Will the surprise of 2026 at Lidl-Trek come not from Pedersen or Ayuso, but from a forgotten Giro winner?

He once had the world at his feet — when Tao Geoghegan Hart looked to be back at his very best in the Giro d’Italia in 2023 and appeared primed to challenge for overall victory. It seemed like a repeat of his breakthrough in the delayed 2020 edition, when he finally made his mark with a Grand Tour win. But more than two years on, the now-30-year-old Brit has slipped slightly out of the spotlight… for now.

In that 2023 Giro, everything went disastrously wrong for Geoghegan Hart when he crashed badly on a descent and broke his hip. His season was over, and so was the momentum he had built after moving from INEOS Grenadiers to Lidl-Trek as a key Grand Tour leader.

How would he come back from such a serious injury? In 2024, things looked promising: his form improved and a Tour de France leadership role seemed within reach. However, misfortune struck again — a crash in the Critérium du Dauphiné followed by a bout of COVID-19 derailed his preparation. Subsequent setbacks, including another illness during the Tour of the Alps, forced him out of contention for the Tour de France once more.

In 2025, Geoghegan Hart made another run at top-form. After a solid winter and a top-10 finish in the Volta ao Algarve, he was dealt more bad luck — this time illness in the Tour de Catalonia. His season again ended without the breakthrough results many expected.

His coach, Josu Larrazabal, recently told Bici that the former Giro winner still has the talent and racing DNA to return to his best. “Tao was hit by a wave of bad luck last year, but we also invested in him,” Larrazabal said. “If we can start 2026 fresh, there’s still a strong rider inside him. Health comes first, then consistency.”

So what is this optimism based on? "He finally ran a good winter. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but so far it has been ideal. Tao feels the same, he's happy. No matter how strong you are and how much you have won, when you go through such a long period where things are not running smoothly, it gets tough, really tough."

Lidl-Trek’s roster for 2026 is packed with headline names — Mads Pedersen, fresh off a standout Giro d’Italia where he won stages and the points classification — and Juan Ayuso, the Spanish GC talent whose move to the team this winter has been one of the biggest talking points of the off-season.

Ayuso’s signing — after an early exit from UAE Team Emirates-XRG — puts him at the centre of Lidl-Trek’s Grand Tour ambitions, and he’s expected to ride both Classics and the Tour de France in 2026. Pedersen remains the team’s top sprinter and a contender for the Tour de France points jersey, while Mattias Skjelmose, Jonathan Milan, and others round out a deep squad.

But while Pedersen and Ayuso grab most of the headlines, it’s Geoghegan Hart’s story that could provide the season’s biggest surprise — if he finally puts his health and confidence together. A rider who once looked destined for Grand Tour glory might — at long last — justify the faith Lidl-Trek showed when they signed him as a leader. "Step by step," Larrazabal stressed.

"We are going to approach things a little differently, we want to give him other incentives. After his training camp in January, he will ride the Tour of Valencia, with which we want to give him a good start. That will be followed by the Tirreno or Catalonia. We are also thinking about the Giro d'Italia with him, but then he needs a certain level of fitness. He has to find himself again."