Former British road racing champion Conor Swift has signed a two-year contract extension with Arkea Samsic that will keep him with the French professional team at least until the end of 2022. Swift joined the team mid-season last May from English national team Madison Genesis and said Wednesday that he has "great ambitions for the future with the team and I look forward to being part of this journey."

Swift was the British road race champion when he joined the team last year. The current champion is his cousin, Ben Swift, who is on Team Ineos.

Greipel has since left the team after the 2019 season to join Israel's Startup Nation, but Swift sees the team strengthening for 2020 with the addition of sprinter Nasser Bouhanni and climber Nairo Quintana

"I'm very excited.

"I'm very happy and I think it's a great team to grow as a rider," Swift said Wednesday on the Arkea Samsic website.

"I work hard for my teammates when I need to, but when push comes to shove, I'm also given my own chance in the races.

"Also, being on this team allows me to deepen my knowledge and learn more French. And finally, the team has great ambitions for the future and I'm looking forward to being part of that journey.

Emmanuelle Hubert, the team's general manager, said, "Conor Swift is a young rider who always has room for improvement. We were impressed by his physical abilities and scouted him for the 2019 season.

"This year, he has given a new dimension to his talent by not only protecting leader Nairo Quintana, among others, on the flat and hilly stages of Paris-Nice, but also by being integrated into the Nasser Bouhani (sprint) train. This shows the magnitude of this young rider's talent and is the reason we have extended his contract for the next two seasons," Hubert said.