Ben Swift proved that he is so much more than just a sprinter when he made it into an elite 23-rider selection with all the GC riders in today's stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco before outsprinting them at the finish. The young Brit admitted to finding it a bit weird to have been up there with all those climbers.

Ben Swift pulled off one of the best victories of his career as he claimed stage five at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.

The Yorkshireman continued his strong run of momentum to finish in a select and elite front group of 23 riders and win the sprint in fine style.

With general classification contenders attacking each other on the final second-category climb into Markina, Swift weathered the storm and demonstrated his climbing class before placing himself perfectly in the final kilometre.

Opening up the sprint the Team Sky rider held off Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Michal Kwiatkoswki (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) at the line, capturing his second win of the year and first at WorldTour level since 2012.

Leader Alberto Contador found himself without team-mates on the final peak and the battle between the leader and rival Valverde resumed as the latter attacked.

Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) stuck fast to his compatriot’s wheel onto the descent where the pair were joined by stage four winner Poels (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step). The trio held a small advantage over a reduced chasing pack but were reeled in just as they headed under the two kilometre banner.

That provided Swift with his moment to shine, while Contador finished comfortably in the chasing pack to maintain his 12-second lead.

Admitting the win ranked right up there among the best of his career, Swift took TeamSky.com through the exciting finale.

“Looking around it was pretty weird to be in that company," he admitted. "I felt pretty good and I’m really happy I could take the win.

“Movistar really ripped it on the second cat-three climb. That’s what got rid of most people and the pace was actually to my limit on the final two climbs. But then Valverde stuck it in the big ring and went and I thought here we go!

“But it turned out okay. Only three guys went and I think everybody was a bit on the limit at that point BMC had three riders there just to pull it back. It was a nice downhill finish actually.

“Looking at the profiles I saw three opportunities for wins in the race depending on how they were raced. Today was a bit of a ‘maybe’ but it worked out great.”

With just Sunday’s time trial remaining after the stage there was no surprise to see a number of riders try to attack in what, for many, was their final chance to take a stage win in the Basque Country.

A strong and sizeable group of 16 riders finally powered clear as the race set off en route to Markina. Xabier Zandio ensured his Team Sky team-mates could sit back as he infiltrated the move.

Tinkoff-Saxo were content to set a decent tempo at the front of the race and kept the escapees at arm’s length.

Movistar took over on the Alto de Izua in a bid to thin out the lead pack, while up ahead the breakaway finally fractured. Bob Jungels (Trek Factory Racing), Tim Wellens (Lotto Belisol) and Bauke Mollema (Belkin Cycling) held a slender 24-second gap over the top of the penultimate climb.

The pace cranked up behind and in elite company Swift rose to the occasion and took a stylish victory. Team Sky’s GC contender heading into the stage had been Mikel Nieve but the Basque rider struggled and eventually slipped back on the final climb.

“That was such a great win from Swifty," said a very happy Sports Director Dan Frost after the stage. "It was just what the team deserved at this race – especially Ben.

“He said this morning that if he could make it over the climbs he’d have a chance. So we said ‘okay let’s go for it!’ We made sure he was protected along with Mikel. As it turned out Mikel wasn’t feeling good on the bike today and was dropped on the last climb.

"Ben stayed up there without any team-mates in that small group at the top. Sebastian (Henao) stayed with Mikel behind so he was completely alone for the sprint. There weren’t many riders left so it was the perfect situation for him in that group. It was a tremendous win.

“It was not a stage we’d have expected Ben to win – more the other two where he was second and fourth. So that just makes it all the more special and I’d say this is probably the biggest victory of his career.”