Tao Geoghegan Hart will join EF Education-EasyPost for 2027, ending three difficult seasons at Lidl-Trek as the 2020 Giro d’Italia winner searches for a way back to his best form. The 31-year-old Briton is moving to the American WorldTour team after injuries and interrupted racing programmes prevented him from reproducing the results that once placed him among the leading Grand Tour contenders.
The move had been reported in September, but EF’s announcement now establishes his next destination. Geoghegan Hart had joined Lidl-Trek from INEOS Grenadiers for 2024 on a three-year agreement and will leave at its conclusion. His new contract length has not been confirmed in the information available.
EF are also reshaping their climbing group following Richard Carapaz’s move to NSN for 2027. Bringing in another former Giro winner is a notable addition, although Geoghegan Hart’s recent results mean his arrival is better understood as a chance to rebuild than as a guaranteed replacement for Carapaz in Grand Tour leadership.
A Giro d’Italia winner whose career changed in 2023
Geoghegan Hart’s finest season remains 2020, when he won the Giro d’Italia after one of the closest finishes in the race’s history. His victories on stages 15 and 20 brought him into contention as the established general classification favourites fell away, and he started the final time trial level on time with Jai Hindley. A stronger ride into Milan secured the maglia rosa and the biggest result of his career.
He had spent several years developing at Team Sky and then INEOS Grenadiers, often riding in support of more established leaders. The Giro victory showed what he could achieve with the freedom to race for the general classification, but the years that followed never produced a sustained run of similar results.
There were strong signs of a return in early 2023. Geoghegan Hart won a stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, ending a long wait for another individual victory, finished third overall at Tirreno-Adriatico and went on to win the Tour of the Alps, including two stages. He entered the Giro d’Italia as a serious contender and was well placed after the opening ten stages.
That momentum ended with a crash on stage 11 on the road to Tortona. A fractured hip required surgery and extensive rehabilitation, ruling him out for the rest of the season. The injury also shaped the three-year spell with Lidl-Trek that followed. The team signed him later in 2023, while he was still recovering, knowing that his first season would begin with the challenge of returning to full fitness.
Three seasons at Lidl-Trek without a return to winning form
The change of teams did not bring an immediate recovery. Geoghegan Hart returned to competition in 2024, but a crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné left him with further fractures, followed by illness that ruled him out of the Tour de France. The combination disrupted both his racing calendar and his opportunities to build consistent training.
His 2025 season provided more racing days, though no victories, while 2026 remained a long way from his former level. He finished 57th overall at the Tour of Austria and 35th at the Tour de Luxembourg, later abandoning both Coppa Agostoni and Coppa Bernocchi. Those are not results on which to judge the full extent of his ability, but they illustrate how far the return to Grand Tour contention still has to go.
Speaking earlier in 2026, Geoghegan Hart said he had finally enjoyed a winter without needing surgery or rehabilitation. The difference mattered after the previous years of setbacks, even if it had not yet produced the race performances he was seeking.
What EF Education-EasyPost can offer in 2027
EF have often preferred aggressive racing and stage opportunities alongside selected general classification campaigns. Ben Healy, Neilson Powless, Georg Steinhauser and Alex Baudin already give the team several options across climbing terrain, and the arrival of Geoghegan Hart adds experience of racing for an overall Grand Tour victory.
That experience does not automatically earn him a leadership position. The question is whether a fresh performance environment, different racing programme and uninterrupted preparation can help him recover the consistency required to race at the front of major stage races. At 31, there is still time to produce meaningful results, but the comparison is no longer solely with the rider who won the Giro six years ago.
The transfer offers a new start after a difficult period at Lidl-Trek, while giving EF an established British climber with a record few potential recruits could match. How quickly Geoghegan Hart can translate that experience into results will be one of the team’s more interesting questions when the 2027 season begins.
