Williams continues strong 2018 form
A podium finish may have eluded Georgia Williams at Emakumeen Bira but New Zealand’s leading female road cyclist is still smiling after achieving a career-best result on the Women’s World Tour.
The 24-year-old had to settle for fourth place at the four-stage race in Spain earlier this week after her Mitchelton-Scott team-mate Amanda Spratt leapfrogged her and Annemiek Van Vleuten by producing a superb solo ride on the final day.
But considering it was her best result on the Women’s World Tour and Mitchelton-Scott managed to get three riders in the top-four, Williams certainly wasn’t complaining about where she ended up.
‘‘I was really happy and quite surprised with my performance,’’ Williams said. ‘‘In 2017 it was my first year on the team so my job was mainly to be a support rider for the older more experienced girls, I was also still learning lots about the racing. It was cool to get the opportunity to prove my strengths and go for a result myself.
‘‘I was gutted to miss out on the podium but I still can’t be disappointed in my result, just to be up there in the top-five is still a cool achievement.’’
Williams has gone from strength to strength in her second year as a professional with Mitchelton-Scott. She started the year by winning both the time trial and road race at the elite road national championships before winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games.
‘‘Getting a silver medal behind one of the best female sprinters in the world was a huge confidence boost,’’ Williams said of her performance at the Games.
‘‘I was lucky to have some family and friends over on the Gold Coast watching so I had a couple days after the race celebrating it with them before I had to fly straight back to Europe. I had been based in Europe since February so it was just a quick trip to the race and then straight back again to race in Belgium a few days later. The long travel was definitely worth it after pulling off a silver medal.’’
Williams has two more races in Belgium this weekend before she begins preparing for the Giro d’Italia Femminile.