CEREDIGION’s professional cyclist Stephen Williams has decided to pull out of the Team Wales road racing squad for the forthcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Williams, who was selected to represent Team Wales in the Games between 4 and 15 April, confirmed his tough decision last week. His scheduled participation in Australia overlapped with one of his biggest goals of the season, the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Under 23 race on 14 April.

The long travel and the difficult logistics made it impossible for the 22-year old to take part in both events in his best condition. Williams, from Capel Dewi, has therefore taken the decision to stay in Europe and target his goals with the SEG Racing team.

“As a patriotic Welshman it has always been a dream of mine to represent my country,” said Williams.

“When I was told I had been selected for the road race in the up-and-coming Commonwealth Games in Australia, I was extremely proud. But this season is very important, being in my final year as an U23 rider with SEG Academy. The team has worked hard for me, with the aim of targeting early season races such as Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“With this in mind and after much deliberation with friends, team managers and Welsh Cycling I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that travelling to the Gold Coast will cause too much disruption to an already hectic season for me.”

He added: “I would like to record my sincere gratitude to everyone at Welsh Cycling and SEG Racing Academy for their help and understanding when I took time to consider my options and make my decision.

“Finally, I would like to wish the entire Commonwealth team and those selected for the road race and track in particular the best of luck at the Games.”

A spokesperson for the SEG Academy said: “We want to express our maximum support to the whole Wales delegation attending the Commonwealth Games as well as to Wales’ cycling coach, Darren Tudor, for his understanding and help throughout the situation.

“We wish them nothing but the best in the event.”

Despite having his first season with the team derailed by crashes and injury, the former JLT-Condor rider scored some big results in 2017, and the SEG team is full of enthusiasm for what he can achieve.

He achieved runners-up spot in Flèche Ardennaise and 11th overall in Ronde de l’Isard, as well as having to deal with crashes and injuries in races such as Giro valle d’Aosta and the U23 Giro d’Italia, which were big goals for the Welshman.

The climber is going into his last year in the Under 23s team with a positive mindset and a willingness to keep improving his skills on the bike as he gets ready to make the next step into the professional ranks.

“I would like to improve my general classification skills, and work on these in the coming months on higher mountains,” he said.

“Improving my individual time trial would also be a big thing for me, but all in all I’m hoping for a great year, and I’m looking to enjoy it with the SEG team.”