By Owen Morgan
Welsh cyclist Stevie Williams has finished fifth in the Under-23 version of one of the grand cycling tours – the Giro d’Italia.
Williams, from Capel Dewi in Ceredigion, who had already won the prestigious Ronde de I’Isard stage race in France this season, enjoyed an eventful 10 days during the tour of Italy.
As well as winning a stage, he also donned the famous race leader’s pink jersey known as the Maglia Rosa, the senior version of which was won by Team Sky’s multiple Tour De France winner Chris Froome in May.
Williams, who is building a reputation as an accomplished climber, started moving up the field during the fourth stage of the tour which featured the first mountaintop finish.
On the final climb of the day, he was well supported by two of his SEG Racing Academy team mates, and eventually finished the stage in sixth place.
The result moved him up to fourth place overall in the General Classification (GC), just 18 seconds off the lead.
Stage Five was equally suited to Williams as it featured two first category climbs with the finish at the top of Dimaro Folgarida.
Supported by Dutch team mate Jan Maas, Williams was up with the leaders all day and launched an attack with two kilometres left which eventually left him just a few metres short of the stage win.
However, his second place finish on the day meant Williams took the overall lead by 13 seconds and with it the famed Maglia Rosa.
A delighted Williams said: “We went out with the goals of saving as much energy as possible until the final climb, and that worked well. In the last climb, I still had gas left so I could make some gaps.
“It feels really good to be in pink, it is just a dream come true so I am really happy. The team worked great all day, on the last climb Jan (Maas) set a really high pace until two kilometres to go and then I attacked.”
Although it looked the easiest stage on paper, Stage Six proved to be the most difficult of the tour with multiple attacks and a high pace being held along the 120k route from Dimaro Folgarida to Pergine Valsugana.
A group of four riders broke away and despite the best efforts of Williams and his team mates, the Welshman ended the day back in third place two minutes and fourteen seconds behind the new leader Alejandro Osorio, of the Colombian National Team.
Stage Seven was more suited to Williams’ natural climbing skills with the 137km route culminating in a category one climb, and he took full advantage.
Inside the last five kilometres the 22-year-old decided to attack and his devastating solo ride to the top opened up a 26 second gap to his closest rival – Russia’s Alexandr Vlasov – as he triumphantly claimed the stage win and cut the gap to the new Maglia Rosa, Mark Donovan, of Team Wiggins, to just 57 seconds.
After clinching his third stage win of the season so far, Williams said: “I am over the moon today, after the disappointment that was giving the Maglia Rosa away I was determined, motivated and a bit angry so I wanted to do well in that climb. Winning a stage here, it is really nice and rewarding, something special basically.
“I tried to save as much energy as possible before the last climb and it was much easier to do thanks to the help of my teammates. Jan (Maas) was by my shoulder on every kilometre, whenever I needed something he was there.”
The following day, Stage Eight saw the peloton stay together until the bottom of the last climb, the Salita di Foza.
Shortly after the favourites’ group hit the first slopes the attacks began, with three riders going clear and sprinting for the win.
Williams finished the stage sixth overall, one minute and twenty seconds behind the race leader.
The tenth and last day of the 2018 “Baby Giro” featured a double stage that was set to decide the overall classification.
The morning stage joined the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene with a 72 km long loop.
The stage ended in a bunch sprint which saw some of the GC favourites involved in a late crash which caused changes in the overall classification and saw Williams move up to third overall.
The 10-day stage race was decided in a final 22 km long time trial that finished atop a one-kilometre long hill featuring sections of more than 15 per cent gradient.
The race against the clock presented a different format as the Top 15 overall raced in a pursuit race, being separated by their GC gaps.
After 10 days of racing from the Adriatic Coast to the Dolomites, it was Alexandr Vlasov, of the Russian National Team who took the overall win.
Williams finished the stage in 12th place, which saw him finish fifth overall – one minute 56 seconds behind Vlasov in the general classification – enhancing his reputation as a rider to watch for the future.
SEG Racing Academy manager Bart van Haaren was delighted with his rider’s performance after the race.
He said: “Stevie is having a great season and the results he achieved in the Giro alongside his dominating performance in Ronde de l’Isard are just a proof of the big talent that he is and we can say that we have played a part in his development as a rider.
“He came into our development programme two years ago and we are very pleased that all the hard work and sacrifices that everyone has put in are paying off.”