairly easy to guess the class.
Aldi and Planet X are similarly easy but not as reliable or accurate.

phreak

No_Ta_Doctor said:

phreak said:

pblakeney said:

phreak said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Well this thread should probably have been updated last year, now he's got an actual Giro trophy to go along with Alaphilippe's legs, but if this can now be the official Tao appreciation thread then can I just point this out for you

https://twitter.com/DrHeadgear/status/1362443335772831745?s=19

PS, he's still My Man™ but I'll share.

I'd say cycling doesn't just have a racial diversity problem (although it obviously does that too) but a class diversity one. It's a bloody expensive sport these days and seems a million miles away from the working-class sport that Hinault and Coppi were in. Go to any club ride and the overwhelming majority are middle aged (men) as they have the means to buy the gear.

Do they win the races though?
There is a huge gulf between club rides and club races.

Your club has a lot of working class youngsters? I know my local club certainly doesn't.

You mention Hinault and Coppi, harking back to when pro racing was for farm labourers and miners looking for a way out, which is fair. But... You may be looking at this from a bit of a British perspective - in Denmark, for instance (noted that the class system isn't nearly as stratified) clubs still have a wide range of members.
Class is a problem in the UK especially, which has the lowest social mobility in Europe. Also worth noting that BAME are underrepresented in the middle classes, so usually have to deal with both racial and class barriers.

I'm just not sure how many working-class youngsters could realistically afford to get into cycling when you're probably looking at a £1,000 outlay at the bare minimum. That's a much bigger barrier to entry than it is to get into football (for instance).

Compare road cycling to BMXing, for instance, and my local track in a very working-class part of South London has a shed load of youngsters riding each week. A new BMX is probably £200, and I'm sure you could get a second-hand one for much less. If I went a few miles down the road and looked at a youth session at Herne Hill, I dare say the demographic would be very different.

@rick_chasey of course, I'm not suggesting that class should play any role in terms of acceptance of people on the bike, but more that being competitive in road cycling is an expensive business. The only kids I remember seeing at Dulwich were from Dulwich College so money wasn't really an issue for them, you know?

TGH is talking about increasing the diversity in cycling, and my part of South London has produced a shed load of bloody good young Black footballers. How much more money would their families have had to find to get to British Cycling level on the road compared to on the radar of a pro team in football?

When I mentioned Hinault and Coppi, not only was the sport in Europe then predominantly working class, but it was affordable for the working class in a way I just don't think it is anymore. I mean we're in an age when half of British families would have to borrow money to pay an unexpected £500 bill. Is cycling an affordable sport for that demographic?

It's perhaps illustrative that Ineos, and Sky before them, have partnered with extremely expensive brands, whether Pinarello bikes, Rapha cycling gear, or Belstaff today. It's all aimed at the luxury end of the market.

rick_chasey

It's more i just meant on the club run you only see people in club kit and bikes aren't that expensive and it definitely feels like an environment when all of that matters less.

carbonclem

I reckon it costs a grand at least to get on the club run. It’s small beer to anyone who’s ‘in’ but for so many it’s an impossibility. All very well saying and knowing that it’s the legs that count but many will never know.

gsk82

You can get a second hand bike for £200 and low cost summer kit for maybe £150. It isn't cheap, but you can do it far cheaper than has been suggested above

RichN95.

I don't think it's the access to bikes that's a problem, it's the right opportunities and facilities that matter. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many pros come from Cardiff with its Maindy youth club. Similarly there's video online of Tao interviewed while he was riding for the Hackney youth team at some track (Herne Hill?). He's standing next to Alex Peters (who's not entirely white I think) and a black kid. But these are the exceptions. They have access to an old bike track which didn't get ripped up to build flats. And that gave kids a safe area to play and bikes to race. And that's what kids in metropolitan areas were the less wealthy live need. But frankly there are more pressing concerns in those areas than a bike race track.

Hackney on the other hand, has this. So does every big city. How can other sports compete?

ddraver

phreak said:

It's perhaps illustrative that Ineos, and Sky before them, have partnered with extremely expensive brands, whether Pinarello bikes, Rapha cycling gear, or Belstaff today. It's all aimed at the luxury end of the market.

Well...yeah, but FdJ (?) used Decathlon stuff not so long ago. Rabbobank sponsored an awful lot of Dutch cycling (indeed, Dutch Sport). There are ways it can be done.

It's not all Waxed Cotton Jackets

No_Ta_Doctor

My local club in Copenhagen (which produced world champion Amalie Dideriksen) has some spare bikes for kids that are new to the sport. They don't need 10k of carbon fibre to have fun.

Tao himself was sponsored by Condor as a youth/jnr

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/tao-geoghegan-hart-thanks-condor-cycles-with-a-signed-pink-jersey-and-one-of-the-original-bikes-they-gave-him-490447