Leading by just a single second heading into the final stage, overall victory for Stephen Williams at the Arctic Race of Norway was not assured until right at the line. Once it was however, it was a moment of delight for the Welshman.
“I’m really happy to be the winner of this race, the guys rode amazing all day, honestly. The way the guys held that break at two minutes and thirty seconds all day, with sixteen guys in front was incredible, and to finish it off today, and yesterday’s stage win, it couldn’t have gone better. It has been a great week for us!” Williams said post-race to his Israel - Premier Tech team's official website.
Dylan Teuns was one of Williams's main helpers on the final stage and was equally delighted as the race winner. “I think as a team we did perfectly to finish this off and secure the overall victory,” said Teuns, pointing out that it was indeed a true team victory.
“It was a great ride by Stevie, he’s only going to get stronger now. I couldn’t ask for much more from him. We had a good plan and we needed to control the race today, and we did super well. It was definitely not a foregone conclusion coming into stage 4, as we knew there would be attacks, and towards the end it got complicated with time bonuses on the line, but the cards fell for us," concluded sports director Steve Bauer. "Both Stevie and Dylan were good enough to win the race, and now they’re both only getting better. It was a great ride, so congratulations to them and the whole team.”
That’s a wrap on the Arctic Race of Norway, and what a race it was! 😍 We leave Norway with 1st and 5th on GC courtesy of Stevie Williams and Dylan Teuns, a stage victory, and the 1st in the team classification! What a team! 🇮🇱 — 🇳🇴#ArcticRace #YallaIPT
