Stevie Williams ruled out of Tour de France due to knee injury

Stevie Williams has confirmed that he will miss the Tour de France due to an ongoing knee problem. The Welsh rider has not raced since he abandoned Eschborn-Frankfurt on May 1.

In a statement released by his Israel Premier Tech team, Williams explained that the injury had first created issues when he started his season in Australia in January. After a spell off the bike, he returned to action at the Giro d’Abruzzo in April, but he abandoned both Flèche Wallonne – a race he won in 2024 – and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

“The 2025 season hasn’t gone to plan, so I want to share a bit of an update about why I haven’t been racing,” Williams said. “Since the start of my season in Australia, I’ve had an issue with my right knee, a quadriceps tendinopathy, which is very tricky to manage, and it hasn’t resolved. I was able to come back for Giro d’Abruzzo and the Ardennes, but since then, things still aren’t completely right.”

Williams had hoped to line up for his second Tour de France in 2025, but his knee injury has forced him out of his team’s selection. The 29-year-old will also miss the British national championship, which take place on home roads in Ceredigion.

“Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to race the national championships in Wales or the Tour de France,” Williams said. “I’m gutted to miss them, especially racing Nationals in front of a home crowd.”

Williams’ early career was blighted by knee problems. He raced just eight days in his debut season at Bahrain in 2019 due to a nagging injury that required the removal of the small fabella bone from his left knee, but he hit his stride before leaving the team, winning the CRO Tour in 2021 and a stage of the Tour de Suisse the following year.

2024 proved a belated break-out year for Williams, who had signalled his talent by winning the Ronde de l’Isard as an amateur in 2018. He claimed overall victory at both the Tour Down Under and the Tour of Britain last year, and he also claimed a fine win at a rain-soaked Flèche Wallonne.

“I’m working really hard to get back to full fitness with the support of the team, and I hope I’ll be back on the start line soon,” Williams said. “As a cyclist, the only thing you want to do is race, so this season has been incredibly frustrating, but I know that these things can’t be rushed.”