Getting a spot on Team Sky's Tour de France squad could be considered one of the more challenging feats in cycling. Making the boat and then having any freedom to think about personal success is another matter entirely. Ben Swift rode one Tour during his seven-year spell at the British squad, in 2011, but having moved to the UAE Emirates team for 2017 in search of a leadership role, the Grande Boucle is now back on his calendar.
Sky's approach to the Tour de France over the years has been resolutely one-dimensional – one leader flanked by eight fully committed support riders. No one can argue with the effectiveness – they have four overall victories from the past five editions – but it left talented riders like Swift unable to explore their potential on the sport's biggest stage.
"To go to a race like that and be able to cherry pick a stage, and knowing you're not just going there to ride or do a job… to go to a big race like that and actually try and race, it will be a great feeling," the British rider told Cyclingnews on Tuesday at Abu Dhabi's Crowne Plaza Hotel, where Emirates was just unveiled as a new title sponsor of his new team.
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Swift's biggest weapon is his fast finish, though he knows he may never be able to truly rival the pure sprinters, and he needs a selective or well-suited race to thrive. His results at Milan-San Remo – two podiums in the past three editions – are a reflection of that quality.
Over the past year or so he has focused heavily on his climbing, aiming to become lighter and more efficient, and thus multiply the number of race days that can be considered serious targets.
"For me, if you sit down and look at it, you have to ask, 'Where's my best opportunity to perform?' And it's on those really hard intermediate stages, where you've got 40-50 guys left in the peloton, or even less. So you've got to be able to climb pretty well then have a quick turn at the end," he said.
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