RAISING his arms in the air on the Mount Lofty summit finish, in the leader’s ochre jersey, to secure the stage win and overall 2024 Santos Tour Down Under victory won’t be forgotten easily by Capel Dewi’s Stevie Williams.
Not only did it signal the start of Williams’ breakthrough year, it was his and Israel -Premier Tech’s first WorldTour stage race win.
He went on to win the prestigious one-day Ardenne classic La Flèche Wallonne last April, competed in the Tour de France and the Paris Olympics before making history as he became the first Welshman to win the modern Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men in September.
The former Clwb Beicio Ystwyth rider is more motivated than ever to seal back-to-back wins, having touched down in Adelaide following a training block in New Zealand.
The 29-year-old said: “I’m very much looking forward to returning to the Santos Tour Down Under for the second time after a successful race for our team in 2024.
“I come back now with extra motivation and, hopefully, we can have a similar outcome to last year. Obviously, that would be perfect.
“Bike racing is tough though and there’s a quality field here, so I’m expecting a tough six days in Adelaide.
“The course seems to have gone back to a more traditional route this year, without Mount Lofty, but it’s definitely hard enough to be good for our team.”
Capel Dewi’s Stevie Williams celebrates winning the Tour Down Under last year (Sprint Cycling)
While Williams will enjoy the support of his six team-mates, IPT goes into the race with multiple options.
Canadian champion Mike Woods returns to the race for the fourth time, having previously finished twice in the top-ten, and will be joined by countryman Pier-André Côté.
New Zealander Corbin Strong will be targeting the sprint finishes following narrow misses in his first two participations while George Bennett adds depth and experience to the roster, alongside home soil heroes Simon Clarke and Nick Schultz.
“We’re excited to be back here at the Santos Tour Down Under, even more so as the defending winners,” explained Head Sports Director Sam Bewley.
“The race organization has done a great job designing a really dynamic route this year that we believe suits the team we have brought here.
Of course, we plan to try to win the race again with Stevie Williams but with the depth we have in our team, there are possibilities and opportunities for us throughout the week.
We want to kick off 2025 with success here in Australia so we’re looking forward to getting started.”
IPT at the Santos Tour Down Under (21 – 26 January), rider roster: George Bennett (NZL), Simon Clarke (AUS), Pier-André Côté (CAN), Nick Schultz (AUS), Corbin Strong (NZL), Stevie Williams (GBR), Mike Woods (CAN)