Welshman Stephen Williams yesterday surged away from his rivals to win the sixth stage up Mount Lofty and claim Australia’s Tour Down Under crown in the World Tour season opener in Adelaide.
Three riders were in the final general classification mix in the summit finish, but Israel-Premier Tech’s Williams dashed clear in the final 250m to beat home Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mexican Isaac del Toro Romero (UAE Team Emirates).
Williams, who was tied with Scotland’s Oscar Onley on time, but led the race on countback after the penultimate stage, made certain of his overall victory with his determined finish to the 128km final stage and the day’s third climb up the 710m Mount Lofty.
Photo: AFP
The composed Welshman completed the race in 19 hours, 13 minutes, 34 seconds over the six stages totaling 824.6km, with nine seconds to spare over Narvaez, with earlier ochre jersey leader Del Toro Romero third, 11 seconds behind the lead.
Williams became the first British winner in the 24th staging of the Tour Down Under.
“Everything goes through your mind when you cross the line. Just how hard this sport is and to win races, they don’t come around very often,” Williams said. “To do it here in Australia, the first world tour race of the season, is fantastic.”
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