Stephen Williams (cyclist)

{{About|the British cyclist|the Australian cyclist|Steve Williams (cyclist)}}

{{Infobox cyclist

| name = Stephen Williams

| image = Stephen Williams, 2023 Paris-Nice.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Williams at the 2023 Paris–Nice

| fullname = Stephen Williams

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1996|6|9|df=y}}

| birth_place = Aberystwyth, Wales

| height = {{convert|1.84|m|ftin|abbr=on}}

| weight = {{convert|59|kg|lb st|abbr=on}}

| currentteam = {{UCI team code|ISN}}

| discipline = Road

| role = Rider

| ridertype = Climber

| amateuryears1 =

| amateurteam1 =

| amateuryears2 =

| amateurteam2 =

| proyears1 = 2016

| proteam1 = {{UCI team code|JLT|2016}}

| proyears2 = 2017–2018

| proteam2 = {{UCI team code|SEG|2017}}

| proyears3 = 2018

| proteam3 = {{UCI team code|TBM|2018}} (stagiaire)

| proyears4 = 2019–2022

| proteam4 = {{UCI team code|TBM|2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.merida-bikes.com/en/p/team/bahrain-merida-pro-cycling-team-119.html |title=Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team |work=Merida Bikes |publisher=Merida Industry Co., Ltd. |accessdate=1 January 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101111509/https://www.merida-bikes.com/en/p/team/bahrain-merida-pro-cycling-team-119.html |archivedate=1 January 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/2020-team-preview-bahrain-mclaren/ |title=2020 Team Preview: Bahrain McLaren |first=Daniel |last=Ostanek |work=Cyclingnews.com |publisher=Future plc |date=26 December 2019 |accessdate=1 January 2020}}

| proyears5 = 2023–

| proteam5 = {{UCI team code|ISN|2023}}

| majorwins = Stage races

:Tour Down Under (2024)

:Tour of Britain (2024)

:Arctic Race of Norway (2023)

One-day races and Classics

:La Flèche Wallonne (2024)

| medaltemplates =

| show-medals =

}}

Stephen "Stevie" Williams (born 6 June 1996) is a Welsh professional cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam {{UCI team code|ISN}}.{{cite web |url=https://www.uci.org/road/teams/TeamDetail/15229/1002125/279 |title=Bahrain Victorious |work=UCI.org |publisher=Union Cycliste Internationale |accessdate=1 January 2021 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20210101044146/https://www.uci.org/road/teams/TeamDetail/15229/1002125/279 |archivedate=1 January 2021}} His career wins include overall victories in the 2021 CRO Race, 2023 Arctic Race of Norway, the 2024 Tour Down Under and the one-day Ardennes classic La Flèche Wallonne in 2024.

Career

After racing for {{UCI team code|JLT|2016}} and {{UCI team code|SEG|2017}} as an amateur, he joined {{UCI team code|TBV|2018}} as a stagiaire in August 2018 and became a full member of the team in 2019.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bahrain-merida-sign-talented-british-climber-stevie-williams/ |title=Bahrain-Merida sign talented British climber Stevie Williams - Cyclingnews.com |website=cyclingnews.com |date=12 July 2018 |accessdate=12 July 2018}}

Williams' pro career was put on hold for 18 months when he suffered a serious knee problem, undergoing surgery to remove the small fabella bone from his left knee in November 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/54608527 |title=Stephen Williams: Welshman relishes Vuelta a Espana after injury battle |date=19 October 2020 |accessdate=20 January 2024}}

Along with Mark Cavendish, he had planned to join {{UCI team code|VCC|2022}} for the 2023 season but the team collapsed before the season began. He later accepted an offer for 2023 from {{UCI team code|ISN|2023}} on a one-year contract, and remained with the team for 2024.{{cite news |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/no-mark-cavendish-as-israel-premier-tech-pick-up-stevie-williams-to-complete-squad/ |title=No Mark Cavendish as Israel-Premier Tech pick up Stevie Williams to complete squad |first=Patrick |last=Fletcher |work=Cyclingnews.com |publisher=Future plc |date=9 December 2022 |accessdate=9 July 2023}}

=Race wins=

Williams made his breakthrough in the 2018 Ronde de l'Isard, an under-23 event in France. Williams dominated the four-stage race, winning the first and second stages on his way to victory in both the general and mountain classifications. He also won stage five of the Giro Ciclistico d'Italia or "Baby Giro" in the same year.{{Citation |last=procyclingstats |title=Stephen Williams |date=2012-12-31 |url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/stephen-williams/2018 |accessdate=2023-07-06}}

His first professional victory was stage five of the 2021 CRO Race, a result that also gave him the lead of the race. He rode to the line in a three-rider breakaway on the sixth and final stage, finishing second on the day but sealing overall victory by seventeen seconds.{{Citation |last=procyclingstats |title=Stephen Williams |date=2012-12-31 |url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/stephen-williams/2021 |accessdate=2023-07-06}}

