By Hannah Blackwell
Stevie Williams says he could not be prouder after becoming the first Welshman to win the Tour of Britain.
The Welsh rider Williams, 28, who won stages two and three, secured victory in 21 hours 25 minutes 14 seconds, with fellow Briton Oscar Onley 16 seconds behind him in second place.
Williams, whose previous best result in his home tour was 14th, claimed the general classification after Matevz Govekar took victory in the race’s sixth and final stage.
“It’s been a good week and we managed to take everything out of a stage race – a couple of stages and the GC so I’m really happy and proud to have this race,” said Aberystwyth rider.
“I’m proud of how the boys rode all week, they were fantastic. It’s me standing on the podium and winning it but it was definitely a team effort.
“After the Olympics, it was definitely a target of mine to get back into racing and I knew I was coming here in decent form.
“Luckily I had the legs to show it and pull it off but at the end of the day everything has to go right and everything did go right so I’m really happy.”
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For Williams, this was his third GC victory in 13 months, sitting alongside the Arctic Race of Norway last August and the Tour Down Under in January.
The Israel-Premier Tech team rider’s career-best year now includes six wins in 2024, one more than the rest of his career combined.
Far from being the ceremonial or straightforward ending, a stage that featured under 1,000 meters of elevation from start to finish was illuminated by a gusty breeze coming in from the nearby North Sea.
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But Williams never looked like losing his race lead; together with Simon Clarke and Jake Stewart, two of the team’s three unsung heroes this week, he was always on the right side of the splits in the peloton.
“It was quite a complicated day in the end,” Williams added.
”A lot of teams tried to take it to us, which made it quite difficult. But we controlled the start really well, and then DSM tried to create some chaos in the wind.
“But I found myself in a small group with Jake and Simon, so that was fine for us.
All we had to do was manage things, we could stay in the right wheels, we didn’t have to ride on the front foot.
“In the end the second group with Ethan came back and we tried to set it up for him in the sprint.”
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Read our recent DS stories on Stevie Williams
Stevie Williams Vows To Stay Ahead Of The Rest At Tour Of Britain
Stevie Williams Pays Tribute To The Team That Has Helped Him Lead Tour Of Britain