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Team Sky has announced that former Olympic Academy trio Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Peter Kennaugh, who all formed part of Sky’s backbone in the team’s debut season in 2010, have re-signed for 2012.
Swift (pictured) has been the most successful of the three this season, with five stage wins, including two victories in the Tour Down Under. He also achieved stage wins in the Tour of California and Tour de Romandie.
Stannard, on the other hand, took his first professional win this season at the Tour of Austria and has become one of the team’s strongest Classics riders.
“I’ve learned so much from my first two seasons with Team Sky and am excited about what the future holds now I have signed this new deal,” Stannard said.
“The Classics are where I want to specialise so I will be working hard to try and hit the ground running next spring.
“For the rest of next season I’m happy riding on the front and getting involved in the lead-outs, and if I can get in a few breakaways along the way then hopefully there could be some more victories to come.”
Next year, Swift will form part of Mark Cavendish’s lead-out train, but will be hoping to have the continued support of the team in order to take his own opportunities in races.
“I’m delighted with the way things have gone over the last two years and am over the moon to have signed this new contract,” he said.
“The support the team have given me both on and off the bike has been absolutely fantastic and I just hope I can keep progressing now and win more bike races.”
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