Still trying to get on top of a knee problem which cropped up in February, Team Sky rider Ben Swift has conceded that he will be forced to miss this year’s Classics.
The 25 year old started off the season on a good note, clocking up third, tenth and fifth in three of the Challenge Mallorca races. However on the final day of the series, he crashed on one of the descents and banged his knee hard.
Since then he has been doing a lot of physiotherapy work and receiving massages in an attempt to rectify the issue. However while he believes that there are encouraging signs, he has conceded that he has run out of time for the Classics.
“I have had a bit of a rough time of it of late. The knee injury that I picked up from my crash in the Mallorca Challenge is still hanging around,” he stated this week.
“I think we are on the home straight now but it has been quite a challenging time. After the spill I just wanted to get back on my bike and build on my form and fitness, but it was a vicious circle. I would feel okay and ride, then the next day I could feel the pain come back.”
Swift said knowing that he was otherwise in good form made the situation even more frustrating, and prompted him to push his recovery.
“I now think I’m paying the price a little through rushing it a bit too much,” he admitted. “The knee is feeling better now but it is looking like my Classics season is over before it begun. [That’s] frustrating but I need to be positive. I am lucky that it is still only March and I will be able to come back stronger and even more hungry to achieve a good mid and late season.”
Swift is one of Team Sky’s most promising young riders, with his career haul this far including stage wins in races such as the Tour of California, the Tour Down Under, the Vuelta a Castilla y León, the Tour of Poland and the Tour de Romandie.