Connor Swift extends contract with Arkéa-Samsic for two more years

Former British road race champion Connor Swift has signed a two-year contract extension with Arkéa-Samsic, which will keep him at the French ProTeam until at least the end of 2022. Swift made a mid-season move to the team in May last year from British domestic team Madison Genesis, and said on Wednesday that the team "has big ambitions for the future, and I'm looking forward to being part of this journey".

Swift was the British road race champion when he joined the team last year – the current champion is his cousin, Ben Swift, of Team Ineos – and was taken on to provide cover for the injured Robert Wagner to form part of André Greipel's sprint train.

Greipel subsequently left the team – at the end of the 2019 season, to move to Israel Start-Up Nation – but Swift has seen the team strengthened for 2020 with the arrival of sprinter Nacer Bouhanni and climber Nairo Quintana.

"I'm very happy, and I think it's a great team where I can develop as a rider," Swift said on the Arkéa-Samsic website on Wednesday. "I work hard for my teammates when needed, but I'm also allowed my own opportunities in races when the time comes, which makes it a nice balance.

"Also being on this team, I can progress my knowledge and learn more French, which is a great life skill, knowing another language. And, lastly, the team has big ambitions for the future, and I'm looking forward to being part of that journey," he said.

The team's general manager, Emmanuel Hubert, added: "Connor Swift is a young rider with a constant margin for improvement. We recruited him during the 2019 season, after noting his good physical abilities.

"This year, he has given a new dimension to his talent by protecting his leader, Nairo Quintana, among others, on the flat and hillier stages at Paris-Nice, but also by being integrated into the Nacer Bouhanni [sprint] train. That demonstrates the extent of this young rider's talent, and is why we've extended his contract for the next two seasons," Hubert said.