Benjamin Ian Swift (born 5 November 1987) is a British professional

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and

road racing cyclist Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, who currently rides for

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

. Swift won the

scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...

at the

2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships was the World Championships for track cycling in 2012. They took place in Melbourne, Australia from 4 to 8 April 2012. The championships took place in the Hisense Arena which previously hosted the w ...

and the men's elite road race at the 2019 and 2021

British National Road Race Championships The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually. History Between 1943 and 1958, two separate bodies – the British League of Racing Cyclists The British ...

. His cousin,

Connor Swift Connor Swift (born 30 October 1995) is an English racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His cousin, Ben Swift, is also a professional cyclist. In 2018 he won the British National Road Race Championships. Career In August 2018 ...

, is also an English professional road racing cyclist, and the 2018 British champion.

Biography

Swift was born in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

, he began cycling with Mossley Cycle Racing Team aged 12. In 2003, he came second to fellow Olympian

Steven Burke Steven James Burke (born 4 March 1988) is a former English track and road cyclist, who rode for the now disbanded cycling team.

in the under 16 national scratch race championship. As a junior rider, Swift competed at the Junior Commonwealth Games, taking bronze in the points race, he won two national titles, the junior points race championship in 2004 followed by the junior scratch race in 2005. He also competed in the senior scratch race in 2005, demonstrating his ability by finishing third to take the bronze medal. Swift began competing internationally, winning several madison events. In 2012 he won the World Championship Men's Scratch Race, becoming Great Britain's first ever World Scratch Champion.

Professional career

He made his professional road debut in August 2007 joining as a trainee during which time he won the King of the Mountains title in the

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the S ...

. During 2008 he raced for the

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...

development team and won his first UCI ranked race. He represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympic Games road race and at the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

where he finished fourth in the under 23 race.

Katusha

After the championships he signed a two-year professional contract with the new Russian . In 2009 he was selected to ride the Giro d'Italia, taking a third-place finish in stage 2. He took his first professional win on the seventh stage of the

, leading Katusha teammate

Filippo Pozzato Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato (born 10 September 1981) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2018 for the , , , , , , and two spells with the / teams. A northern classics specialist, Pozzato finished in s ...

in a one-two finish. Swift spoke with

Cyclingnews.com Cyclingnews.com is a website providing cycling news and race result owned by Future. History In 1995 Australian Bill Mitchell, a keen cyclist and professor of economics at the University of Newcastle, created the website titled "Bill’s Cycli ...

in 2009, describing himself as "an allrounder, who can do well in the Classics and win stages. 'My weakness is in the time trial. I don't like doing them and I'm not really that good at them.'"

Team Sky

Swift joined the newly formed British-based in January 2010. His transfer to Sky from Team Katusha part way through his contract was instrumental in the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing ...

considering new regulations for the transfer of riders between teams. During his first season with Sky Swift's most significant result came at the

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...

, at which he won one stage, the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...

, the

points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...

and best young rider. 2011 TOR Sprint

2011 saw Swift win his first stage of a

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ...

race, winning stage two of the

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (branded as the Santos Tour Down Under under a partnership arrangement) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and features all 19 UCI WorldTe ...

in Adelaide. Four days later he also won stage six. Swift won Stage 2 of the

Tour of California The Tour of California (officially sponsored as the Amgen Tour of California) was an annual professional road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race on the UCI World Tour and USA Cycling Professional Tour that ran from 2006 to 2019. It was the ...

, and took the lead of the race, after Stage 1 was cancelled due to adverse weather. Swift was selected for the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

ahead of Greg Henderson, and finished 6th on Stage 15. In 2012 Swift focused on track cycling with a view to representing Great Britain in the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. On 4 April, Swift won the Scratch Race at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

to take the rainbow jersey. He finished second in the points race, and joined forces with

Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...

to take silver in the madison. Swift was scheduled to ride the Giro d'Italia, but was forced to withdraw after suffering a broken shoulder in a crash during a training ride the week before. Although he failed to gain selection from the long list for the British Olympic team, he was picked for the Team Sky squad for the

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne (Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages ...

