Ben Swift on mentoring at Ineos Grenadiers: I’m enjoying this too much to retire

The average of the WorldTour peloton is getting younger and younger but the older, wiser riders still play a vital role. And some don't want to think about retirement. 

The reason? They are having too much fun.

That’s the case of Ben Swift, who at 35 and in a contract year with Ineos Grenadiers doesn't want to bow out at the end of the season.

During the UAE Tour Swift was juggling multiple roles including working for GC leader Luke Plapp, giving Elia Viviani a hand in the sprints, and acting as a mentor for the young Ineos Grenadiers riders. 

Despite his workload, he is getting too much job satisfaction to think about retirement.

“I’m still loving it to be honest, like I said to my family, if you’re willing to keep going and you’re still capable, why stop?” Swift tells Cyclingnews. 

“If I was really getting my head kicked in and not enjoying it, that’d be different. But you can’t just have a team full of younger, inexperienced guys, you also need people who’ve been around a bit, like me.

“Maybe I’m not developing anymore as a rider. But I am still moving forward, and with these new training techniques and the way everything is getting more professional, I think you can keep going. And in my case, I think I will, at least up until I’m 37. I’m still up for it.”

One knock-on effect of the younger generation coming through so fast is the mentoring role is arguably more important than ever before. 

As Swift points out, there have been a lot of jumping to wrong-headed conclusions about what the role actually implies.

“People get confused with the terminology of mentorship, it’s all not about dictating and ‘do this’ and ‘do that,’ even if sometimes that’s necessary because younger riders are not going to know everything," he explains.

“It’s more about leading by example, showing the way that we race as Grenadiers, and keeping those habits up. And me just being me, with my level as a professional, that helps me do it too.”

Swift had mentors of his own when he joined Team Sky back in 2010. 

“I had guys like Matt Hayman and Bernie Eisel looking after me without anybody saying anything,” Swift says. 

“So while some progression comes naturally, it’s more about passing my experience on in that way, too.”

Mentorship may thus be more a case of being there when needed rather than of delivering long lectures after stages, and Swift pointed to Luke Plapp as an example of a rider who has made impressive progress on his own account.

“You’ve seen a massive improvement from his first to his second season. I think he was really unfortunate that COVID-19 was around during his under-23 years. So at the back end of 2021, when he was a stagiaire and I was rooming with him, he’d barely done any road racing. He’d only done the Tour Down Under when it was a national race. He was lacking in experience,” Swift explains.

“Now you can really see how he’s developed and matured. Just look at how he raced at Jebel Jais, compared with a year ago when he was attacking into headwinds and stuff.

“He’s just much more assured, and from the conversations we have, you can see that as well. On top of which he’s a great guy to work with, too.”

Plapp doesn’t just bring great performances to the team, but is also a huge motivator, Swift says. In fact, Plapp is so irrepressibly upbeat and optimistic, “that’s why we call him ‘Happy Plappy.”

More aggressive racing

As for the more aggressive racing that is currently dominating the scene, Swift is all in favour. 

“Everybody’s seen the change, it’s more unpredictable now, but I prefer it,” he says.

“There are multiple teams on a more equal level so it’s good for the sport. As long as you’re still enjoying it, and you put the hard work in, enjoying it makes it easier.”

A member of Team Sky when it started in 2010 and back with the squad since 2019 after a two-year spell at UAE Team Emirates, Swift has more insider perspective than most on how the development of the British super team. 

While there have been big steps forwards in recent seasons, he admits frankly there have been setbacks as well.

“You’re only as good as your last result and we’ve slipped on the Grand Tour front,” Swift admits, knowing that 2022 was the first year since 2011 where Ineos did not win at least one Grand Tour.

“We’ve had successful seasons and done really well specially with the young guys. But we’ve got such high standards for ourselves that if we’re not winning a Grand Tour, then I wouldn’t say it’s an unsuccessful year, but we’ve definitely got to re-establish ourselves and push on.”

“With the level of professionalism there is in other teams, how good they are, we have to up our game, shift with the times and innovate.”

Swift has his own Grand Tour goal. 

"I had a good start to the year, so I want to get into that Giro d’Italia team and support the squad there. All the guys for there are already doing really well," he reveals.

“It’s the same as every year. I want to get the best out of myself and for the team. If I get any results along the way, then brilliant but then I’ve got the chance to work with a full array of riders, from young guys to sprints with Elia.

“I think being versatile like that is good, but I’m also getting stronger and more resilient,” he concludes.