Ben Swift is looking forward to mixing it up with the best in the business during his first appearance at the Vuelta a España and is unfazed by the responsibility resting on his shoulders.

The 22-year-old will be Team Sky's only specialist sprinter during their third Grand Tour appearance of the season and has been given that chance to shine after posting a series of strong results during the middle part of the campaign.

He swept the board at the Tour de Picardie in May - winning a stage as well as the overall, points and young rider classifications - and followed that up with two podium places at the recent Tour of Austria.

And while the team will be trying their best to slingshot the Yorkshireman into contention on the flatter stages, Swift is not afraid to battle it out on his own if the need arises and is grateful to be competing against the likes of Mark Cavendish, Thor Hushovd and Tyler Farrar:

"I'm looking forward to getting stuck in," he told us from the team's base in Seville. "It's a great opportunity for me to perform on such a big stage and I'll be taking any chances that come my way.

"Obviously there is a certain amount of pressure that comes with a role like this, but I've been told I can go out there, have some fun, and see just what happens.

"When you look at the other sprinters in the race, a lot of them are faster than me, but it'll be up to them to do take the initiative on the closing straights and then I'll just act accordingly.

"I certainly feel comfortable battling by myself in that situation and enjoy that aspect of racing. I'm really looking forward to it."

Raring to go

Swift's season has been building up to this point ever since he returned from a knee injury at the Tour of Austria and he is feeling fresh and raring to go.

"My condition has been steadily improving ever since then," he added. "I've had a pretty full programme for the last couple of months but all the races have fit in really well together and that's definitely helped me condition-wise.

"My last race was the Vattenfall Cyclassics on 15 August and since then I've been trying to find that fine balance of maintaining my form whilst at the same ensuring I'm going into the Vuelta as rested as possible.

"It's been pleasing to see that everyone else has come over here in good shape as well and we're all looking forward to getting started and having some fun."

Swift is expecting the team to put in a solid showing during the three weeks of competition and is excited at the prospect of what is to come:

"Most of the team that's here has ridden together a lot throughout the season and the camaraderie will have built up will definitely drive us along.

"We're all here to do a bit of everything and I think we will perform well. Thomas [Löfkvist] is motivated to do a good ride and so is Simon [Gerrans] after crashing out of the Tour de France.

"We also have a lot of young guys here who are really eager to show people what they can do, so everyone will want to get stuck in and it'll be interesting to see how the race pans out."