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- Stevie Williams Says Best Is Still To Come After Being Handed New Deal
By Ian Gordon
Stevie Williams is confident his best cycling years are still ahead of him after signing a deal to stay at Israel Premier tech until 2028.
The 28-year-old from Aberystwyth has been rewarded for a stunning season that brought victories in the Tour Down Under and La Flèche Walloone, the first Brit to win the Belgian classic.
Williams is currently 83rd overall on his Tour de France debut – Monday is a rest day – and is set for his Olympic Games bow in Paris.
“I feel like I have found my place on a team where I can get the best out of myself on the bike,” Williams said.
Announcing four more years of @stevierhys_96
The Welsh wonder – and this year’s @tourdownunder and @flechewallonne winner – will ride for Israel – Premier Tech through to the end of 2028!
Full story https://t.co/wtOdex6zuD#YallaIPT pic.twitter.com/Srz6EqFxyi
— Israel – Premier Tech (@IsraelPremTech) July 8, 2024
“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.”
Williams, who has battled back from a serious knee injury, has joined Derek Gee as the team’s longest contracted rider to date having been handed a lifeline by the team when he was left without a contract in 2022.
General Manager Kjell Carlström said: “It has been a real pleasure to watch the way Stevie has developed with us over the past year and a half.
“He faced a lot of adversity in the early years of his career and now, he has finally reached a point where he is able to realize his potential. I think a lot of that has come from finding the right environment and culture with us at Israel – Premier Tech.
“Stevie has delivered his best career results with us, results that have also contributed to the team’s history. He is an amazing bike rider and I think the best is yet to come.”
Team owner Sylvan Adams admits that extending a lifeline to Williams at the end of 2022 was one of the best decisions the team has made.
Adams said: “A couple of years ago, we kind of saved Stevie’s career, or at the very least, a year of his career, when we signed him at the last minute, together with his teammate, Nick Schultz, following the folded B&B Hotels team debacle.
“Stevie immediately showed us that he is a talented rider, and we have now renewed his contract for the second time. Stevie is a winner, an instinctive rider who understands bike racing. His big wins this year have elevated our team.
“Stevie is part of Israel – Premier Tech’s DNA, and well loved by his teammates. I’m so proud of how he’s flourished because we gave him opportunities that he didn’t get earlier in his career, and of course, our full team support.
“Stevie will be representing Great Britain at the Olympics in Paris, which is additional validation of his remarkable success. I also hope to see him do something special at the Tour in the next two weeks. Congratulations, Stevie, you’ve earned all of this. Much more to come.”
