The British Stephen William (Israel Premier Tech) was proclaimed final winner of the 24th edition of the Santos Tour Down Under, first test World Tour of the year, in which he defended with honor the orange shirt that accredits the leader by scoring the sixth and final stage between Unley and Mount Lofty, 128.2 km long.
After his second place at the top of Willunga, Stephen Williams (Aberystwyth, 27 years old), shone again on Mount Lofty, where at the end of a 1.6 kilometer climb to the 6.7 percentand beat a group of 5 runners with a powerful sprint. With 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, within a group led by the French double world champion Julian Alaphilippe.
Stephen Williams, winner of the Arctic Race in Norway in 2023, succeeds the Australian Jay Vine (UAE) on the list of winners, and on the final podium he was escorted by Jhonatan Narváez and Isaac Del Toro, the Mexican rider who won a stage and revelation of the proof.
The last mountainous stage of 128 kilometers between Unley and Mount Lofty was marked by a breakaway frome seven riders who were finally reduced by the peloton.
The decision came on the last of three ascents of Mount Lofty, a 1.5 kilometer slope. The Mexican revelation Isaac Del Toro completely blew up the peloton with two impressive attacking attempts, but he could not get rid of the Ecuadorian Jhonatan Narváez and of the British classification leader Stephen Williams.
In the end, Williams successfully defended the orange jersey, taking a well-deserved double, stage and victory in the Tour Down Under.
EFE
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