The British Stephen William (Israel Premier Tech) was declared the final winner of the 24th edition of the Santos Tour Down Underthe first World Tour event of the year, where he defended with honor the orange shirt that identifies the leader by scoring the sixth and final stage between Unley and Mount Lofty, which is 128.2 km long.
After his second place at the top of Willunga, Stephen Williams (Aberystwyth, 27 years old) once again shined on Mount Lofty, where at the end of the 1.6 kilometer climb at 6.7 percent he beat a group of 5 runners with strong sprint. In 3h.05.56 he beat the Ecuadorian Jonathan Narváez (Ineos) and the Mexican Isaac del Toro (UAE).
The Spanish were not in the fight for victory. The first of them, Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar), was twelfth, 10 seconds behind the winner, in a group led by French double world champion Julian Alaphilippe.
Stephen Williams, winner of the Arctic Race in Norway in 2023, replaced Australian Jay Vine (UAE) on the list of winners, and on the final podium he was joined by Jhonatan Narváez and Isaac Del Toro, the Mexican rider who won a stage and revelation of proof.
The final 128km mountainous stage between Unley and Mount Lofty was marked by a seven rider breakaway which was eventually whittled down by the peloton.
The decision came in the final three climbs of Mount Lofty, a 1.5 kilometer slope. The Mexican revelation Isaac Del Toro completely blew up the peloton with two impressive attack attempts, but could not get rid of the Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez and the British leader of the classification Stephen Williams.
In the end, Williams successfully defended the orange jersey, securing a well-deserved double, stage and victory at the Tour Down Under.
Source: La Verdad
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