News – Ben Swift Victory in Italy

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In weather akin to that back in England on a bad day, Ben Swift solo’s to victory on stage 2 of the Italian stage race Settimana Coppi e Bartali.

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News – Ben Swift Victory in Italy

In weather akin to that back in England on a bad day, Ben Swift solo’s to victory on stage 2 of the Italian stage race Settimana Coppi e Bartali. ‘Swifty’ now leads overall.

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“It was a typical Yorkshire day out,” Swift joked as he spoke to TeamSky.com. “I felt good out there. I never felt in difficulty. We had a plan that I would just try and hang on and stay there. We knew my form was good from Milan-San Remo last week. That was one of my big targets this year. The form’s there and it was just nice to be able to utilise it today”.

“When they attacked, I followed. Initially, I thought maybe I shouldn’t have done it as I might be tired for the sprint. But I was feeling pretty good and actually forced it on once we attacked. It was a strange feeling, especially to win solo”.

“I’ve always wanted to win solo. I’ve joked around with Pete (Kennaugh) about it in the past. It’s almost on my bucket list to win a bike race on my own. Last time I won solo was 10 years ago at the Junior Tour of Wales. It’s not the sort of thing that happens very often for me”.

“I’ve got a pretty decent gap on GC. Tomorrow is a sprint day so I’ll try and get up there to get a few more bonus seconds. It’s a different finish to last year – a really hard stage with a hilltop finish. So I’ve got my work cut out. It’s not a done deal yet.”

Swifty though showed impressive climbing legs to jump clear on the final ascent of the Ville di Monte Tiffi, making his way into a three-man group before attacking into the final kilometre. Swift repeated the result of teammate Pete Kennaugh twelve months earlier to win into Sogliano al Rubicone and now holds a 41-second lead at the top of the standings.

Prior to Swift making the race his own, seven riders had broken clear under grey skies and rainclouds early on in the stage. Five ascents of the Ville di Monte Tiffi meant it was going to be a tough day and as the stage went on, the gap to the break came down before the race blew apart on the final climb when Swift made his move. Overnight leader Davide Rebellin (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) found hiself in difficulty on the climb and had no answer to Swift’s attacks.

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