Connor Swift makes mid-season switch to Arkea-Samsic
British champion to form part of Andre-Greipel's lead-out train
British national road race champion Connor Swift has moved to Arkéa-Samsic with immediate effect, the French squad announced today. He will make his debut for the team at Tuesday's Four Days of Dunkerque.
The 23-year-old has raced for British Continental team Madison Genesis since 2017, winning the British National Championships with a solo move last year. His final race for the team was the Tour de Yorkshire, where he finished ninth overall.
Arkea-Samsic boss Emmanuel Hubert noted that Swift will form part of the lead-out train for the team's star rider, André Greipel, who joined over the winter.
"He is a rider with a lot of potential; he is very fast in the sprints and he knows how to fight for position," said Hubert on the Arkéa-Samsic website.
"Robert Wagner, who was supposed to be André's lead-out man, has unfortunately been out of action for several weeks. We had to reinforce the team in that area to be more performant, and now that we have Connor Swift, it's done."
It won't be Swift's first of riding in the professional ranks, as last season he rode as a stagiaire for Dimension Data. Swift called the chance to race with Greipel as "surreal" and thanked Madison Genesis for allowing him to make the mid-season move.
"I'm over the moon with the opportunity that has come around," he said. "Things like this don't happen often and to be able to step up to Pro Continental level with Arkéa and go there to be part of a team helping out Greipel will be pretty surreal.
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"I am super thankful to everyone involved to make this happen, and of course, Madison Genesis for the past two years and allowing me to step up and leave the team mid-season.
"I'm excited to kick things off with Arkea which seems like a great team and one that also has a really good race programme, too. The hard racing on rolling terrain in France will suit me. I'm sure it's going to develop me more as a rider and I'm keen to learn from the more experienced riders."
Swift's contract with the French team, who received a wildcard to race at this year's Tour de France, will run through to the end of the 2020 season.