Press Conference: CONNOR SWIFT
What was it like winning your first GC?
It was pretty different actually, because I never even won a stage or anything like that, just nationals and Tro-Bro Léon. I normally cross the line first and then have all those emotions, whereas going into the leader’s jersey in this race, I didn’t want to celebrate or think about it too much as I still had a stage to go. Having the leader’s jersey inside the race was super stressful because the break was taking ages to go, we had other GC guys attacking, and obviously you’re relying purely on your team to pull off the win. It’s definitely stressful, and I’ve gained a bit of experience now.
What was the relief like crossing the line?
In the final it kicked off, there were crashes and it was super stressful. I crossed the line, not losing any time, and it hit me all of a sudden. It’s bloody hard to win GC in a race. It comes down to bonus seconds; it doesn’t come round often. It was more relief than anything, but after I got all the messages, it sank in.
Was the plan to target GC going into the race?
I was joint leader going in with one of the French lads on the team and both of us can do a decent time trial, but then on the first day there was a crash and only about 40 guys ended up going to the finish. So then it was just 40 of us going for the GC and my team-mate had lost time, so that was the GC done for him. It is one of those races where there are crashes because the circuits are tight; you have to have luck on your hand to avoid any misfortune, which you don’t realise until you have GC hopes. Everything has to go right.
Are you working on your time trialling?
It’s something that I constantly want to progress in. I go and see Matt Bottrill at the start of the season and he helps me. I’m just waiting to find a real breakthrough of me being super powerful but aero at the same time. I really enjoy time trials, but there is so much involved with it, aerodynamics wise and equipment wise. It’s kind of like there’s a race before it has even started, and I would say I’m half decent at it at the moment.