Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) outsprinted Julian Alaphillipe to win stage two of the Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men in Redcar on Wednesday. The Welshman’s win meant that he also took over the overall lead.
Williams faced a long sprint for the line against the former two-time World Champion and Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL), but neither rider could match the speed of Williams on the finishing straight on the Yorkshire coast. Alaphilippe was the more aggressive rider on the day, launching a series of attacks on the hilly coastal roads in north-east England, although Williams proved to be the stronger of the two when it mattered.
After several riders attempted to get away, Williams put in a stinging attack on the second ascent of the steep Saltburn Bank climb which split the lead group. Williams took Alaphilippe and Onley with him while Remco Evenepoel and Williams’ teammate, Joe Blackmore, marshalled the chase group behind.
With three kilometres to the line, it was trademark Alaphilippe as he began tightening his shoes and shaking out his legs ahead of the final sprint. Williams, however, was not fazed by the Frenchman’s theatrics and held on to take his ninth professional victory.
After going close in 2023, Williams said post-race that it was a relief to finally win at the Tour of Britain and "get his hands in the air."
"It feels really good, it’s really special to win in the UK," he said. "It was tough. It was raced from far out. From 70 km it was technical, twisty and full of steep climbs. The key was to just be at the front and then when the race opened up we’d be there with numbers. The way the boys rode was superb, they kept me in position and took me into every climb in perfect position. Joe [Blackmore] was unbelievable in the final as well and gave us that extra rider to play with.
"In the end, the goal was to get me to the line in a small group and then I’d back my sprint and try and see if we could hold on. Obviously it was going to be tough with Alaphilippe, but I just gave it my all, got my head down, and tried to get to the line first."
"The tactic was just to be on the front foot," he added. "It was the kind of race where things could have gotten out of hand pretty quick. In a sprint of three, you just get your head down and try. Then whoever has got the best legs at the end will win. Luckily it was my day today, so I’m just really proud to get it done today and have the jersey to defend for the next few days."
Williams goes into stage three with six seconds on Onley in second place. Alaphilippe is in third, another ten seconds back on the Welshman.
How it happened
Stage two was expected to be one for the overall favourites, and potentially decisive, even with another four stages left to race. The riders faced 152 kilometres, with three category one ascents to deal with, along the north Yorkshire coast between Darlington and Redcar.
By the time the final categorised climb of the day, Lythe Bank, arrived, two groups of riders had established a lead over the Soudal Quick-Step led peloton.
With 52 kilometres to the finish in Redcar, an eight-man group containing Trinity Racing’s Callum Thornley - an escapee on stage one - had an advantage of 44 seconds over the second group on the road which contained plenty of firepower. Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech), Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) and Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious) were present in the eleven rider strong move.
Once the peloton began Lythe Bank, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) launched an attack which pulled several riders away with him, including Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe and Tom Pidcock of Ineos Grenadiers. The Evenepoel led attackers rapidly caught the group containing Joe Blackmore who now had his teammate Stevie Williams with him. Pidcock was then distanced from the group due to the high pace set by the Quick-Step trio of Alaphilippe, Evenepoel and Gil Gelders.
Thornley was first over Lythe Bank which ensured he extended his lead in the mountains classification. Alaphilippe and Evenepoel did not relent and eventually got back on terms with the Thornley led lead group. Due to the infernal pace set by Quick-Step, Pidcock continued to drop away from the leaders, but the Yorkshireman still had Ben Swift present alongside him in support. The two riders were more than 30 seconds down on the leaders with 40 kilometres to go.
Alaphlippe attempted to split the lead group on the punchy terrain, but Joe Blackmore and Williams were alert to every acceleration from the former two-time World Champion. The Israel-Premier Tech pair pushed on themselves as the race headed towards Saltburn Bank, but Alaphilippe was able to instantly respond. Including Alaphilippe, Williams and Blackmore, seven men remained up ahead as the race entered the finishing circuit. Evenpoel and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech) soon joined the head of the race to form a nine man group.
Alaphilippe and Blackmore continued to both launch attacks, but neither rider was able to get away as Saltburn Bank approached once more. Stevie Williams put in an explosive move on Saltburn which only Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL) could follow. Alaphlippe eventually got across to the attack.
The three riders continued to pull away from the chasers into the final kilometres. Williams then had the edge in the three up sprint for the line and held off Alaphilippe for the stage win.
Results
Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men 2024 stage two: Darlington > Redcar (152 km)
1.Stevie Williams (Gbr) Israel-Premier Tech, in 3:37:25
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step,
3. Oscar Onley (Gbr) dsm-firmenich Post NL, at same time
4. Joe Blackmore (Gbr) Israel-Premier Tech, +21s
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step,
6. Louis Sutton (Gbr) Great Britain,
7. Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale,
8. Mark Donovan (Gbr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, all same time
9. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:27
10. Matevz Govekar (Slo) Bahrain Victorious, at same time
General classification after stage two
1. Stevie Williams (Gbr) Israel-Premier Tech, in 7:49:00
2. Oscar Onley (Gbr) dsm-firmenich Post NL, +6s
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, +16s
4. Mark Donovan (Gbr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +31s
5. Joe Blackmore (Gbr) Israel-Premier Tech,
6. Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale,
7. Louis Sutton (Gbr) Great Britain,
8. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, all same time
9. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:27
10. Julius Johansen (Den) Sabgal-Anicolor, +1:28
