Team News: Ben Swift Stays with Ineos

British Road Race champion Ben Swift will compete in Team INEOS colours for the next two years.

Team News: Ben Swift Stays with Ineos

British RR champion Ben Swift will compete in Team INEOS colours for the next two years. Swift has spent eight years with the team, across two spells, and his latest contract will take him through to the end of the 2021 season.

The 31 year old openly admits that this current season has helped him ‘find himself’ again as a professional rider, having returned to the team at the beginning of the 2019 campaign. “I feel like I’ve found a renewed enthusiasm and motivation for the sport this year, so this new contract feels rewarding for many reasons,” he said. “I think that’s down to the team and the way I’ve been riding this year. When you’re really happy somewhere and the environment of the team suits you like it does for me here, it really helps you to get the very best out of yourself.”

Indeed, Swift has enjoyed a happy homecoming this year, despite an early season training crash that resulted in a ruptured spleen. Since then, he’s gone on to enjoy a season to remember, bouncing back in style with a deserved British national road race title. “I don’t think anybody was expecting me to get back to the levels I’ve achieved this year,” he said, “so it’s hugely satisfying. It’s been a really pleasing season so far.
… continued after advert

“It’s been a really targeted process for me all season – I sat down with my coach, Conor Taylor, at the start of the year and mapped it all out. That relationship has been key and he’s really got the best out of me this year. We’ve stuck to the plan, even when the crash slightly disrupted things, and now we’re working towards the Tour of Britain and the World Championships.”

As well as being a key rider in his own right, Swift’s knowledge and experience has helped play a crucial role in guiding the next generation of young riders on the team’s roster this season – and it’s a role he’s relishing. “It’s just about leading by example really, and hopefully showing them the right path, be it returning from crashes; preparing for races; being in the heat of the battle – those things can really help the young guys. It’s really satisfying and rewarding to see this young group of riders developing as well as they are,” he said.

Whilst he’s always planning with – in his own words – ‘one eye on the present and one eye on the future’, the World Championships in Yorkshire later this month are in the forefront of his thoughts between now and the end of the 2019 season. “The Worlds in Yorkshire aren’t far from where I grew up, so it’s massive opportunity for me to try and improve on my fifth place in Bergen two years ago,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough ask, it’s going to be a very difficult race – but I’ll do everything I can.”

Team INEOS Coach, Conor Taylor, added: “To bounce back and race at a consistently high level so soon after the serious accident he suffered in February is testament to Swifty’s attitude and professionalism on and off the bike. He is an exceptional role model to our next generation of riders and we believe his best years are still ahead of him. We look forward to seeing Swifty race for Team INEOS in the British National Champs colours next season.”