INSIDE MAN

From drunk fans and messy roommates to freebies and Paris nightclubs, Ineos Grenadiers rider Connor Swift, a three-time finisher of the Tour de France, reveals the secrets and chaos of the race

- Mark Bailey

Swift by name, swift by nature - cycling and speed runs in the Swift family. Connor Swift's elder cousin Ben, 35, has spent much of his career at Ineos Grenadiers, the team Connor joined for 2023. Connor shot to wider public attention when he pulled off an audacious win in the 2018 British National Road Race Championships and has ridden the previous three Tours de France, finishing all three as something of a road bodyguard to Nairo Quintana during their time at Arkéa-Samsic. Here, Connor tells us what it's like to race the world's toughest race.

A day or two before the Tour starts, you get given a sort of medal. It's like a big chunk of metal, in a hexagon shape, and it has the Tour map on it. It's quite funny that you get this medal before you've even done a stage. It comes in a little wooden box. You also get a whistle for when you descend after a stage, and that has your race number on too. Getting those little things is pretty cool, so I have stuck them in a cycling room at home.

I've done three Tours now (all for Arkéa-Samsic, before joining Ineos Grenadiers in 2023). At my first Tour in 2020, it was the Covid year, so at the start in Nice there was not really anyone there. I was expecting more! But in 2021 there were more crowds and last year was like a normal Tour. It was crazy how many people came out. In Nice, the heavens opened, and riders were calling to neutralise the race because of all the crashes. And in Brittany, in 2021, it was absolute chaos with crashes. The peloton just wants to get through the day safely, but that just causes extra tension and stress in the bunch.

When I used to watch the Tour on TV, I always remember a zoomedout shot of six helicopters in a field. When I did the Tour myself, I remember passing this sunflower field and there were six helicopters on the ground. I was like, oh, there's the shot!