Williams achieved his first victory at UCI WorldTour level on stage one of the 2022 Tour de Suisse, sprinting to first in a strong group ahead of Maximilian Schachmann and Andreas Kron.{{Citation |last=procyclingstats |title=Stephen Williams |date=2012-12-31 |url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/stephen-williams/2022 |accessdate=2023-07-06}}

He claimed his second overall professional victory at the 2023 Arctic Race of Norway. Williams began Stage 3 in ninth position and won the stage to lead the race by one second over Christian Scaroni. Both riders finished the fourth and final stage in the leading group but neither gained bonus seconds which confirmed Williams as the overall winner.{{cite web |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/arctic-race-of-norway-2023/stage-4/results/ |title=Arctic Race of Norway: Stephen Williams seals overall victory as Clément Champoussin wins stage 4 sprint |first=Stephen |last=Puddicombe |publisher=CyclingNews |date=20 August 2023 |access-date=20 August 2023}}

Williams took his first overall victory in a UCI WorldTour race at the 2024 Tour Down Under. He took the race leaders' ochre jersey after finishing second behind Oscar Onley on stage 5, and confirmed overall victory by nine seconds over Jhonatan Narváez by winning the sixth and final stage atop Mount Lofty.{{cite web |title=Stephen Williams takes final stage and wins Tour Down Under |publisher=CyclingNews |date=21 January 2024 |url=https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/stephen-williams-takes-final-stage-and-wins-tour-down-under/ |access-date=2024-01-21}}

Having achieved his greatest successes in stage racing, Williams won the prestigious one-day Ardenne classic La Flèche Wallonne in April 2024. Raced in atrocious conditions that saw only 44 of the 174 riders finish the race, he came to the notoriously steep finish on Mur de Huy in the leading group and broke clear in the last few hundred metres, holding off Kevin Vauquelin for the win.{{cite web |title=La Flèche Wallonne: Stevie Williams wins atop Mur de Huy in apocalyptic conditions |publisher=Global Cycling Network |date=17 April 2024 |url=https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/results/la-fleche-wallonne-stevie-williams-wins-atop-mur-de-huy-in-apocalyptic-conditions |access-date=2024-04-19}}

=Grand Tour participation=

Williams was selected by {{UCI team code|TBM|2020}} to ride his first Grand Tour at the 2020 Vuelta a España. He was in 155th place after stage 10 and withdrew from the race prior to stage 11.{{Citation |last=procyclingstats |title=Stephen Williams |date=2012-12-31 |url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/stephen-williams/2020 |accessdate=2023-07-06}} His next appearance in one of cycling's showpiece three-week races was at the 2023 Giro d'Italia. Despite relegation from the UCI WorldTour and failure to pre-qualify as one of the two best ProSeries teams in the previous year's points list, {{UCI team code|ISN|2023}} was given an unexpected invitation after both {{UCI team code|LTB|2023}} and {{UCI team code|EUC|2023}} declined their guaranteed wildcards. Williams finished the race in 93rd place and recorded his highest Grand Tour stage result to date, sprinting to 12th place in the final stage around Rome.{{Citation |last=procyclingstats |title=Stephen Williams |date=2012-12-31 |url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/stephen-williams/2023 |accessdate=2023-07-06}}

On 21 June 2024, Israel-PremierTech announced that Williams had been selected to ride in the 2024 Tour de France, his debut in the event.{{Citation |last=Israel-PremierTech |title=IPT TO CHASE STAGE WINS AT THE TOUR DE FRANCE |date=2024-06-21 |url=https://israelpremiertech.com/ipt-to-chase-stage-wins-at-the-tour-de-france/|accessdate=2024-06-24}}

Major results

;2016

: 1st Stage 1 Suir Valley 3 Day International

: 3rd Overall New Zealand Cycle Classic

;2017

: 2nd Flèche Ardennaise

;2018

: 1st {{cjersey|yellow}} Overall Ronde de l'Isard

::1st {{cjersey|polkadot}} Mountains classification

::1st Stages 1 & 2

: 4th Ronde van Zuid-Holland

: 5th Overall Giro Ciclistico d'Italia

::1st Stage 7

: 9th Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs

;2021 (2 pro wins)

: 1st {{cjersey|red}} Overall CRO Race

::1st Stage 5

;2022 (1)

: 1st Stage 1 Tour de Suisse

;2023 (2)

: 1st {{cjersey|Arctic Race of Norway}} Overall Arctic Race of Norway

::1st Stage 3

: 3rd Road race, National Road Championships

: 8th Eschborn–Frankfurt

;2024 (6)

