Ben Swift’s form in the Tour of the Basque Country has seen him go from being considered a sprinter to now being touted as a strong dark horse for Saturday’s Amstel Gold Race.

"I'd gone well in Pais Vasco in the past and it was a race I wanted to perform in this time around. I was happy more than anything with the stage win. It gives me a lot of confidence for the next couple of weeks because to be honest that was the biggest thing that I was lacking after last year," he told Cyclingnews.

But his big breakthrough came before the 6 day stage race. It was his podium in Milan-Sanremo that has inspired his recent run of form.

"Milan-San Remo gave me confidence and the belief that I could still perform and then going to Coppi Bartali and riding well there and at Pais Vasco, it's made me feel better in myself. Now I just need to get ready for Amstel."

Despite Sky not having picked its leaders for the Dutch race, Swift is confident that if he is chosen he can do well as it is the race that suits him best.

"I know that it's going to be super tough and even though I've got good form I know that I'll have to be on a really good day. Amstel suits me a lot better now with that flat section at the top of the final climb though."

"I've showed that I've got pretty good form but being honest we've got a strong team and a number of people who can step in. I want to perform well but team leaders haven't been announced yet."

He has even gone to the depths to study his potential rivals on Sunday.

"Gilbert rode under the radar at Pais Vasco so I think he's going to shine," Swift said.

"Then you've got Michal Kwiatkowski, who is an obvious one and then Alejandro Valverde. I think it will be between them but if I'm able to fight with them I'll be happy with that."

Tour hopes

But Swift does not just have his eyes on Amstel. He wants a berth on Sky’s roster for the 2014 Tour de France, which begins in his home county of Yorkshire.

"When we spoke back then, I said that the best route for me to take was to come out strong at the start of the season and get results but the Tour is a difficult one" he admitted Cyclingnews.

"It would of course be nice to be there and there are two stages here in Yorkshire but actually on a performance level for myself it might be better to target the Vuelta and possibly be a co-team leader in looking for stages."

"If I go to the Tour it would purely be in a support role. That would be good, the Tour is the biggest race in the world but there are options for the team to weigh up."

"I've done the Tour once before, and it's a great race, but perhaps in a couple more years I can challenge for stage wins and the green jersey but I think that after the last couple of years and the setbacks that I've had, I need to progress up that level."