NBC SportsTao Geoghegan Hart wins Giro d’Italia by 39 seconds
Tao Geoghegan Hart won the Giro d’Italia by 39 seconds after being tied with Jai Hindley going into the final time trial.
Associated PressGeoghegan Hart beats Hindley to Giro title by 39 seconds
In one of the most exciting final stages of a Grand Tour, British rider Tao Geoghegan Hart won the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, edging out Australian Jai Hindley by just 39 seconds. For the first time in Grand Tour history, the first- and second-place riders had the same overall time on the eve of the last stage, and the 25-year-old Geoghegan Hart proved to be quicker than Hindley in a tense individual time trial in Milan. Neither of them had ever finished higher than 20th in a Grand Tour.
The TelegraphBritish rider Tao Geoghegan Hart wins the Giro d'Italia — live updates
Comment: Tao Geoghegan Hart can join the immortals if Briton wins cycling's ultimate race of truth Full results and details after Tao Geoghegan Hart wins again Comment: The kids are alright: British cycling is in rude health Tao Geoghegan Hart has become the fifth Briton to win a Grand Tour with victory in the Giro d'Italia. The 25-year-old Londoner beat Australian Jai Hindley by 39 seconds in the 15.7-kilometre closing time trial in Milan after the pair went into the final stage level on time. Geoghegan Hart was ahead of Hindley at every time check along the way, clocking a time of 18 minutes 19.40 seconds to deliver a remarkable win. His Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Filippo Ganna took the stage win with a time of 17 minutes 16.55 seconds, 32 seconds faster than second-placed Victor Campernaerts, to deliver his fourth stage win of the race and a seventh for the team. Geoghegan Hart follows Sir Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Simon Yates in winning one of the big three stage races on the calendar, delivering Britain's 11th Grand Tour victory since Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012, and second in the Giro after Froome in 2018. But this was by far the most unexpected entry on the list, with Geoghegan Hart having started the Giro planning to support Thomas before the Welshman's race-ending crash on stage three. An outstanding final week in the mountains propelled Geoghegan Hart up the standings, with his victory on Saturday's stage 20 setting up the unprecedented scenario of the top two in a Grand Tour being level on time at the start of the final day. Geoghegan Hart pulled on the pink jersey for the first time on the final podium after the race came down to two riders who began the opening stage in Sicily three weeks ago as domestiques. "It's bizarre, to be honest," Geoghegan Hart. "Not in my wildest dreams did I imagine that this would be possible when we started nearly a month ago in Sicily. "All of my career I've dreamt of trying to be in the top five, top 10 maybe in a race of this stature so this is something completely and utterly different. I think this is going to take a long time to sink in."
The TelegraphTao Geoghegan Hart hoping for 'a good day and a bit of luck' as history beckons for unheralded Briton at Giro d'Italia
A British rider was always expected to challenge for the pink jersey at this Giro d’Italia. It just was not expected to be this one. And certainly not like this. An extraordinary race will reach an extraordinary conclusion on Sunday when Tao Geoghegan Hart, not Geraint Thomas, not Simon Yates, but an unheralded 25 year old from Hackney in east London who was not even among the top-20 favourites at the start, rolls down the start ramp of the final day time trial in Milan in a bid to claim his maiden grand tour win. Geoghegan Hart will start, against all odds, as the odds-on favourite, courtesy of what are deemed (by the bookmakers) to be his superior time trialling skills compared with his nearest rival. The truth, though, is the situation heading into the final day could not be more delicately poised. For the first time in grand tour history, the first and second placed riders in the general classification are tied on the very same time. Geoghegan Hart drew level with the even less heralded Jai Hindley [Sunweb], after beating the Australian in a two-up sprint into Sestriere on Saturday to claim his second stage win of the race. The bonus seconds Geoghegan Hart picked up on the line helped him to make up the slender three-second deficit he was giving away to Hindley at the start of the day. But it was the Australian who was awarded the maglia rosa after long deliberation by race commissaires, who worked out that he was 0.86sec ahead overall.