Tour ambition on hold as Swift goes in pursuit of Olympic gold

Ben Swift is to put his Tour de France ambitions on ice as he chases Olympic gold in 2012.

The Rotherham cyclist is one of the rising stars of road cycling but is equally adept on the track.

And despite coming off a year in which he won five road races around the world and handled his Tour de France debut commendably, Swift will turn his attentions over the coming months to the team pursuit track discipline.

The 24-year-old is one of seven men – including Barnsley’s Beijing Olympic champion Ed Clancy – vying for four spots on the Olympic squad for London 2012.

Swift has left the door open for a second stab at July’s Tour de France with May’s Giro d’Italia his main road goal of the year.

But his entire programme hinges on next month’s Track World Cup meet at London’s Olympic velodrome.

“Track is my biggest aim in 2012 and the London World Cup is like a selection meeting for me,” said Swift.

“I want to get in that British team pursuit squad at the Olympics so February is a big meeting.

“If it goes pear-shaped, I’ll have to have a good think about where I go from there.

“The good thing is if it does go wrong then I won’t have lost a lot of time in the road season,” he said.

“But if it goes right, then the next selection race will be the world championships in April, after which it’s pretty much full gas to the Olympics.

“When it comes to the London Olympics, the best chance for me to win gold is being part of that team pursuit squad.

“I’ll still do a bit of road and whatever happens, I will be riding the Giro in May.”

Swift was talking to the Yorkshire Post from a Team Sky training camp in Mallorca.

He was out there with Pete Kennaugh and Andy Tennant, two men who helped Clancy win gold in the team pursuit at last autumn’s European Championships.

That may represent a significant advantage over Swift, who due to his road agenda last year only completed one team pursuit race.

That was in Manchester last February, only days after he had returned from winning two stages of the Tour Down Under when he announced himself as a serious sprinting force in world cycling.

“There’s not a lot of races in the year so I don’t necessarily feel rusty,” he said of the team pursuit.

“I’ve been putting a lot of track time in.

“I know all the guys in the team pursuit squad from our days in the youth set-up, we’ve all grown up together.”

His decision to prioritise the Track World Cup next month means he has to forfeit the Tour Down Under, which begins in Australia next week.

Even if the Tour de France is shelved this year, there is no doubting this multi-talented cyclist has a bright future ahead of him.

His immediate challenge, though, is to back up what he achieved in 2011.

Team Sky have recruited heavily over the winter with not just Mark Cavendish but Richie Porte and Bernie Eisel added to the ambitious squad.

Swift spent a three-day camp with his new team-mates in Milan recently, when the bond with Cavendish, Bradley Wiggins et al left the young man feeling as though they had been working together for a year.

But such competition for places will make it harder for Swift to continue improving in 2012.

“It will require a lot of hard work,” he said.

“I’m pretty much in the same shape as I was last year and that proved a real catalyst for me 12 months ago.

“I’ve got a fantastic support team.

“My year will be different but I’m confident of progressing,” he said.

“If I can pick up a gold medal that will make it a memorable year.”

There are still road races on the programme for a young man who grew up cycling the country roads of South Yorkshire.

The Giro di Sardegna and Tour of Murcia are on the horizon while the Giro d’Italia, as one of three grand tours, is not to be sniffed at.

“The Tour de France isn’t the focus at the moment,” said Swift of the sport’s blue riband event that will see Team Sky launch a twin assault on the yellow jersey for Wiggins and the green jersey for Cavendish.

“I’ll definitely do it again, but maybe not this year.

“The Tour’s something you need to think about for the whole season.

“Last year it wasn’t on my radar then all of a sudden I was in it.

“But you need to have it as your focus for the entire year,” he added.

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