"I'm getting towards the end of my career" - INEOS veteran ready to become sports director once he hangs up the wheels

Although he spent two years away from the team, Ben Swift was part of the first-ever Team Sky squad back in 2010, and is the active rider who has spent the most years in the British team. The 38-year old is going to be racing yet another year at World Tour level and doesn't have retirement as an immediate thought, but when this does happen, he is ready to take up a role of sports director - perhaps at INEOS Grenadiers.

"I'm getting towards the end of my career now. This is year 18. I'm also 38 years of age now, so it's just something to do," Swift said in words to Domestique. "It falls at the right time of the year. Spoke to the team and just got it done. It's in the pocket then. You don't need to worry about it, and then we decide at a later date what path we go down when the time is right."

Swift is a rider with endless experience in the peloton, being part of the World Tour since 2009 and having gone through generations of riders. A former monument specialist, he has also spent many years now as a road captain at INEOS Grenadiers, where he not only guides the younger talents on the road but also off the bike. "Whether I actually do that in the future, I don't know. But at least I've got it now. I've grown up in this sport. These have been my university years. I’m not going to go into a different industry. This is what my knowledge is. So I'll stay in cycling somehow."

Swift has ridden the Tour Down Under this week and has shown he is still near the top of his game, proving to be absolutely key to Sam Welsford's victory on stage 3 where he brought the Australian to the front of the peloton in the perfect timing. At age 38 and after so much time racing in the same role, it would be expected that retirement would be imminent. But he does not see it like that.

"Maybe. You never know. Still enjoying it. Still did an alright lead out. As soon as you lose that enjoyment and you can't push yourself to the limit, then that's the time. But just keep your options open."

Furthermore, with the entrance of Weslford in the team, and the duo's immediate success in Australia, it is definitely possible that Swift will once again take up the role of leadout man for the Australian. This could provide further motivation and space to prove valuable for the team.

"It's really good. I think his mentality and obviously native English speaking, it fits him really well. We've always had sprinters on the team, but we've clicked really well straight off the bat," he admits. "To get that first win, it's a big tick. Now we can just progress". Welsford is a rider that needs guidance too, as in the past he hasn't been consistent all-year long, so Swift could be key in the sprinter's integration in the team.

"The sprints are hard now. There's a lot of good sprinters. And we haven’t always got the best lead out train because we've always got other ambitions. But we can be confident when we do get a team together to focus on a sprint that we've got a world-class sprinter behind us," he adds. Adding to that, the veteran is certain that in Welsford the team has one of the fastest men in the peloton, and he is eager to help him get more victories throughout the year.

"Even stage one, we were super close. It was just racing, minimal marginal gains that we kind of missed there. He showed that he was quite clearly the fastest there and it was just a racing thing. But it's a massive confidence boost. It lifts everybody back in Europe as well. Going forwards, you know that if we're going to do the work, somebody's going to finish it off."