World Championships: Michal Kwiatkowski’s solo attack captures title as Ben Swift shines

While Swift’s GB team-mate Chris Froome retired early on, Isle of Man rider Pete Kennaugh played a key role in shredding the peloton

A fraught finale in Sunday’s rainsoaked World Championships saw British all-rounder Ben Swift forced to settle for 12th behind Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski.

After Kwiatkowski blasted away alone seven kilometres from the finish to win by a bare four seconds ahead of Australian Simon Gerrans and Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, Swift’s chasing group crossed the line just outside the fight for the medals.

“I was hoping that the race would regroup, but Kwiatkowski did an amazing attack and we couldn’t reach him,” Swift said. “I think in Team GB we did a good job riding together in the first part, and then once it came down to that last lap, it was just flat out anyway and you had to find your own position.”

“It’s the first time I’ve had a leader’s role in a senior World Championships,” the 26-year-old Yorkshireman said, “ so I’m happy I could be up there.”

After 2013 was beset by injuries, Swift said he was “just happy with 2014 really, especially after last year. I’ve had a really solid season under my belt so hopefully I can take another step in 2015.”

While Swift’s GB team-mate Chris Froome retired early on, Isle of Man rider Pete Kennaugh played a key role in shredding the peloton with some gutsy counter-attacking late on. “We thought at about 180km in, there’d be that first wave [of attacks] and we wanted Pete in that group so we didn’t have to chase,” said team director Sir Dave Brailsford. “He was fantastic.”

The weekend’s road-racing has been a relative disappointment for Britain with no medals either in the women’s or men’s events. But Team GB nonetheless ends the World Championships with one gold taken in memorably superb style by Sir Bradley Wiggins in last Wednesday’s men’s time trial.

The World Championships were also the last professional road-race for David Millar, retiring after an 18-year career in which he has led and taken stage wins in all three Grand Tours. After working hard in the first part of the course for the British squad, with his job done, Millar pulled out, concluding “we did what we wanted to do”.

“It was quite anti-climatic, ending my career abandoning four laps from the end of the Worlds, but it doesn’t really matter,” Millar added. “My whole feeling is one of over-riding relief it’s all over, you realise you’ve reached your limit of going so hard. I’m happy now I can move on.”