Tour Down Under: Stevie Williams ‘over the moon’ in leader’s jersey but tough defence looms

After a few moments of uncertainty, Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) was eventually announced as the new leader of the Santos Tour Down Under on Australia's Saturday afternoon, after finishing second on stage 5 up to Willunga Hill.

The Welshman finished just behind stage winner Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and the pair ended up level on GC, but the ochre jersey went the way of Williams on countback, owing to his third-place finish on stage 2.

Read more: Tour Down Under stage 5: Oscar Onley wins on Willunga Hill

Williams had a tough start to his pro career but has found his footing at Israel-Premier Tech, and Saturday marked the first time he has led a WorldTour race, after his first WorldTour victory came in 2022 at the Tour de Suisse.

“I’m really, really glad, over the moon,” Williams said at the finish. “I knew it was going to be close, obviously we’re on the same time, and I got it on count back. Luckily that sprint on stage 2 came in pretty handy there. I’m really pleased to be in this jersey and to give this back to the boys who have done such a good job today.”

To outsiders, Williams perhaps wasn’t among the list of big favourites going into this race, but the 27-year-old has been backing himself since the start.

“I’ve had a good winter, I’ve been healthy. I knew that this race and the parcours was suited to me, so I was confident, coming here with a good team,” he said.

In the final few hundred metres of Willunga Hill, Williams seemed to come from nowhere, having ridden cannily into the select group that contested the final, and only putting his nose into the wind at the last moment.

Though this is Williams’ first time racing the Tour Down Under, he has an abundance of experience both in his team car and alongside him on the road, and it’s clear that that expertise paid off on a climb as tactical as Willunga Hill.

“There’s no one better to have in the car or in my ear,” he said of sports director and TDU winner Daryl Impey. “I was speaking to him at breakfast this morning and he was giving me a pep talk. It’s great to have him and his experience, and [Sam] Bewley as well, both of them combined is so nice.

“Simon [Clarke] was great, he was so important. Every ascent, every descent, every crosswind section, just to have someone that experienced to guide you through the chaos is unbelievable. He’s just got this knack of being in the right place at the right time. Just to have him in your corner, and all the other boys, was just so great today.”

Read more: 'I want to go for those podiums and wins' says Oscar Onley

Williams’ move into the lead was also a positive finish to the day for Israel-Premier Tech, who had seen their all-rounder Corbin Strong drop out with illness as they look to kick off 2024 and look ahead to WorldTour promotion.

“It’s always important to start the season on the front foot, whether it’s winning stages or just racing in the right way,” Williams said. “We’ve put ourselves about in a positive way and we’ve been on the front foot, we’ve been aggressive, so I think doing that has paid dividends and it’s something that we want to carry on moving forward.”

Real test comes on stage 6 with Mount Lofty

Though Williams and Israel-Premier Tech will take a lot from how they raced and the result they got on stage 5, the real test will come on Sunday when they are tasked with defending the lead on a tough course around Mount Lofty.

Williams currently sits equal on time with Oscar Onley, and even after Willunga there are still another five riders within six seconds of the lead, and several more only a few seconds back, so nothing is secure ahead of the final stage.

“We’ve got to be aware. Realistically it’s going to be a tough day,” Williams said of stage 6. “The last days are always hard to control whenever you’re in the lead, so we’ll just do our best to give it everything and try to come away with a win.”

As a former winner of the Arctic Tour of Norway and the CRO Race in different years, Williams knows how to win a GC, and he’s quietly assured, but he also knows Sunday has the power to really test him and his Israel-Premier Tech team.

“It’s nice to be in this jersey now, but it’s not over, we have one more day and we’ll try and do everything.”