A late arrival to the sport, 20-year-old Tom Williams secured a ride with UCI team Saint Piran after impressive performances this season culminating with victory at the Ryedale Grand Prix
The jigsaw of elite sport is a difficult one to solve, many complex and intricate pieces needing to come together, then slot in place seamlessly. The constantly changing puzzle is almost impossible to achieve, although one of this season’s breakthrough stars, 20-year-old Tom Williams, is now closer than most, the Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix winner transforming himself into one of the best riders in the UK over the season, courting the attention of UCI Continental team Saint Piran.
We knew I always had the power, this year was just learning to race
Securing a ride with the Cornish team as a stagiaire for the remainder of 2024, then as a fully fledged member of the squad in 2025, Williams spoke to The British Continental about the journey he has been on since taking up the sport four years ago, and where he hopes it will lead him in the future.
2024 The Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix. Tom Williams, Thriva SRCT wins. Image: Craig Zadoroznyj/SWpix.com
“Last year, I think my best result was 4th at the Galway Classic, best Nat B was like 5th, so I didn’t really have any good results,” Williams states, setting out the starting point he and his coach Jody Warrington faced over the winter after a debut season spent learning with what is now the Thriva-SRCT team.
“We knew I always had the power, this year was just learning to race, getting better at fatigue resistance,” he continues. On the menu throughout the winter for the 20-year-old was a diet of long rides; time spent in the saddle key to a number of high profile, confidence boosting performances.
Until I won I didn’t have loads of confidence. I won in Spain, and I was like ‘shit, I can actually win!’
“I started racing in February at Perfs [the Portsdown Classic], where I was 20th, then I went to Spain on a training camp and won there,” says Williams, his Spanish conquest the catalyst for the season ahead. Sprinting to victory from a six man group in the Volta a la Marina Alta-Barxeta flicked a switch inside him, setting the ball rolling for the season and instilling a confidence in him from which he has never looked back.
“I had some confidence coming into the season because I knew I was going well. But until I won I didn’t have loads of confidence. I won in Spain, and I was like ‘shit, I can actually win!’ he reflects.
From there Williams took a brilliant solo victory in the Yorkshire Under-23 Classic, followed up with second place in the opening stage of the Redlands Classic in the USA, where he was sandwiched between Tyler Stites and Stephen Bassett, both riders who have been signed to the professional ranks in their careers. With the confidence snowballing and form good, Williams left the States in high spirits, his thoughts now a firm, “‘yeah, I can win races.”
2024 The Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix. Tom Williams, Thriva SRCT wins. Image: Craig Zadoroznyj/SWpix.com
However, it was at the Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix, perhaps the most challenging round of the National Road Series, where Williams truly believed in his ability for the first time following a strong performance at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, where he was the first rider home after the leading group in 7th.
I think Ryedale was the first time I had the confidence to believe I could win a ‘Prem’. I think it’s the main thing, if you believe you can do it, you can
“At Lincoln I was a bit in shock,” he explains. “More than knowing I could do it, I was a bit like ‘oh shit, I’m actually in shock I’ve just done that’. I think Ryedale was the first time I had the confidence to believe I could win a ‘Prem’. I think it’s the main thing, if you believe you can do it, you can. If you don’t believe it, you won’t.”
Williams’ win in Ampleforth was impressive, not only because of his fierce sprint to take victory in front of the Abbey, but the resilience he showed to hang on to the leading group as the attacks rained down.
“It was a big mental battle, all race,” he states. “I actually got in a break quite early on. I think there were five of us, and I was hanging on in the break up the climbs.
“I am a good climber, but again that was more the mental side of it. I was getting kind of dropped up the climbs, then getting towards the top and being like I shouldn’t be getting dropped and just riding back on quite easily. Then last lap, everyone was on their knees, but I did feel good, and I kind of knew I was one of the stronger riders in that group. Looking around everyone was so fatigued, so I knew I just needed to get over the climbs and I could win the sprint.”
2024 The Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix. Tom Williams, Thriva SRCT wins. Image: Craig Zadoroznyj/SWpix.com
Williams says he will always back himself in a sprint, especially one after four hours of hard racing, telling himself, “if I can get over this climb, just dig really deep, then I can win it” throughout the final laps, noting that it “paid off”, as he unleashed an impressive turn of speed in the final 40 seconds of the race.
Despite his fast finish, which helped him to two stage victories in the Clive Tiley Memorial stage race a week prior, Williams describes himself a puncheur first and foremost. “I would say I’m more of a puncheur,” he says, adding after some thought, “but I kind of am an all rounder. I can climb pretty well and I can sprint as well. Ryedale is obviously super hilly, but there’s no climb longer than three minutes, so it does suit me, really.”
With an impressive National Road Series win under his belt, Williams penned a deal with Saint Piran, ending his two year relationship with the SRCT setup.
