Ben Swift to stay with Katusha in 2010

Ben Swift (Katusha)

Ben Swift (Katusha) (Image credit: Gerry McManus)

Another British rider has slipped through Team Sky's fingers and will be staying with his current squad for another year, as Team Katusha announced on Monday that Ben Swift would continue to ride for them.

"Ben Swift will ride for Katusha until the end of 2010," a team representative told Cyclingnews. "He signed a regular contract with us and he has to respect it."

The 22-year-old won a stage of the Tour of Britain this season, and had a number of top ten finishes. He rode the Giro d'Italia this year and finished third in the second stage.

The newly-formed Team Sky has said that it wants to hire British riders, but several big names have been unavailable due to existing contracts. Sprinter Mark Cavendish explained on Monday why he was staying with Team Columbia-HTC and said he had never received an offer from Sky.

Sky team principal David Brailsford has made no secret that he wants to sign Tour de France fourth-place finisher Bradley Wiggins in the past. However, Wiggins has a contract through the 2010 season with Garmin-Slipstream.

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