2024 has been a season that Israel - Premier Tech's Stephen Williams has kicked on. After GC victory at the Tour Down Under and a big Classics win at La Fleche Wallonne, the 'Welsh Wizard' is now a Tour of Britain stage winner.
"It feels really good, it’s really special to win in the UK," Williams reflected in his post-stage 2 interview, having led home a lead group that also included Julian Alaphilippe and Oscar Onley after a thrilling day of racing on the typically British rolling terrain. "It was tough. It was raced from far out. From 70 km it was technical, twisty and full of steep climbs."
With the stage win, Williams has also moved into the lead of the general classification. "The key was to just be at the front and then when the race opened up we’d be there with numbers," he continues, full of praise for his Israel - Premier Tech teammates. "The way the boys rode was superb, they kept me in position and took me into every climb in perfect position. Joe Blackmore was unbelievable in the final as well and gave us that extra rider to play with."
"In the end, the goal was to get me to the line in a small group and then I’d back my sprint and try and see if we could hold on," he concludes. "Obviously it was going to be tough with Alaphilippe, but I just gave it my all, got my head down, and tried to get to the line first."
Results | Stage 2 of the 2024 Tour of Britain:
| 1 | Williams Stephen | Israel-Premier Tech | 20 | 03:37:25 |
| 2 | Alaphilippe Julian | Soudal Quick-Step | 15 | + 00 |
| 3 | Onley Oscar | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 10 | + 00 |
| 4 | Blackmore Joe | Israel-Premier Tech | 5 | + 21 |
| 5 | Evenepoel Remco | Soudal Quick-Step | 3 | + 21 |
| 6 | Sutton Louis | Great Britain | + 21 | |
| 7 | Donnenwirth Tom | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Development Team | + 21 | |
| 8 | Donovan Mark | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | + 21 | |
| 9 | Magnier Paul | Soudal Quick-Step | + 01:27 | |
| 10 | Govekar Matevz | Bahrain Victorious | + 01:27 |
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