Swift rise for double stage winner

The 23-year-old from Rotherham has come of age in Australia this week by earning a maiden stage win in Mannum earlier in the race and following it up with another successful sprint finish on the 90km Adelaide street course.

Swift finished the 20-lap stage in a time of 1:53:47 and led home a Team Sky one-two with Greg Henderson in second.

HTC-Highroad's Matthew Goss came home in third and had to settle for second overall, two seconds behind Australian winner Cameron Meyer, who despite only finishing 20th on the final stage claimed the overall win after Swift and Henderson held off Goss.

Swift admitted yesterday's stage was a struggle as the effects of a six-stage tour in which he has elevated his role in the world of cycling from a climbing specialist 'domestique' into a sprint finisher, had caught up with him.

"It's just a stage race, a race within a race, and I was struggling really badly halfway through after the efforts of Willunga (Saturday) but my team did an absolutely perfect job for me," said Swift, who teamed up with Sky last year after debuting on the professional international circuit with Russian team Katusha.

"Mathew Hayman had been protecting me the whole day and practically did a lap on the front by himself before we made our move up the outside.

"I couldn't have done this without the rest of the guys either and those final laps were just unbelievable."

Asked if Meyer owed him one for holding back Goss at the finish line, Swift added: "He'd better buy me a pint.

"I am really happy for him and look forward to racing him at the worlds (track – March)."

Swift's success Down Under has earned considerable praise from Sky's race director Sean Yates.

Yates said: "I have ordered the champagne in so there will definitely be a celebration.

"Swifty will be leading those celebrations and the events of this week will give him the confidence to push on now, for sure.

"Last season was a bit up and down for him but his passion has clearly been reignited over the winter, and the sky's the limit in terms of his ability."

On Swift's victory in the final stage, Yates said: "It was a fantastic job by the boys and Swifty gave it the perfect finishing touch.

"That's two stage wins for him and a third on general classification, so we're all delighted for him.

"Originally we'd only been aiming for one stage win and a podium so we've exceeded expectations and done even better than last year."

Swift finished 10th in Saturday's fifth stage in Willunga as Francisco Ventoso outsprinted Matt Goss and Michael Matthews to take victory.

The Spaniard clinched the 131-kilometre trek from McLaren Vale to Willunga in a time of three hours, six minutes and 10 seconds.

Meyer could only finish in 13th place, with second-placed Goss closing the gap on him to just eight seconds.

Swift managed to stay with the leaders throughout, prompting Yates to proclaim that Swift required a huge effort to win the sixth stage.

Great Britain's Becky James picked up a bronze medal in the women's keirin on the final day of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup in Beijing.

Otley's Lizzie Armitstead finished fifth in the omnium.

In the men's omnium – won by Barnsley's Ed Clancy in Cali, Columbia, who was absent in China – Welsh teenager Sam Harrison won gold for Great Britain.