"Caleb can secure some crucial wins for the team" - INEOS Grenadiers teammate believes Caleb Ewan can bounce back in new environment
Cycling
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."
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."
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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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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