, winning the second and fifth stages, as well as wearing that Tour's red-and-white points classification jersey Swift was selected as Sky's sprinter at the

2012 Vuelta a España The 2012 Vuelta a España started on 18 August 2012 and was the 67th edition of the race. The race began in Pamplona with a team time trial and ended on 9 September, as traditional, in Madrid. The 2012 edition saw the return of the Bola del Mundo ...

, and finished second on Stage 18. In March 2014, Swift achieved one of his biggest results to date by finishing third in

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

. In April 2015, Swift crashed out of the newly created

Tour de Yorkshire The Tour de Yorkshire is a road cycling race in the historic county of Yorkshire, England which first took place in May 2015. It is promoted by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and is rated as a 2.HC event as part of the UCI Europe Tour. ...

, injuring his shoulder. 2019 ToB winner best British rider Ben Swift

On 19 March 2016, Swift finished second in

, being narrowly outsprinted by

Arnaud Démare Arnaud Démare (born 26 August 1991) is a professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2011 he won the UCI World Under-23 Road Race Championships, and in 2016 he won the Milan–San Remo. He is one of five riders t ...

().

UAE Abu Dhabi

After seven seasons with Sky, in September 2016 Swift announced that he would join on a two-year deal from 2017 in order to seek more opportunities to ride for himself.

Return to Team Sky

In October 2018, Swift rejoined for the 2019 season. In June 2019, Swift won the

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, beating team leader

Ian Stannard Ian Dexter Stannard (born 25 May 1987) is a British former professional track and road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2020 for the , and teams, before retiring after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. He now wo ...

. In September 2019, Swift signed a new contract to remain with

Team Ineos Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the Manchester Vel ...

until the end of the 2021 season. Swift said he had 'found a renewed enthusiasm and motivation for the sport'.

Major results

;2004 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Points race, National Junior Track Championships ;2005 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Scratch race, National Junior Track Championships : 1st Rotterdam Junior 2-day madison ::1st Nights 1 & 2 : 1st Dortmund Under-23 3-day madison ;2006 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

, National Track Championships ;2007 : 1st UEC Champion Jersey

Team pursuit, UEC European Under-23 Track Championships :

Giro delle Regioni The Giro delle Regioni was a multi-day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour in category 2.ncup, meaning it was part of the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup is an annual, season-long competitio ...

::1st

Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

::1st Stage 4 : 1st Jersey red

Mountains classification

: 3rd Milan–Busseto : 4th

Gran Premio della Liberazione Gran Premio della Liberazione is an Italian road bicycle race that has been held annually on 25 April since 1946. It marks the anniversary of the 1945 fall of Benito Mussolini's Italian Social Republic. It is a Single-day race that is rated 1.2 ...

: 5th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships : 7th

La Côte Picarde La Côte Picarde was a professional cycling race held between 1986 and 2015 in Picardy, France. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour from 2005 onwards, in category 1.ncup, meaning it was part of the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Under ...

;2008 : 1st

Coppa della Pace The Coppa della Pace is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste In ...

: 1st GP Coppa Romita : 1st Stage 5 Giro della Valle d'Aosta Mont Blanc : 4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships : 4th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Road Championships : 6th

Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo The Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Un ...

: 10th

;2009 : 1st Stage 7

: 2nd

Nokere Koerse Nokere Koerse is a European semi classic single day cycle race held in the Belgian region of Flanders. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Starting in 2016 it was a 1.HC event. The Nokere Koerse was c ...

: 8th

Gran Premio di Lugano The Gran Premio di Lugano ( en, Grand Prix of Lugano) is a road bicycle race held annually in Lugano, Switzerland. Prior to 1981 it was held as an individual time trial but in recent years it has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe ...

: 10th

Gran Premio dell'Insubria-Lugano Gran Premio dell'Insubria-Lugano was a single day race in the historic region of Insubria, Switzerland. The race was established in 2009 as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race replaced the former Gran Premio di Chiasso The Gran Premio d ...

