Ben Swift wants to win a race and is eyeing a return to the Tour de France in what could prove to be the final season of his long career.
The Ineos Grenadiers road captain has created a niche role for himself at the Giro d’Italia the last three years, using his turn of speed in 2024 to, among other things, block eventual champion Tadej Pogačar at intermediate primes and assist teammate Geraint Thomas to third overall.
Swift opened his 2025 campaign in Australia, alongside Thomas, competing at the Tour Down Under, where he finished fifth on stage one behind in-form pure sprinter Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and then the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
“Pretty exciting,” he said of the year ahead.
“Looking at classics again. I want to get back into Grand Tour racing again.
“Whatever it is, you know, towards the end of my career, it might be my last year, it might not be, you know, I’m still enjoying it. So, I’d like to go back to the Tour again but obviously that’s hard to get into in this team. We’ll see.”
While Ineos Grenadiers is a long way from confirming its lineup for the Tour, Thomas also wants to return in his swansong year. The 2018 champion has referenced supporting Carlos Rodriguez for the general classification. Egan Bernal, who competed in France alongside Rodriguez last year, also made headlines recently, with cycling fans frothing at a new Strava record he set in training on a mythical climb in Colombia.
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Swift has found extra motivation in the team’s shift away from an all-for-one and one-for-all focus on GC at Grand Tours to a more attacking style, which also potentially increases his chances of going back to La Grande Boucle.
“I’m really thriving on that,” he said.
“I think what I’ve proved in the Giro the last four or five years is they know what I’m capable of. It would just be nice to change it up a little bit, but whatever the team want, at the end of the day, I’m here for the team to give my best in every race.”
The late signing of Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan is another indication of Ineos Grenadiers’ more multifaceted orientation at Grand Tours, amid a proverbial arms race for climbers.
Swift says he won’t be on the “Caleb programme” but anticipates doing some races with the Grand Tour stage winner, who quietly split with Jayco-Alula over the off-season, having joined his ‘home’ team following an acrimonious exit from Lotto-Dstny.
“I think what you saw in Tour Down Under, we were doing a really good job, we were just lacking that pure, pure sprinter,” Swift said. “Myself and Sam [Watson], we enjoyed the sprints, we enjoyed getting stuck in, but we were always going to be a bit of a limit compared to the real pure, pure sprinters. So having Caleb on the back of there, it should hopefully open up more doors for the team and just to get more wins for the team.
“I think for him as well he’s had a bit of a rough time and I think he’ll need this,” Swift continued. “And the way we’ve been riding, on and off the bike, we’ve had a great time here and I think we’ve got that team unity, and he’ll fit straight in.”
Swift’s first objective in Europe will be the spring classics, though, he’s diplomatic when asked about specific aims there and the season at large.
“The days are gone where I was targeting San Remo and stuff like that,” he said.
“Of course, if the opportunity came, you’d love to take it, but we’ve got guys that can follow Pogi [Pogacar] and stuff like that on that Poggio now. I think perform the best I can and whatever that opens up.
“My personal ambition I want to win a race,” he continued. “That’s always the objective every year, wherever it is.”
