Wales' Williams sprints to win stage two and lead Tour of Britain
Wales' Stephen Williams surged into the lead of the Tour of Britain after beating Julian Alaphilippe to win the 152-kilometre second stage in Redcar on Wednesday.
The Israel-Premier Tech rider produced an impressive sprint to move past the former two-time world champion Alaphilippe and hold off Oscar Onley, who finished third.
"Just over the moon to get the hands in the air in the UK," Williams told reporters.
"The aim now is to try and hold onto the jersey. It's not the easiest job in the world, it takes a lot of things to go right and a strong team. We've got a strong team so hopefully now everything goes right on the road."
Williams leads the overall standings by six seconds from Onley, with Alaphilippe a further 10 seconds back in third.
The third of six stages runs 166 kilometres from Sheffield to Barnsley on Thursday.