: 1st {{cjersey|teal}} Overall Tour of Britain

::1st Stages 2 & 3

: 1st {{cjersey|orange}} Overall Tour Down Under

::1st Stage 6

: 1st La Flèche Wallonne

=Grand Tour general classification results timeline=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
scope="col" \| Grand Tour ! scope="col" \| 2020 ! scope="col" \| 2021 ! scope="col" \| 2022 ! scope="col" \| 2023 ! scope="col" \| 2024
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| File:Jersey pink.svg Giro d'Italia \| — \| — \| — \| 92 \| —
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| File:Jersey yellow.svg Tour de France \| — \| — \| — \| — \| 73
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| File:Jersey red.svg Vuelta a España \| DNF \| — \| — \| — \| —

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

scope="col" | Grand Tour

! scope="col" | 2020

! scope="col" | 2021

! scope="col" | 2022

! scope="col" | 2023

! scope="col" | 2024

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | File:Jersey pink.svg Giro d'Italia

| —

| 92

| —

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | File:Jersey yellow.svg Tour de France

| —

| 73

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | File:Jersey red.svg Vuelta a España

| DNF

| —

=Classics results timeline=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" !Monument ! scope="col" \| 2020 ! scope="col" \| 2021 ! scope="col" \| 2022 ! scope="col" \| 2023 ! scope="col" \| 2024
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Milan–San Remo \| — \| — \| — \| — \| —
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Tour of Flanders \| — \| — \| — \| — \| —
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Paris–Roubaix \| style="color:#4d4d4d;"\|NH \| — \| — \| — \| —
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Liège–Bastogne–Liège \| — \| — \| — \| — \| 66
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Giro di Lombardia \| — \| DNF \| — \| DNF \|
Classic ! scope="col" \| 2020 ! scope="col" \| 2021 ! scope="col" \| 2022 ! scope="col" \| 2023 ! scope="col" \| 2024
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Strade Bianche \| — \| — \| — \| — \| 75
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Brabantse Pijl \| DNF \| 65 \| — \| — \| 55
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Amstel Gold Race \| — \| 117 \| — \| — \| 43
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| La Flèche Wallonne \| 116 \| DNF \| 99 \| — \| style="background:gold;" \|1
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Eschborn–Frankfurt \| style="color:#4d4d4d;" rowspan=2\|NH \| — \| — \| style="background:#ddf;" \|8 \| —
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Clásica de San Sebastián \| 53 \| — \| 62 \| —
style="text-align:center;" ! scope="row" \| Bretagne Classic \| — \| 23 \| 139 \| — \| —

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

!Monument

! scope="col" | 2020

! scope="col" | 2021

! scope="col" | 2022

! scope="col" | 2023

! scope="col" | 2024

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Milan–San Remo

| —

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Tour of Flanders

| —

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Paris–Roubaix

| style="color:#4d4d4d;"|NH

| —

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Liège–Bastogne–Liège

| —

| 66

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Giro di Lombardia

| —

| DNF

| —

| DNF

Classic

! scope="col" | 2020

! scope="col" | 2021

! scope="col" | 2022

! scope="col" | 2023

! scope="col" | 2024

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Strade Bianche

| —

| 75

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Brabantse Pijl

| DNF

| 65

| —

| 55

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Amstel Gold Race

| —

| 117

| —

| 43

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | La Flèche Wallonne

| 116

| DNF

| 99

| —

| style="background:gold;" |1

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Eschborn–Frankfurt

| style="color:#4d4d4d;" rowspan=2|NH

| —

| style="background:#ddf;" |8

| —

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Clásica de San Sebastián

| 53

| —

| 62

| —

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="row" | Bretagne Classic

| —

| 23

| 139

| —

class="wikitable" \|+ Legend
scope="row" \| — \| Did not compete
scope="row" \| DNF \| Did not finish

class="wikitable"

|+ Legend

scope="row" | —

| Did not compete

scope="row" | DNF

| Did not finish

References

External links

[https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/bio/Stevie_Williams Stevie Williams] at British Cycling
{{UCI|name=Stephen Williams}}
{{ProCyclingStats|name=Stephen Williams}}
{{Cycling Archives|name=Stephen Williams}}
{{Olympics.com profile|stephen-williams|Stephen Williams}}
{{Team GB|stephen-williams2/7eeUO6xFcRij6VCNjTid33|Stephen Williams}}
{{Team Wales|stephen-williams|Stephen Williams}}
{{2022 Commonwealth Games profile|60174|Stephen Williams}}
[https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/athlete/stephen-williams_1977948 Stephen Williams] at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:1996 births

Category:Living people

Category:Sportspeople from Aberystwyth

Category:Tour de Suisse stage winners

Category:Welsh male cyclists

Category:British male cyclists

Category:Commonwealth Games competitors for Wales

Category:Cyclists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Category:Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Category:Olympic cyclists for Great Britain

Category:21st-century British sportsmen