Connor Swift on the heat of Tour de France battle and hailing rival Tom Pidcock’s victory

The 22-year-old debutant from Leeds also had an admirer from within the peloton, namely Connor Swift, his fellow Yorkshireman in the great race.

Swift is riding his third successive Tour de France for French team Arkea-Samsic and couldn’t help but be in awe of Pidcock’s 100kmph descent and subsequent win up the Alpe d’Huez, one of the Tour de France’s most storied summits.

“Tom was super impressive, I was happy to see him win on that stage,” says Swift, four years Pidcock’s senior.

“It’s always nice to see a Brit win a stage, especially on a stage like that, it’ll have been pretty special for him.

“He’s very grounded, but a performance like that has been coming.”

When their wheels cross in the bunch Swift and Pidcock share a few words, presumably about the roadworks on the M62, but their roles in this year’s race are very different. While Pidcock is there to support Ineos Grenadiers’ yellow jersey contender Geraint Thomas with a little licence to demonstrate his own capabilities as he did so magnificently on stage 12 last Thursday, Swift’s purpose is more defined.

The 26-year-old from Doncaster is there to support Nairo Quintana’s bid for a podium place and with the Colombian sixth heading into the final week of racing on Tuesday, the former British road race champion can be pleased with his work so far.

“He’s not too far away from a shot at the podium, our hopes are still high that we can deliver that for him,” says Swift.

“As we’ve seen the other day when he attacked, his form is there and we’ve got three more mountain stages in the Pyrenees to come so hopefully he can replicate his peformances and we as his support riders can step up.”

For a fleeting moment on stage 10 last Tuesday on the road from Mauzine to Megève, Swift got in the breakway and dared to dream.

“Realistically we wanted Warren Barguil in that move,” says Swift, who knows and accepts that his role as a domestique is about sacrificing himself for the good of the team.

“It finished up with a 20km climb and for someone like myself that’s not really the ideal finish. That was a bit disappointing. Then on Sunday we expected a large breakaway day but it ended up being a sprint, so it felt like on a personal note there’s not many opportunities, it’s all for Quintana. I’m there to do a job, you might get one opportunity and you’ve got to take it, but they don’t come round very often.”

Personal glory aside, Swift can take heart from the fact that Arkea-Samsic have selected him to ride the Tour de France three years in succession and with each passing edition he is gaining more knowledge and experience.

He was a late developer compared to the likes of Pidcock and other young stars. When he won the national road race title in 2018 he was still riding for a British continental team in Madison Genesis.

“This is my third tour almost under my belt, it’s good for the future. It shows I’m experienced in grand tours. I can’t see any negatives in that, it’s just good progress in my career,” says Swift.

“I came into it inexperienced, it was a steep learning curve, but it’s a few years now, I know what to expect.”

There could be an opportunity for glory later in the year, though, for the South Yorkshireman, with Swift riding for Team England in the Commonwealth Games road race in a fortnight and then potentially the UCI Road World Championships in Australia in September.

“Wait and see for the selection for that, I’d like to be there in Australia in a supporting role for Pidcock,” says Swift.

“And Commonwealth Games two weeks after the Tour, potentially the leader for the race will be Ethan Hayter, but again if there’s an opportunity to get in a breakaway or it comes down to a sprint I’ll be one of the guys looking to be in that move. That’s the next big goal.”

Thomas, meanwhile, still believes in his chances of winning a second Tour de France this week but knows he faces an uphill challenge to dislodge race leader Jonas Vingegaard and defending champion Tadej Pogacar in the Pyrenees.

Thomas reached Monday’s final rest day third overall, two minutes and 43 seconds off Vingegaard in yellow, and 21 seconds behind Pogacar.

“It’s certainly going to be difficult with two incredibly strong riders in front of me and not just one,” said Thomas. “We’ve got to keep believing as a team.

“All we can really do is get to Paris as quick as we can. Jonas and Tadej, if we don’t pass them we don’t and that’s that.”