The last two years have just really been learning how to race properly, and I think it’s paid off a little bit now
“It’s been really good,” Williams says of his time with the Elite Development Team. “They’re one of the better teams in England. We got a lot of support and opportunities as well, so we got to race Kreizh Breizh [Elites], go to America to race Redlands, we also got to do some UCIs in Belgium and Holland over the years too. It has been a really good setup there. The last two years have just really been learning how to race properly, and I think it’s paid off a little bit now.”
With two races for Saint Piran under his belt already, Williams will be heading to Belgium, rounding out his road season with a series of Kermesses for his new team. It is a move he is excited to make, a step in the right direction if he is to achieve his ambition of riding in the WorldTour.
2024 Beaumont Trophy, Tom Williams of Saint Piran. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
“Next year I’d like to really to step up and get some results in UCI [races]. It’s nice to step up to the only Continental team who race in England really, so it means I can race UCIs and still race Nat Bs and Prems, so it’s good.
“They proved last year with Jack [Rootkin-Gray] and Zeb [Kyffin] that it can be done, and they do give the opportunities, so if you’re good enough to do well, the opportunities are there. Which is a reason I chose to sign for them, because there is a lot of talk about Saint Piran, but I think in the past year they have proved they are the best team, the best fronted, best support, best race opportunities, and they’ve proven they can send riders to the pro ranks.”
The move to UCI Continental level rounds off a remarkable start to Williams’ career, which only began during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, as he turned to cycling to keep fit for motocross racing. “I bought a road bike in Covid, it’s always kind of interested me. The first goal was just to get fit, so when the motocross season resumed I was bike fit and ready to go again,” he explains, going on to join the local Webbs 1902 club when restrictions were eased.
I did the junior nationals and won it after like six months, and it turns out the guys I beat are actually pretty big names
“I realised I was actually better than the people I was going out with, like ‘oh shit, I’m actually ok at it!’” Williams demonstrated his potential by winning the first hill climbs he entered just a matter of weeks after first spinning the pedals over.
“I did the junior nationals and won it after like six months, and it turns out the guys I beat are actually pretty big names,” he continues modestly, failing to name check the likes of WorldTour rider Lukas Nerurkar and star of the recent Tour of Britain Louis Sutton, both unable to match him on the punishing gradients of Streatley Hill.
With the hill climb season traditionally taking place in September through to late October, culminating in the national championships, Williams admits he is keen to give that aspect of the sport another shot, often looking at the hill climb national championships with a longing stare, his off season already underway with the road season finishing around mid-September. “Every year I’m like ‘oh, I can do nationals’, and I might this year. Because I’m going to Belgium to race pro-kermesse, my season might go out until midOctober. It’s where I started cycling, so I do enjoy it.”
Following on from his Streatley triumph in 2020, Williams, having turned 17 over the course of the winter, headed to France with two friends to try his hand at road racing the following year. “I was out there for two months, then we had to come back because of Covid. I only did one race, I think I was like 30th in like an E/1/2/3.”
I just committed everything to cycling, and it’s starting to pay off now, really
Despite the limited racing opportunities, the experience was enough to turn Williams’ complete attention to the sport and set him on the path he still treads now. “After that I was like ‘I do like this’, and [I] just committed everything to cycling, and it’s starting to pay off now, really.”
The jigsaw of elite sport is a difficult one to solve, many complex and intricate pieces needing to come together, then slot in place seamlessly. The constantly changing puzzle is almost impossible to achieve, although one of this season’s breakthrough stars, 20-year-old Tom Williams, is now closer than most, the Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix winner transforming himself into one of the best riders in the UK over the season, courting the attention of UCI Continental team Saint Piran.
Securing a ride with the Cornish team as a stagiaire for the remainder of 2024, then as a fully fledged member of the squad in 2025, Williams spoke to The British Continental about the journey he has been on since taking up the sport four years ago, and where he hopes it will lead him in the future.
“Last year, I think my best result was 4th at the Galway Classic, best Nat B was like 5th, so I didn’t really have any good results,” Williams states, setting out the starting point he and his coach Jody Warrington faced over the winter after a debut season spent learning with what is now the Thriva-SRCT team.
“We knew I always had the power, this year was just learning to race, getting better at fatigue resistance,” he continues. On the menu throughout the winter for the 20-year-old was a diet of long rides; time spent in the saddle key to a number of high profile, confidence boosting performances.
“I started racing in February at Perfs [the Portsdown Classic], where I was 20th, then I went to Spain on a training camp and won there,” says Williams, his Spanish conquest the catalyst for the season ahead. Sprinting to victory from a six man group in the Volta a la Marina Alta-Barxeta flicked a switch inside him, setting the ball rolling for the season and instilling a confidence in him from which he has never looked back.
“I had some confidence coming into the season because I knew I was going well. But until I won I didn’t have loads of confidence. I won in Spain, and I was like ‘shit, I can actually win!’ he reflects.
From there Williams took a brilliant solo victory in the Yorkshire Under-23 Classic, followed up with second place in the opening stage of the Redlands Classic in the USA, where he was sandwiched between Tyler Stites and Stephen Bassett, both riders who have been signed to the professional ranks in their careers. With the confidence snowballing and form good, Williams left the States in high spirits, his thoughts now a firm, “‘yeah, I can win races.”
