Londoner Tao Geoghegan Hart will lead Team Ineos at their first ever grand tour after Egan Bernal pulled out of the race after breaking his collarbone in a training ride crash at the weekend.
Hackney cyclist Geoghegan Hart has just one grand tour to his name, last year’s Vuelta a Espana, but the 24-year-old has been handed the role of leading the team along with Pavel Sivakov.
Ineos won the race as Team Sky last year following a memorable late surge from Chris Froome but go into this year’s edition with an inexperienced line-up of six riders under the age of 25.
The injured Bernal’s place has been taken by Eddie Dunbar following his impressive showing at the Tour de Yorkshire where he finished third overall.
Meanwhile, Geoghehan Hart picked up two stage wins in his final warm-up race for the Giro at the Tour of the Alps last month.
And team boss Sir Dave Brailsford said: “Egan’s injury is a real shame as he was to lead the team in a grand tour for the first time. However, I’m sure he will be fighting fit come July.
“Over the last two seasons, we have been bringing together a carefully selected group of young riders who we believe to be the future of our team. With this in mind, we have chosen to field our youngest-ever team for a grand tour and it’s fitting it should be our first as Team Ineos.
“We will not dramatically change our approach to the race as we will still look to give each rider the greatest developmental opportunities and to learn and gain as much experience as possible.”
