SWIFT SECOND TO GREIPEL IN SACHSEN TOUR

Britain's Ben Swift came second in the sprint finish of the opening stage of the Sachsen Tour in Germany yesterday. Swift was beaten by 2008 Tour Down Under winner Andre Greipel (Columbia) - a team-mate of British sprint star Mark Cavendish.

Swift is part of a Great Britain team taking part in the five-stage race. The British team features some of the biggest names on the domestic scene: Swift, Jonathan Bellis, Dean Downing, Dale Appleby, Rob Partridge, Chris Newton and Kristian House. Roger Hammond is also taking part for Team Columbia.

The UCI 2.1 ranked Sachsen Tour runs from Wednesday July 23 to Sunday July 27 and comprises four road stages and one individual time trial (Saturday). Previous winners include Jens Voigt and Fabian Wegmann, last year it was won by Dutchman Joost Posthuma (Rabobank).

Swift has already had a solid year, finishing fourth in the Under-23 European Championships in Italy at the beginning of the month. He also won the GP Coppa Romita and Coppa della Pace in June.

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