Connor Swift (Great Britain) demonstrated his diverse talents on the bike when he finished third overall at the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships. Headed into this year's gravel showdown in Belgium, he comes in as the British gravel champion.
As the winner of The Gralloch and a second place in Wales at Graean Cymru, Swift earned more points to place him in a second-row start at Halle on Sunday for his second Gravel World Championships. It is that forward grid position among a start list of close to 200 elite men that will be his advantage for another podium finish.
"I think the start, and especially this first 8k, is pretty crazy compared to the rest of the course. I think positioning is most important in that first 40k, compared to anywhere else on the course. You're going straight into canal path, then straight into a farmer's field, which is single track, and you got 290 elite riders that's going to be one long line. So you don't want to be at the back there," said Swift, who inspected the entire course the past few days in Belgium.
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"I've chosen my points where it's really crucial to be in that top 10 position. And then there is some sections where you can relax a little bit. Heading towards the actual finish lap, it does turn into a semi-road race then, because there is actually quite a lot of sections where if you are in a group, you can work really well together.
"So if you want to go solo, you've got to pick the right moment. And I think if you're in a group of five or less, then that's a really good group to sort of pull away and make it hard to chase back. So I don't want any moves leaving without me."
Swift pays attention to moves regularly with his main assignment on his second road season with Ineos Grenadiers as a domestique being this year’s Giro d’Italia, where he helped Geraint Thomas to third overall. On gravel, he gets to monitor the moves for his own opportunities.
"Obviously in road racing, you get a lot of benefit being in the peloton, drafting behind people, whereas on gravel, it's slightly different. And because you are off-road, the guys in the wheels still have to put out quite high power as well. So it's a lot more demanding and an attritional day out. And I think that suits me," he told Cyclingnews.
"So the job that I actually do on the road, it works in my favour on the gravel because I'm positioning myself. You go into these sectors in top five and it's always like an elastic band effect, because you go on to some single track or a bit of a gravelly corner. You do an effort on the front and then it's that elastic band effect. I just really enjoy it. It's something different."
Now in his ninth pro season at 28 years of age, he has a contract for two more seasons at Ineos. He confirmed his goal was to remain on the team, and the new contract will keep him in place through 2026.
"Obviously, the [Gravel] World Championships comes at the end of the season, so it's perfect for me to be able to come here. It gives me a goal to keep the fitness going and the training going.
"I do some other gravel races when it fits in the season as well, just for something different. I enjoy it."
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He described a typical gravel scenario as being just himself and his immediate family: "You've got to wake up an extra 30 minutes early because you've got bags to take to the car, you've got breakfast to make, you've got a baby to settle to sleep, you've got the wife running around to try and find a double espresso before the start. Obviously, it's still super serious."
In Halle, Swift was found at a large Ineos team vehicle with three Ineos staffers, who were taking care of his Pinarello Dogma X. He said they could squeeze on some 40-millimetre tyres for the 182km Worlds race, since he didn't need to reserve clearance for mud with Belgium experiencing warm temperatures and clear skies.
"The X, it feels very similar to my road bike, the F, obviously, that's what I train on and racing all the time. So, there's not a massive difference between the bikes. It's just a super nice bike," he said.
The special care at the Worlds was unique, he admitted, but he was taking full advantage of his "sole leader" status.
"I think it adds a little bit more pressure, because the other gravel races that I've done this year I've just been there by myself, with my wife, my son," he said as he stood by the Ineos team vehicle at the start in Halle.
"It's a lot more relaxed vibe doing it by myself. but when you've got the team here - three staff making sure my bike's clean, bike's ready to go, and transport sorted, hotel, food everything like that sorted - it's just like, oh, all these guys here just for me to obviously try and win the race. So there's added pressure that obviously for a team leader, and I'm just the sole leader here. It definitely motivates me more."
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