Stevie Williams made his a double when he won stage three of the Tour of Britain Men on Thursday, with an uphill sprint in Barnsley.
It came at the end of a hilly and soggy day in Yorkshire that took the riders 166km from Sheffield to the Barnsley finish.
It was a back-to-back win for Williams, who outsprinted breakaway partner Julian Alaphilippe in Redcar on stage two.
The Welsh rider followed an early sprint by Bahrain Victorious rider Edoardo Zambanini on the short, winding rise to the finish, dragging a strong-looking Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) with him. Williams comfortably passed Zambanini who almost fell as he tussled with Magnier, who pipped Zambanini for second.
Williams increased his overall lead from six seconds to 16 over Oscar Onley (dsm-firmenich PostNL), with Mark Donovan (Q36.5 PCT) moving into third at 41sec – the same time as Williams's team-mate Joe Blackmore.
How it happened
The British weather came out to play on this meandering third stage between the two Yorkshire towns, with weather ranging from damp to outright stair rods.
The riders took it in their stride though, with plenty of keen attacking from the outset. The first successful group to establish itself consisted of yesterday's second place Alaphilippe, Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech), who were joined shortly by Jelte Krijnsen (Q36.5 Cycling Team) and Emils Liepinš (dsm-firmenich PostNL).
This quintet was only ever afforded a small gap, and were eventually caught 50km later
The next key move came with around 50km to go, instigated by Ineos Grenadiers rider Tobias Foss. He was joined by nine others, including young Brit Louis Sutton of AVC Aix-en-Provence.
Again, they were never given a long leash, with 1:08 the biggest gap they achieved. But they remained out ahead, gradually shedding riders as the weather and the constant ups and downs took their toll.
The gap only got smaller with Israel-Premier Tech pulling on the front in support of Stevie Williams, and on the cat-two climb of Hound Hill with around five kilometres to go, the break caught and the denouement set up.
Results
Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men 2024, Stage 3: Sheffield > Barnsley, 166km
1. Stevie Williams (GBR) Israel-Premier Tech, in 3:50:03
2. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step
3. Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
4. Jelte Krijnsen (Ned) Q36.5 PCT
5. Oscar Onley (GBR) dsm-firmenich PostNL
6. Tom Pidcock (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
7. Markus Hoelgaard (Nor) Uno-X Mobility
8. Mark Donovan (GBR) Q36.5 PCT
9. Joseph Blackmore (GBR) Israel-Premier Tech
10. Callum Thornley (GBR) Trinity Racing, all at same time
General Classification after Stage 3
1. Stevie Williams (Gbr) Israel-Premier Tech, in 11:38:53
2. Oscar Onley (Gbr) dsm-firmenich Post NL, +16s
3. Mark Donovan (Gbr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +41s
4. Joe Blackmore (Gbr) Israel-Premier Tech,
5. Tom Donnenwirth (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, both s.t.
6. Louis Sutton (Gbr) Great Britain, +1:05
7. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:31
8. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:33
9. Edoardo Zambanini (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, +1:43
10. Jelte Krijnsen (Ned) Q36.5 PCT, +1:44
'With a few changes, it'll be class' - Josh Tarling optimistic about Ineos Grenadiers future
'Knowing the course in a virtual race is maybe even more important than in road racing': Former e-sports World Champion's top tips
