We observed after Alexander Kristoff’s victory on stage two, that the Katusha man had proved it possible to win without a lead-out and despite being part of a squad geared towards Joaquim Rodriguez and Dani Moreno’s overall ambitions. By contrast, Team Sky’s sprinter Ben Swift had missed the top ten on consecutive occasions. However, the Yorkshire sprinter must have taken note – because positioned on the back of Lotto-Belisol’s lead-out train in stage three was the 26-year-old.
Ultimately he finished fourth in the sprint, to follow his two podium places during Challenge Mallorca earlier this month. But after a winter spent recovering from surgery, it was an encouraging sign to see him challenging again. Since Mark Cavendish’s departure after his solitary season in 2012, Team Sky have lacked the sprinting prowess to compete for stage honours. During the WorldTour races however, each sprint finish can produce valuable points towards the overall standings. After narrowly missing out on the world number one spot in 2013, such points clearly have significant value. So, with Bernie Eisel testing his legs in Qatar and Ben Swift fourth on stage three in Oman, perhaps Sky do want to challenge on two fronts after all.
