Ben Swift takes British road title: I’ve been trying for this nationals for years
Jul 01 2019 03:40 am CET
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Ben Swift has taken the victory of the road at the British national championships while his teammate Ian Stannard took the silver medal of the competition.
Ineos took control of the race in several stretches, but the situation was constantly changing. Swift made a move that allowed him to be part of a quartet that formed in the last ten kilometres and Stannard was with him, while TT champion Alex Dowsett (Katusha-Alpecin) and John Archibald (Ribble Pro Cycling) completed the front group.
Swift made a jump in the last kilometre and sprinted to victory, with Stannard and Archibald crossing the line just behind him. "I’ve been waiting for a win for four years! I had a couple of terrible years and I’ve come back to Team Ineos now," said the rider. "I’ve just loved it this year – you can see the way I’ve been riding. I had that big crash obviously but I re-focused and worked really hard. Today it was a strange race. It was always going to be hard but when I was out there I just tried to always be in the right place and in those little moves.
"Stannard was a machine today! He absolutely gave me the easiest ride possible. I was away early on but after that, I could just sit on for 20km, then he went again and I could just sit on. I’m just so happy! It was John Archibald that was with us and chapeau he did a really strong ride. I could use him as I knew he was a really strong time triallist. Then when that moment came it was every man for himself. I started cramping up a little bit, but when you’ve got that line in sight. I’ve been trying for this nationals for years so it’s nice to be up there."
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