Stephen Williams called it a team victory at the Tour Down Under on Sunday with a stage win at Mount Lofty.

The Israeli Premier Tech puncher was soft-spoken, but not so the instructions that sport directors Sam Bury and Daryl Impey relayed over the race radio in the last 2 km of the 128.2 km hilly course.

"I think he probably went deaf in the last kilometer. I couldn't hear him anymore, and it was only about five minutes after the finish," Bury said at the finish line.

As teammate George Bennett said earlier in the week, Williams did not heed the words of encouragement and prepared for the stage win and race title.

"I couldn't hear Sam for the last kilometer," he said.

"Having Sam and Darryl, two guys who know the sport inside and out (Darryl has obviously won this race many times), on the machine, calmed me down and gave me confidence and leadership.

Williams, a self-described "puncher," was one of five riders who emerged after the leading pack was caught on the final third climb of Mount Lofty

. Williams responded to attacks by Lawrence Pitti (Groupama-FDJ) and Isaac Del Toro (UAE Emirates) and accelerated to finish ahead of Honatan Narvaez (Ineos Grenadiers).

"It was a perfect finish for me. I was able to get into such a small elite group that I was always going to back myself up in the sprint races," Williams said.

The 27-year-old Williams had spent four seasons with Bahrain Victorious, plagued by injuries, before signing with Israel Premier Tech last year. But the result was the biggest of his career so far, and Bury said it was the result of confidence.

"I think number one is his confidence. If you have confidence, if you believe in yourself, you can do these things. He doesn't always believe in himself, but he is a bloody champion, so he should believe," Bury said.

The entire Israel Premier Tech celebrated the result and hugged the riders as they returned to the team paddock.

Williams entered the stage in the same time as Oscar Onley (dsm-Filmenig Post NL), only five seconds behind Narvaez in the overall standings.

Bury said that he and Impy tried to keep their cool at the start and on the eve of the finale, knowing that a lot was happening on Mount Lofty.

"After taking [the ochre leader's jersey] yesterday in Willunga, I could see the confidence in him.

"We usually have a pre-race meeting the night before, but we did it this morning to let him enjoy yesterday and relax a bit at night. I told everyone to focus on the process. If you do the process right, then the results will follow."

"Down under is the same every year, and we win by a small margin," Bury continued.

"Unless the breakaway group won, which was pretty unlikely, we knew that whoever won the stage would most likely win the Tour. We put pressure on the other teams and the teams that needed a stage win, and we raced for the stage win, not the overall win.

Williams was asked about his goals for the 2024 season and cited the Ardennes Classics and a run in the Grand Tours.

"I think being able to red, recover, red recover is where I am at right now.

"The next important thing is the Ardennes Classic. I want to go to the Ardennes Classics and make a good block. Then, once I decide which Grand Tour I'm going to compete in, I want to work hard for it."