;2010 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Jersey white

Young rider classification ::1st Stage 2 : 2nd Silver medal blank

UCI Track World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

;2011 : 1st Stage 5

Vuelta a Castilla y León The Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicyc ...

: 1st Stage 5

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...

: 1st Stage 2

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 6 ;2012 :

::1st

Scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...

::2nd

Points race A points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. It was an Olympic event for men between 1984–2008 and for women 1996–2008. Starting in 2012, the points race is one of the omnium even ...

::2nd

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

(with

) :

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 5 : 4th Road race, National Road Championships ;2013 : 3rd

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, National Road Championships : 3rd

Trofeo Palma de Mallorca The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca ( en, Tour of Majorca, ca, Challenge Volta Ciclista a Mallorca) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or earl ...

: 5th

Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca ( en, Tour of Majorca, ca, Challenge Volta Ciclista a Mallorca) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or earl ...

: 10th Trofeo Campos–Santanyí–Ses Salines : 10th RideLondon–Surrey Classic ;2014 :

Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali ( en, International Week of Coppi and Bartali), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle sport, cycle Road bicycle racing, road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in t ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 1a & 1b ( TTT) : 1st Stage 5

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

: 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 2nd RideLondon–Surrey Classic : 2nd Trofeo Ses Salines : 3rd Trofeo Muro–Port d'Alcúdia : 3rd

: 8th

;2015 : 2nd Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 2 : 3rd

Trofeo Playa de Palma The Challenge Vuelta Ciclista a Mallorca ( en, Tour of Majorca, ca, Challenge Volta Ciclista a Mallorca) is a series of four (five until 2012) professional one day road bicycle races held on the Spanish island of Mallorca in late January or earl ...

: 3rd RideLondon–Surrey Classic : 7th Trofeo Santanyi–Ses Salines–Campos : 9th

International Road Cycling Challenge The International Road Cycling Challenge was a one-off, one-day bicycle race that served as one of six Brazilian events in the year-long 2015 UCI America Tour and acted as a test event for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The race was rated a grade of 1 ...

: 9th

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

;2016 : 1st Jersey blue

Points classification

Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI P ...

: 2nd

: 7th Overall

Tour du Poitou-Charentes Tour Poitou-Charentes en Nouvelle-Aquitaine is a road bicycle race held annually in the former region of Poitou-Charentes (now Nouvelle-Aquitaine) France. It was first held in 1987 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI E ...

: 7th

Gran Piemonte The Giro del Piemonte, since 2009 known also as Gran Piemonte, is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. The race first took place in 1906. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI ...

: 8th Overall

: 8th

Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race The Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race also known as Great Ocean Road Race or Cadel Road Race is an annual professional one-day road bicycle racing for both men and women starting and finishing in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, and routed along th ...

;2017 : 5th Road race,

: 5th Road race, National Road Championships : 10th

Eschborn–Frankfurt Eschborn–Frankfurt, previously Rund um den Henninger Turm Frankfurt, is an annual semi classic cycling race in Germany, starting in Eschborn and finishing in Frankfurt. The event, sometimes referred to as the Frankfurt Grand Prix, is held annua ...

;2019 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race, National Road Championships ;2020 : 8th

Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne is an annual single-day road cycling race in Belgium. It is held one day after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, on the last Sunday of February or the first of March, and completes the opening weekend of the Belgian cycling season. ...

: 10th

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ev ...

;2021 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race, National Road Championships (Lincoln Grand Prix) : 3rd

Grand Prix de Denain Grand Prix de Denain is a professional cycle road race held in Denain, France. For 10 years from 2005 the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions whi ...

;2022 : 8th

Grand Tour results timeline

References

External links

*
Ben Swift profile
at Team Sky * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Ben 1987 births Living people Cyclists from Yorkshire Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Great Britain Sportspeople from Rotherham UCI Track Cycling World Champions (men) English male cyclists English track cyclists