Ben Swift sprinted to his fourth victory of the season as Team Sky rounded off the Tour de Romandie in perfect style on Sunday. The 23-year-old from Rotherham again got the better of Óscar Freire (Rabobank) in a bunch finish at the end of the fifth stage from Champagne to Geneva, with Davide Vigano (Leopard Trek) in third.
Photo: Graham Watson — Swift scores another stage victory in Europe.
The triumph was the latest in a memorable season for Swift who took two stages at the Tour Down Under and one at Castilla y Leon. And it came after excellent work from his teammates who were to the fore along with overall winner Cadel Evans’ BMC Racing squad to make sure the field was together when it mattered, the last of the day’s breaks being closed down with around five kilometres of the 164.6km stage remaining.
Swift told www.teamsky.com: “The team was fantastic; everybody was there in the closing stages. We went round that last corner and I think there were still four or five guys on the front. It was going so fast and was a brilliant effort from everyone.”
That point was underlined by Swift’s Sports Director Sean Yates who added: “Everyone was involved; it was perfect teamwork and a nice way to finish off the week.
“We knew Swifty was fast anyway but the other day [when he won the bunch sprint for fourth at the end of stage three] showed he was more than capable of getting a win here. The team pulled together and set out to give him 100% support and he’s delivered the goods again.”
Full details and more quotes from Ben and Sean available here
