"Caleb can secure some crucial wins for the team" - INEOS Grenadiers teammate believes Caleb Ewan can bounce back in new environment

Ben Swift has entered his 14th season with INEOS Grenadiers this year, yet he can only hardly recognize the changes the team once dubbed as 'The Imperium' (referring to the evil force from Star Wars series) has undergone in this past years. From a team whose sole purpose was to win Tour de France, to a team where sprinters, classics riders and even breakaway warriors are appreciated... Swift has finally found a place he belongs at what might be the end of his career.

"Pretty exciting," he told Cyclingnews of the year ahead. Swift's ambition is no less than to be selected for the Tour de France one more time. "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."

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Swift spent most of his career with Sky/INEOS, but only found the true joy of riding for the team recently as the focus noticeable shifted away from general classifications at Grand Tours and favors attackive riders or even fast men (like Swift himself) more. What could've Swift achieved if he had such support from the team some 10 years ago...

But he's not reminiscing of the past and instead tries to enjoy what's become of the British team right now: "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."

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ANALYSIS: Take a look at these transfer hits and misses from recent years including Wout van Aert and Chris Froome

INEOS Grenadiers were in the background throughout most of the transfer window, with under-23 world champion from two years ago Axel Laurance as the most buzzing name to have joined the team. That was, until the team recruited Caleb Ewan from Jayco AlUla in mid-January. On first look, this transfer doesn't make much sense. But Swift believes the structure to support a strong sprinter already exists within INEOS and that Ewan can deliver plenty of crucial victories.

"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."

Perhaps, it was the transfer to INEOS that Ewan, winner of 11 Grand Tour stages, needs to get back on the top of the feeding chain? "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."

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