He’s had repeated frustration due to a shoulder injury and now Ben Swift plus his Sky team have decided enough is enough, and a more lasting treatment is needed. As a result, the Briton will go under the knife to try to fix the issue.
The team announced today that the rider will pass up the possibility of riding any more events this season, and will instead have an operation and then concentrate everything on being ready for 2014.
“It gives me five or six months to get ready,” Swift explained, speaking about the repeated problems. The shoulder issue has been in place for three seasons and he tried to rectify it over the winter when he underwent surgery.
That helped for a while but he then fell heavily in the Trofeo Alcudia in February. It was a frustrating turnaround after he notched up two top five finishes in the other Challenge Mallorca races.
“That crash really knocked me for six,” he said, describing the outcome. “I had a big knee injury from that crash and I didn’t notice the shoulder as much as I had too much pain in my knee at that time. The shoulder progressively got worse and worse as I was weight-bearing on it.
“In the mountains that was when it really triggered off. It got to the point where after half an hour of being on the bike there was pain and it would progress from there.”
Swift tried to push on through it but the problem was lingering. He was under real pressure on day one of the Eneco Tour on Monday, and decided that it was time to get the problem fully addressed.
“I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t pull on the handlebars, I couldn’t accelerate out of corners properly,” he said.
“So we’ve made the call now to finish the season and focus on getting the shoulder fixed.
“On the one hand it’s a bad end to a tough year, but on the other hand I’m almost quite relieved in a way to find out that there’s a reason why I haven’t been firing on all cylinders this year.”
With the decision to end his season early taking the pressure off him needing to be back in shape in the short term, he and his team will take time with his rehabilitation.
The logic is that by getting this area of things right, that there will be a better chance for a complete recovery.
“I’m not rushing to get back on the bike, whereas last winter I did eight weeks on the home trainer whilst doing my shoulder rehab,” he said.
“This time I’m not going to touch the bike until I’m allowed back on the road and just focus 100 per cent on getting the shoulder fixed.”
If everything goes to plan Swift will get back into action in February. He said that he will have five or six months to get ready. “I’ll hopefully be really strong by the time I come back. I definitely have some good motivation to get going again,” he said.
Now 25 years of age, Swift’s road palmares include stage wins in the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Pologne, Tour of California, Tour Down Under and the Vuelta a Castilla y León.
He’s also won world and European titles on the track.