British national champion Connor Swift joins Dimension Data as a stagiaire

British national road race champion Connor Swift will join Dimension Data as a stagiaire for the remainder of the 2018 season, the team has confirmed.

WorldTour teams are permitted to take on three trainees from August 1 to the end of the season, with the stagiaires only able to race Continental level races while they are also permitted to continue racing for amateur teams.

>>> British riders Ethan Hayter and Mark Donovan join Team Sky as stagiaires

Swift, 22 and cousin of UAE Team Emirates rider Ben Swift, currently rides for British team Madison Genesis, and took the biggest win of his career in June at the British Road National Championships road race, beating Adam Blythe (Aqua Blue Sport) and Owan Doull (Team Sky) to the title.

He'll now link up with the likes of Mark Cavendish and Steve Cummings at Dimension Data for the rest of the year, with the hope of impressing enough that he might be offered a contract at WorldTour level.

Swift will be joined by 21-year-old Italian, Matteo Sobrero and 22-year-old South African, Kent Main as the other stagiaires at Dimension Data for the rest of 2018, with pair moving up from the WorldTour team's Continental development squad.

"It’s great to see another two stagiaires step up from the Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka UCI Continental Team," team principal Doug Ryder said.

"This team is improving year on year and with the incredibly close relationship to our WorldTour team, where the Conti team riders get to train with our WorldTour team riders. We hope to continue to fast track riders and give them opportunities to step up and succeed in the tough world of professional cycling."

Meanwhile, Mitchelton-Scott have taken on Esteban Chaves' brother Brayan as a stagiaire for 2018, moving him up from their development team Mitchelton-BikeExchange. Chaves will ride with the team at the upcoming Tour of Utah, having ridden the U23 Giro d'Italia, the Giro del Belvedere and the Tour de Bretagne this season.

“It’s an exciting period for Brayan, and the Tour of Utah will be a good opportunity for him to gain some valuable experience racing with professionals and form another part of his ongoing development," said sports director Matt White.

“Racing at altitude in Utah will be similar to where he grew up in Colombia and that should be an advantage for him. The experience of racing at another level will be good for Brayan and he should come out of it in good shape for the second half of the season with the U23’s.”