Rider Chat: Connor Swift (Madison Genesis)

Little spot interview with Connor Swift of Madison Genesis about his second on the final stage of the Tour of Normandie

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Rider Chat: Connor Swift (Madison Genesis)

Prior to the start of the Danum Trophy in his home county of Yorkshire, which he rightly predicted was going to be grippy and the riders would know about it at the end, we spoke to Connor Swift (Madison Genesis) about the Tour of Normandie where he tried a few of his famous late attacks and was second on the final stage.

“It is nice to podium in UCI races but being so close to a win in a stage race like the Tour of Normandie was really nice. We went there to get a win and came away from it having gone close. I am pleased with the ride and we got stuck in”.

Connor explained how after they missed the GC move, the aim was to get a stage win. “The race is pretty chaotic and there were crashes – three to five a day – so you need to focus on your positioning and with the cross winds as well, you have to be switched on all day.”

Connor’s preparation for a race that is notoriously difficult, was a double header weekend of National Bs; Roy Thame Cup and Eversham RR that followed two training camps so the French stage race was not just a target to do well in but also get some race miles in the legs before the big races get going here. “The Tour of Normandie was the first big race of the season for me and a few of the others in the team. Looking back at last year, doing Normandie set me up for a good season having that week long race in the legs.”

“I’d had a good solid winter and I knew the form was good going into Normandie; I felt strong pretty much every day and was very disappointed to miss that GC day because if we’d made that, it could have been real good for the team.”

Asked how hard it is to know what the right moves are in a race that is pretty out of control and was like that until JLT Condor took control of it in the last few days, Connor replied “it is tough but as soon as you know who the top five or so teams are, like SEG, JLT, Leopard, Delta and those boys, as soon as you know each team has a rider up the road, you know that is when you need to go. The day when the GC break went, there were attacks galore and you can’t go with them all.”

Connor now looks ahead to doing a Tour of Yorkshire recce next weekend and then (depending on team selection) Chorley, Rutland, Klondike and Yorkshire and he might throw in a few time trials in the mix in between. Good luck to Connor for 2018 and see you soon.

TheHappyCog

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