Ben Swift heads Team Sky's RideLondon-Surrey Classic line-up

Team Sky announces rosters for RideLondon Surrey Classic, Clásica San Sebastián, Tour of Poland and Tour of Denmark

Ben Swift

Ben Swift (Team Sky) returns to action at the RideLondon-Surrey Classic road race on Sunday (August 2), after recovering from surgery on a shoulder injury sustained in the Tour de Yorkshire in May.

Swift headlines Sky's line-up for the one-day race alongside Bernhard Eisel, Andy Fenn, Chris Sutton, Elia Viviani and Sky debutant Alex Peters.

"I’m feeling fully fit now, with no pain or discomfort at all. My rehab has gone really well so we’ll just have to see what happens," Swift said via the team's website.

"With the course, the weather, and the mix of teams who have entered, it promises to be a really aggressive race, and that always makes it very hard to read tactically.

"Being consistently near the front in those types of situations is vital, and having only six riders per team also adds an extra dimension of unpredictability."

>>> RideLondon-Surrey Classic 2015 preview

Giro d'Italia stage winner Viviani is another option for Sky in a sprint finish, with seasoned Classics riders Eisel and Fenn providing firepower in the 200-kilometre race's hilly mid-section.

Twenty-seven-year-old Rotherham man Swift was runner-up in the rain-soaked 2014 edition of the RideLondon-Surrey Classic behind Adam Blythe, then of the British NFTO team. Now signed to Australian WorldTour outfit Orica-GreenEdge, Blythe will return to defend his win.

Adam Blythe wins the 2014 London-Surrey Classic

Ben Swift was second behind Adam Blythe in the 2014 London-Surrey Classic

Tour de France stage winners Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep) and André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) are also on the provisional start list, although there is still a question mark over Cavendish's fitness after he suffered from illness in the Tour's final week.

>>> Wiggins: RideLondon is reminder of everything that’s great about cycling

Sky announced on Wednesday that Peters was joining the team as a stagiaire for the remainder of the season. In addition to RideLondon, Peters will join Swift at the following Tour of Denmark.

Sky also announced rosters for the forthcoming Clásica San Sebastián (August 1), Tour of Poland (August 2-8) and Tour of Denmark (August 4-8).

Team Sky squads for early August races

Clásica San Sebastián

Nathan Earle, Sebastián Henao, Peter Kennaugh, Lars Petter Nordhaug, Danny Pate, Nicolas Roche, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Chris Sutton

RideLondon-Surrey Classic

Bernhard Eisel, Andrew Fenn, Alex Peters, Chris Sutton, Ben Swift, Elia Viviani

Tour of Poland

Ian Boswell, Philip Deignan, Sergio Henao, Vasil Kiryienka, David López, Mikel Nieve, Xabier Zandio, Salvatore Puccio

Tour of Denmark

Nathan Earle, Sebastián Henao, Lars Petter Nordhaug, Alex Peters, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Chris Sutton, Ben Swift

Video: Secrets of the toolbox - Team Sky

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.