Ben Swift facts for kids

Benjamin Ian Swift (born 5 November 1987) is a British professional track and road racing cyclist. He currently rides for the UCI WorldTeam Ineos Grenadiers. Swift won the scratch race at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. He also won the men's elite road race at the 2019 and 2021 British National Road Race Championships. His cousin, Connor Swift, is also a professional road cyclist and was the British champion in 2018.

Ben Swift's Early Cycling Life

Swift was born in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. He started cycling with Mossley Cycle Racing Team when he was 12 years old.

Junior Achievements

In 2003, Ben finished second in the under-16 national scratch race championship. He competed in the Junior Commonwealth Games, where he won a bronze medal in the points race. He also won two national titles as a junior rider. He won the junior points race championship in 2004 and the junior scratch race in 2005. In 2005, he even competed in the senior scratch race and won a bronze medal.

International Track Success

Ben started competing internationally, winning several madison events. In 2012, he achieved a huge goal by winning the World Championship Men's Scratch Race. This made him Great Britain's first-ever World Scratch Champion.

Ben Swift's Professional Road Career

Ben Swift began his professional road cycling career in August 2007. He joined a team called Barloworld as a trainee. During this time, he won the King of the Mountains title in the Tour of Britain. This award goes to the best climber in the race.

Racing for Great Britain

In 2008, he raced for the British Cycling development team. He won his first race that was ranked by the UCI (the world cycling body). He also represented Great Britain in the 2008 Olympic Games road race. He finished fourth in the under-23 race at the UCI Road World Championships.

Joining Team Katusha

After the championships, Ben signed a two-year professional contract with a new Russian team called Team Katusha. In 2009, he was chosen to ride in the Giro d'Italia, a famous multi-stage race. He finished third in one of the stages. He got his first professional win on stage seven of the Tour of Britain. He led his Katusha teammate, Filippo Pozzato, to a one-two finish. Ben described himself as an "allrounder" who could do well in one-day races and win stages.

Time with Team Sky / Ineos Grenadiers

Swift (leading) at the 2011 Tour de Romandie, where he won the fifth stage.

In January 2010, Ben joined the newly formed British-based team, Team Sky. His move to Sky from Team Katusha was a big deal. It even made the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) think about new rules for riders changing teams. In his first season with Sky, Ben had a great result at the Tour de Picardie. He won a stage, the overall race, the points competition, and the best young rider award.

In 2011, Ben won his first stage in a UCI World Tour race. He won stage two of the 2011 Tour Down Under in Australia. Four days later, he also won stage six. Ben then won Stage 2 of the 2011 Tour of California. He even took the lead of the race after Stage 1 was cancelled due to bad weather. Ben was chosen for the 2011 Tour de France, another major race, and finished 6th on Stage 15.

In 2012, Ben focused on track cycling to try and represent Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics. On April 4, he won the Scratch Race at the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. This win earned him the special "rainbow jersey" as a world champion. He also finished second in the points race and won a silver medal in the madison race with Geraint Thomas.

Ben was supposed to ride the Giro d'Italia, but he had to pull out. He broke his shoulder in a training crash the week before. Even though he wasn't picked for the British Olympic team, he was chosen for Team Sky's squad for the 2012 Tour de Pologne. He won two stages in that race and wore the points classification jersey. Ben was also Sky's main sprinter at the 2012 Vuelta a España, where he finished second on Stage 18.

In March 2014, Ben achieved one of his best results by finishing third in Milan–San Remo. This is a very long and famous one-day race. In April 2015, he crashed out of the new Tour de Yorkshire race, injuring his shoulder again.

Wearing the national champion's jersey in 2019

On March 19, 2016, Ben finished second in Milan–San Remo. He was just barely beaten by another rider in the final sprint.

Moving to UAE Abu Dhabi

After seven seasons with Team Sky, Ben announced in September 2016 that he would join UAE Abu Dhabi. He signed a two-year deal starting in 2017. He wanted to join this team to have more chances to race for himself and try to win.

Returning to Team Sky / Ineos Grenadiers

In October 2018, Ben Swift rejoined Team Sky for the 2019 season. In June 2019, Ben won the British National Road Race Championships in Norwich. He beat his team leader, Ian Stannard, in the race. In September 2019, Ben signed a new contract to stay with Team Ineos (which was formerly Team Sky) until the end of the 2021 season. Ben said he felt "renewed enthusiasm and motivation" for cycling. As of July 2023, he is still a part of the Ineos Grenadiers' team.

Ben Swift's Major Cycling Results

Ben Swift has achieved many important results in both road and track cycling throughout his career.

Road Cycling Achievements

• 2007: Won the Mountains classification in the 2007 Tour of Britain.
• 2008: Won the Coppa della Pace race.
• 2009: Won Stage 7 of the 2009 Tour of Britain.
• 2010: Won the Overall, Points, and Young Rider classifications at the Tour de Picardie. He also won Stage 2.
• 2011: Won stages in the 2011 Vuelta a Castilla y León, 2011 Tour de Romandie, and 2011 Tour of California. He also finished 3rd overall in the 2011 Tour Down Under, winning two stages.
• 2012: Won the Points classification and two stages in the 2012 Tour de Pologne.
• 2014: Won the Points classification and two stages in the 2014 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali. He also won a stage in the 2014 Tour of the Basque Country. He finished 2nd in the British National Road Race Championships and 2014 RideLondon–Surrey Classic. A big achievement was finishing 3rd in 2014 Milan–San Remo.
• 2015: Finished 2nd overall in the 2015 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, winning the Points classification and a stage. He also finished 3rd in the 2015 RideLondon–Surrey Classic.
• 2016: Won the Points classification in the 2016 Vuelta a Andalucía. He finished 2nd in 2016 Milan–San Remo.
• 2019: Won the British National Road Race Championships.
• 2021: Won the British National Road Race Championships again.

Grand Tour Race History

Grand Tours are the three biggest multi-stage races in professional cycling: the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España.

Grand Tour	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Giro d'Italia	127	—	—	—	—	113	—	—	—	—	—	18	—	66	61	58
Tour de France	—	—	135	—	—	—	—	—	83	—	—	—	—	—	—
/ Vuelta a España	—	DNF	—	121	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Track Cycling Achievements

• 2004: Won the Points race at the National Junior Championships.
• 2005: Won the Scratch race at the National Junior Championships. He also finished 3rd in the Individual pursuit.
• 2007: Won the Team pursuit at the UEC European Under-23 Championships.
• 2010: Won a silver medal in the Team pursuit at the UCI World Championships.
• 2012: At the UCI World Championships, he won a gold medal in the Scratch race. He also won silver medals in the Points race and the Madison race (with Geraint Thomas).

Images for kids

• 

  Swift at the 2022 Giro d'Italia

• 

  Swift (leading) at the 2011 Tour de Romandie, where he won the fifth stage.

• 

  Wearing the national champion's jersey in 2019

See also

In Spanish: Benjamin Swift para niños