It’s been a stellar 2024 for Stevie Williams so far.

The cyclist from Aberystwyth began the year winning a stage and the overall at the Tour Down Under in January before a third-place finish at stage 1 of the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya behind none other than Tadej Pogačar.

Then came the landmark achievement of becoming the first ever British winner of the one-day monument La Flèche Wallonne.

That result came in truly torrential conditions, a result Williams says is his best to date.

“It was a beautiful day,” said Williams

“To win a classic like that in those conditions was really special. To follow up on what happened in Australia, winning the Tour Down Under and backing it up in Europe with a victory was a really proud moment.

“I grew up watching the classics and all the heroes before me winning on top of the Mur makes it a cool race to win.

“I’m glad to have that on my palmares and whatever happens now I can always say I’ve won La Fleche.”

The result was no fluke. Williams twice proved the strongest on the infamous Mur de Huy climb, attacking on the first loop with some 30 kilometres remaining before being swept back up and then accelerating away with some 300metres to go for a memorable win.

“I knew I was in good shape heading into the Ardennes,” said Williams.

“To be honest I knew I could have a day when it became a bit of a mess and a true classic.

“It was a whitling down process and as soon as I went over the Mur de Huy the first time I knew I had the legs, from about 100k out.”

Tour Selection and New Deal

Williams raced the Giro d’Italia last year but this year the focus was on the Tour de France, racing the Tour de Suisse in preparation, finishing second on stage three.

His selection for the Tour de France is the first of his career, a career which has taken its time to fully ignite.

Williams was a promising youngster, winning a stage at the Giro d’italia Giovani U23s race or ‘Baby Giro’ back in 2018. After that he was expected to blossom.

However, he spent two years with a chronic knee injury whilst at the then Bahrain-McLaren team.

At the end of 2022, it was announced Williams would join team B&B Hotels alongside legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish, only to see the team collapse leaving Williams without a team.

He was given a contract by Israel-Premier Tech, a team he saw as a “fresh clean start” at the time and has not looked back since.

His initial year-long deal was extended by two more in the Autumn of 2023 and then on the rest day of the Tour on Sunday the 28-year-old extended again until 2028.

It can’t have been a difficult decision for either party, with Williams’ wins at the Tour Down Under and La Flèche Wallonne marking Israel-Premier Tech’s first ever World Tour stage win and one day race victory respectively.

Speaking of the announcement Williams said: “I feel like I have found my place on a team where I can get the best out of myself on the bike.”

“As we have seen with the way I have been racing, especially from last year’s Giro d’Italia onwards, I’ve taken a real step up.

“It has been rewarded with some nice results and even though I am fairly new on the team, it feels like I have been here for ten years not one year.

“I’m 28 years old now and the next four years are probably in that window when I become my best and keep improving, so to have this offer from the team gave me huge confidence and I didn’t hesitate to extend with IPT.

“I am so happy in the team, and I see the way I have stepped up in just one year here so I can’t wait for the next four.”

Tough Start To Tour

The beginning of the Tour de France was difficult for several riders.

Williams’ compatriot Geraint Thomas lost nearly four and a half minutes to the favourites in the heat of stage two, while Williams had a “horrible day” on stage one losing nearly half an hour.

However, Williams recovered on stage two, however he was unable to compete for the stage victory as it was won by Kévin Vaquelin from a breakaway.

“I felt so much better on stage two and it was equally as warm,” said Williams.

“I think I needed that one day for my body to know what was going. Stage two, a breakaway ultimately won out and it was always a target for me for a long way out ahead of the tour and it didn’t go to plan.

“That’s the way it goes, that’s bike racing and I’ve got a couple of weeks now to try and show my face and create some nice chances.”

While Williams says he hasn’t been blown away by the standard of having all of the world’s top riders in one peloton, he has noticed how everyone appears to be at the top of their game.

“We race against the same guys all year round,” said Williams.

“The only difference is normally it’s 60 or 70% of the field on top form whereas here you have 100% who are flying.

“The depth is a lot bigger and the gap between a bad and mediocre day is a bit more.”

New Targets Acquired

Williams now must look for opportunities from the breakaway and went away in stage four only to be kept on a tight leash by a UAE led onslaught on the peloton.

However, Williams looked in good shape, the first to crest both second category climbs of the day, putting himself in the frame for mountains jersey classification.

“There was no plan about going for mountain points,” said Williams

“I was in the break, and we only had two minutes and thought, ‘I’m leaving here with something’.

“I just took the 10 points, and you never know what can happen in the race like this down the road.

“If I’m in a situation where I’m in the break for a couple of days in the high mountains, it only takes 30 or 40 points and you’re back in the picture.”

Last week, Sportin Wales speculated what Williams and Thomas could target in the remaining race, identifying stage 11 as one which Williams could attack in a race dominated so far by long flat stages.

“Stage 11 has got a punchy finish and seems to be a breakaway day so hopefully I can slot myself into a move on that day and try and be there at the finish,” said Williams

“A lot will have to go right for that to happen. If we can get a couple of us heading to what is a really cool finish to the stage then that’ll be nice.

“We saw how strong Derek Gee was in the gravel stage and I don’t think there’s a day that isn’t suited to him when it comes to a breakaway.

“We can speak about the final as much as we want but the most important thing is getting into the break if it’s their day, because if you get a gap it’ll be a good day.

“It’s about getting through the first 10 or 15k and getting yourself into the right moves and hopefully I’ll be there.”

Tour Hopes and Then Olympic Dream

You could be forgiven for thinking on his first ever Tour de France that Williams would be content with simply finishing the race, however that could not be further from the truth.

“Stage win, that’ll be a successful tour,” said Williams.

“To be in the right moves and get the win will be successful but if I leave here without a stage win, I won’t have reached my ambition here.

“To win bike races a lot of things have to go right. You can have the best legs but sometimes it doesn’t go your way and a lot of things can happen on race day.

“Looking at La Fleche everything came together and went right and I just backed myself and that’s the best way to do it.”

This year the Tour finishes with an individual time trial alongside Nice’s Promenade des Anglais instead of the normal procession along Paris’ Champs-Élysées having been displaced by the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Williams has been named alongside compatriot Josh Tarling in Great Britain’s team for the Olympic Road Race, which is on the 3^rd of August, not two weeks after the culmination of the Tour.

With a lumpy parkour which appears to suit Williams’ punchy nature, he will be going with an outside chance of a medal.

“It’s a massive event but it’s difficult to think of the Olympics when you’re in the tour because it’s full gas,” said Williams.

“With the Olympics, you have a small field and the very best of the best going for the same thing.

“I’ll say it now, it’ll probably be the hardest race of my life, it’s going to be a small team, uncontrolled and a dog fight.

“I just want to arrive in Paris with the best legs possible on the back of the tour and do a good ride there.”