Swift in Pole position

TWO stage wins and two top three finishes helped Ben Swift to finish first in the Tour of Poland’s points classification.

The Anston cyclist won stage two and stage five, and finished second and third in stages four and seven respectively.

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It was a strong performance from the Team Sky star, who said his classification victory was a good way to end a successful tour.

The 24-year-old said: “It was great for me to wrap up the points classification and a nice way to finish the week off.”

“We also won the team classification – which was a nice bonus.”

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“The team’s been great all week, we had a good group of guys here.”

“I’m happy with the form I’ve shown and to get two stage wins is very pleasing.”

It could have been even better for Swift, but a puncture towards the end of the first stage denied him victory, and in stage four he came agonisingly close to another win.

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Stage two was the Beijing Olympian’s first taste of victory this year, and ended a run of misfortune that saw him injured before the Giro d’Italia and miss out on selection for the 2012 Olympics in London.

“I’ve had quite a bit of bad luck this year, so it’s pretty special to get that first win of the season,” he said.

“I knew that the form was good coming into the race but I’ve had a little bit of bad luck along the way.”

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“I had the puncture on the first stage and then I got the win which was really nice.”

“(After stage four) I was quite disappointed as the guys did such a fantastic job and to get beat on the line was disappointing for myself and the guys.”

“(On stage five) it was nice to get another win and pay them back.”

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And while competing hard in Poland he’s had half an eye on his team-mates in the world’s most famous tour, taking inspiration from the Team Sky success in France.

“The boys are riding absolutely unbelievably out at the Tour de France and it’s inspiring all of us 100 per cent,” he added.

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