Tour of Britain 'important for cycling to grow' in UK, says Stevie Williams

The Tour of Britain is central to helping the sport of cycling grow in the UK, the race’s most recent winner, Stevie Williams, has said.

The Israel-Premier Tech rider won two stages and the overall title at this year’s edition, which ended on Sunday, finishing top of a general classification that counted four Brits in the top five.

Williams is only the third British winner of the stage race since it restarted in 2004, following on from Bradley Wiggins in 2013 and Steve Cummings in 2016.

Speaking in Felixstowe after his victory, the 28-year-old said it was “good for all the fans” to be able to witness home riders in action.

“I think we have some of the best riders in the world, and we showcase our talent all over Europe, the world, it just seems fitting that we come home to race at least once a year,” Williams told the press. “The people that support us from the TVs week in week out, I think it’s special for them to come and see us race on their home roads, our home roads.

“For Britain itself, cycling has been such an integral part of sport for the last 10, 15 years, I think [the Tour of Britain] is important for it to grow.”

There were doubts earlier this year over whether the latest edition of the UK’s flagship stage race would take place. Following the collapse of the Tour of Britain’s previous organiser, SweetSpot, British Cycling stepped in to guarantee the race, and quickly assembled an in-house team to prepare the event in a matter of months.

In May, the national federation entered into a partnership with Lloyds Bank, who took on naming sponsorship of both the Tour of Britain Men and Women, the latter of which took place in June. Had the organisers failed to run the race, it would have left a significant hole in an already struggling domestic scene, which lost the Tour Series in 2023, and has seen other races put on hold. 

“The reality is we need a better calendar in the UK,” said Israel-Premier Tech sports director Tim Elverson, who previously managed British Continental outfit AT85 Pro Cycling. “British riders are very good at the moment, and British racing is pretty average.

“You need better racing, and you need more UCI races. Riders want to get noticed, and they get noticed when they win UCI races,” Elverson continued. “There was a point when we had, whatever it was, five one-days and two stage races. Now we’ve got the Rutland [CiCLE Classic], which is fighting hard to stay alive – and thank God it does - and the Tour of Britain, which hopefully will go from strength to strength in the new Lloyds partnership. They’ve got those, but you need a lot more.”

Of the 107 riders that started last week’s Tour of Britain, 34 were British, including 16 debutants. For them in particular, the race offers a shop-window opportunity to display their talent to professional teams, in a hope of securing contracts.

“It’s one of the biggest races they’ll do all year,” said Pete Kennaugh, sports director for Trinity Racing, whose debutant Callum Thornley won the mountains classification.

“I’ve been really impressed with the whole group,” Kennaugh said. “I think they’ve more than held themselves in this peloton.”

Thornley was one of a handful of breakthrough British talents at the race this year. Another was 22-year-old Louis Sutton, who finished sixth behind Remco Evenepoel on stage two, riding for the GB squad. “This is the main race where teams can see [me] because I’m racing against them,” Sutton said. “I’ve not had opportunities like it before.”

Now, after a successful first edition under British Cycling's organisation, the focus is on growing the event, whether that be stepping up to WorldTour level, or simply searching for more challenging stage routes.

Williams, the first British champion in eight years, said he was "over the moon" to have won his home race. "Hopefully next year we can go again," he said.