Stevie Williams was “over the moon” to take his first WorldTour victory at stage one of the Tour de Suisse on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Welshman surprised almost everyone with a reduced bunch sprint win where he outsprinted Max Schachmann (Bora-hansgrohe) and Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal) after a 177km race around the Kusnacht region.

The Team Bahrain Victorious rider from Capel Dewi said: “I’m really happy how it went. It was a pretty tough day. The sun was on the whole day, quite a demanding course, and the climbs were not super hard, but they were draining energy every time.

“To come away with a win and win like this was great. It’s been a strange few years, and I’m over the moon to come here and win a stage.”

Team Bahrain Victorious SD Roman Kreuziger: “In general, the team was good. All the guys were good in positioning before the last climb.

“Of course, we are super happy that Stevie won. The mission is complete, but we lost 15 seconds with Gino, which is a little bit disappointing. He suffered in this heat, but he’ll be day by day better.

“Today we should celebrate and be super happy about how it went. And for me, this is my first victory leading the guys, so I’m super excited.”

Stevie dons the yellow jersey today on a similar stage profile, again in hot weather, defending his hard-earned jersey.

His grandfather Geoff Morgan said: “It was brilliant to see him beat all the top riders with a sprint finish.

“We were so emotional at the end, considering what he’s been through with all his injuries, all the family are so chuffed.”