Ben Swift had been part of a leading trio in the final kilometers, alongside Qhubeka-Nexthash's Harry Tanfield and Bahrain Victorious' Fred Wright.
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Ben Swift successfully defended his British National Road Race title, outlasting Fred Wright on the final climb to the finish to retain the national champion’s jersey for another year. Swift had been part of a leading trio in the final kilometers, alongside Qhubeka-Nexthash’s Harry Tanfield and Bahrain Victorious’ Fred Wright, after being dragged clear by an attack from Dan McLay of team Arkea-Samsic. Swift calmly sat on, then responded to Wright’s move at the bottom of the cobbled climb, the pair neck-and-neck before Swift’s legs lasted longer, Wright just running out of steam near the top as Swift crossed the line alone.
Ethan Hayter finished third, unable to complete his set of national titles after winning the time trial and circuit races earlier in the week. The Ineos rider fought his way back to the front of the race alongside Lewis Askey, missing the juncture in time to challenge for the win but dropping Askey and passing Tanfield to take bronze.
“Over the moon, I’ve become used to riding in this jersey, unfortunately, we never got to race last year so I got a year for free. Hopefully today I justified that extra year,” Swift said afterward.
“It was an incredible day, I’ve had a bit of an up and down year, real highlights, my second child in Harry, but in terms of personal results it didn’t really go well at the start of the year and mid-year and it started to come together now and to finish it off like this I’m really happy,” he added.
“It was a tough race but I’m really happy to keep the jersey,” he had said at the finish.
“At the Nationals, you have to race from the front, and you have to be quite aggressive. I went away quite early with Ben Turner on the third lap and it was just about putting yourself in the front and then as we caught got we went away again in that group of six and that was a really nice group to be in. It was working well and there were some strong guys. Then we got into the group of 10, there were a few attacks. Right place, right time, and when I looked around we had a gap,” the British cyclist added.
Swift also believes that successfully defending his British national road race title will aid his contract negotiations with team Ineos Grenadiers. The 33-year-old is currently out of contract for next season, but he appears to be staying as he and the British WorldTour team work out a deal.
Ineos Grenadiers have made a slew of changes in recent months as they seek to overhaul their entire squad. Magnus Sheffield, Ben Tulett, and Luke Plapp have all been brought on board as the team looks to build for the future.
“This is definitely going to help,”Swift said when discussing his contract negotiations. “I’d definitely like to stay and we’re in discussions. We’re pretty close but nothing has been signed yet. Hopefully soon,” the 33-year-old added.