However, it was at the Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix, perhaps the most challenging round of the National Road Series, where Williams truly believed in his ability for the first time following a strong performance at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, where he was the first rider home after the leading group in 7th.
“At Lincoln I was a bit in shock,” he explains. “More than knowing I could do it, I was a bit like ‘oh shit, I’m actually in shock I’ve just done that’. I think Ryedale was the first time I had the confidence to believe I could win a ‘Prem’. I think it’s the main thing, if you believe you can do it, you can. If you don’t believe it, you won’t.”
Williams’ win in Ampleforth was impressive, not only because of his fierce sprint to take victory in front of the Abbey, but the resilience he showed to hang on to the leading group as the attacks rained down.
“It was a big mental battle, all race,” he states. “I actually got in a break quite early on. I think there were five of us, and I was hanging on in the break up the climbs.
“I am a good climber, but again that was more the mental side of it. I was getting kind of dropped up the climbs, then getting towards the top and being like I shouldn’t be getting dropped and just riding back on quite easily. Then last lap,
everyone was on their knees, but I did feel good, and I kind of knew I was one of the stronger riders in that group. Looking around everyone was so fatigued, so I knew I just needed to get over the climbs and I could win the sprint.”
Williams says he will always back himself in a sprint, especially one after four hours of hard racing, telling himself, “if I can get over this climb, just dig really deep, then I can win it” throughout the final laps, noting that it “paid off”, as he unleashed an impressive turn of speed in the final 40 seconds of the race.
Despite his fast finish, which helped him to two stage victories in the Clive Tiley Memorial stage race a week prior, Williams describes himself a puncheur first and foremost. “I would say I’m more of a puncheur,” he says, adding after some thought, “but I kind of am an all rounder. I can climb pretty well and I can sprint as well. Ryedale is obviously super hilly, but there’s no climb longer than three minutes, so it does suit me, really.”
With an impressive National Road Series win under his belt, Williams penned a deal with Saint Piran, ending his two year relationship with the SRCT setup.
“It’s been really good,” Williams says of his time with the Elite Development Team. “They’re one of the better teams in England. We got a lot of support and opportunities as well, so we got to race Kreizh Breizh [Elites], go to America to race Redlands, we also got to do some UCIs in Belgium and Holland over the years too. It has been a really good setup there. The last two years have just really been learning how to race properly, and I think it’s paid off a little bit now.”
With two races for Saint Piran under his belt already, Williams will be heading to Belgium, rounding out his road season with a series of Kermesses for his new team. It is a move he is excited to make, a step in the right direction if he is to achieve his ambition of riding in the WorldTour.
“Next year I’d like to really to step up and get some results in UCI [races]. It’s nice to step up to the only Continental team who race in England really, so it means I can race UCIs and still race Nat Bs and Prems, so it’s good.
“They proved last year with Jack [Rootkin-Gray] and Zeb [Kyffin] that it can be done, and they do give the opportunities, so if you’re good enough to do well, the opportunities are there. Which is a reason I chose to sign for them, because there is a lot of talk about Saint Piran, but I think in the past year they have proved they are the best team, the best fronted, best support, best race opportunities, and they’ve proven they can send riders to the pro ranks.”
The move to UCI Continental level rounds off a remarkable start to Williams’ career, which only began during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown, as he turned to cycling to keep fit for motocross racing. “I bought a road bike in Covid, it’s always kind of interested me. The first goal was just to get fit, so when the motocross season resumed I was bike fit and ready to go again,” he explains, going on to join the local Webbs 1902 club when restrictions were eased.
“I realised I was actually better than the people I was going out with, like ‘oh shit, I’m actually ok at it!’” Williams demonstrated his potential by winning the first hill climbs he entered just a matter of weeks after first spinning the pedals over.
“I did the junior nationals and won it after like six months, and it turns out the guys I beat are actually pretty big names,” he continues modestly, failing to name check the likes of WorldTour rider Lukas Nerurkar and star of the recent Tour of Britain Louis Sutton, both unable to match him on the punishing gradients of Streatley Hill.
With the hill climb season traditionally taking place in September through to late October, culminating in the national championships, Williams admits he is keen to give that aspect of the sport another shot, often looking at the hill climb national championships with a longing stare, his off season already underway with the road season finishing around mid-September. “Every year I’m like ‘oh, I can do nationals’, and I might this year. Because I’m going to Belgium to race pro-kermesse, my season might go out until midOctober. It’s where I started cycling, so I do enjoy it.”
Following on from his Streatley triumph in 2020, Williams, having turned 17 over the course of the winter, headed to France with two friends to try his hand at road racing the following year. “I was out there for two months, then we had to come back because of Covid. I only did one race, I think I was like 30th in like an E/1/2/3.”
Despite the limited racing opportunities, the experience was enough to turn Williams’ complete attention to the sport and set him on the path he still treads now. “After that I was like ‘I do like this’, and [I] just committed everything to cycling, and it’s starting to pay off now, really.”
Featured image: SWpix.com
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