Cyclenoodle managed to catch up with up and coming Elite Cross Country Racer Lee Williams fresh after his win in the Welsh National Championships at Pontypool Park, South Wales. Lee has developed over the last few seasons from a shy retiring young racer who would often turn up to races in his Grey jogging bottoms, pull his old bike out of the car and quietly go about destroying most of the competition. Today he is very much a rising talent, sponsored, supported and competing on the World stage with the very best.

Well done Lee, Welsh National Champion after a hard race on a very tough course. What did you think of the race today?

It was very good, so different to the course we were racing last week at round 4 of the NPS. It’s great that they had the guts really because the last couple of years the courses have been getting a bit flatter and shorter, this course was short but was a real stinger with those climbs. Real old school with proper steep climbs and descents, it was tricky out there being very dusty and loose in the trees and wet and slick on the grass.

It was a tough race to gauge, 8 laps with those climbs, it would be easy to go off too hard and blow your doors off, so I just settled in for the first couple of laps behind Anthony O’boyle before making my move.


The Dragon Series has floundered the last couple of years with publicity and numbers being a struggle. This year Steve Corbyn has grabbed the bull by the horns and with the help of local riders has put on a pretty good series, numbers are up and credit to you for racing the whole series and helping to raise the profile. What do you think to the future of the series and XC in Wales?

Well, I’m hoping it will progress now. Steve has got some support and found some sponsors, Clee Cycles supported the whole series and gave some great prizes today and I saw that Mojo gave a set of Fox Forks to the fastest U16 rider, what a great prize for the youngsters! One of the main problems in the past has been finding sponsors to help make it happen. I’m always supportive of people who have the guts to take on the series and I’ll support it by racing whenever I can. There’s not a lot of money to made in it to be honest so it makes it even more praiseworthy that Steve and the team are prepared to risk being out of pocket to make it work.


The Welsh races always put on good courses and to see the No.1 ranked rider in the UK at present racing at them makes a big difference to the series.

Am I ranked No. 1? I didn’t know that.


Yes your having a great season, what do you put it down to? You have a new sponsor this season.

Oh, the sponsor is a big help. Previous seasons I have been doing everything off my own back with a bit of help from small local businesses. Now I am on board with Wiggle I have bike support, parts, and product wise I’ve been able to have everything which is a big help, but I think the biggest step up has come from being free of illness and injury. In the past I’ve suffered from colds and injury at key times in the season which really sets you back but this year I’ve been well and I’ve raced with pretty consistent form. I’ve had the strength in my legs for the last couple of years but like I said it’s just been putting it together and keeping illness free.

You’ve had the chance to do a few World Cups now; does that experience add much to your racing?

Oh definitely! It’s a completely different ball game racing a World Cup, I mean in regional or even National races in the UK, you are in a race with people you know, you work out your tactics and execute them. In a World cup you are usually starting at the back of a huge field, by the time you have got into the first narrowing of the track the hold up is so long you can be 2 or 3 minutes down on the leaders. It then becomes a very different race, you are just focussed on getting past the one guy in front, and then the next and the next. All the time the guy behind you is doing the same thing! It’s a matter of going.....you know...Eye Balls out for as long as you can. So that kind of racing is always good experience. The NPS is better racing because you target it and race your own race but there is no doubt that the World Cups help you step up your performance, I’ll try to do as many as I can in any season but it depends where they are and how they fall, and of course.........finance!

I’m hoping I can do Austria and Switzerland at the end of the year.


Last week you had a great NPS at Crow Hill, you led the way and took it to Liam Killeen for a good couple of laps, unfortunately he went away in the end but you were the only racer to go with him. What is it like racing against someone with the quality of Liam?

Margam was a good race for me, I got 4th and was feeling good and then the training over the period between Margam and Crow Hill got better and better, then with a week to go I felt fantastic and just eager for the race to come, so I know I carried good form into that race and I was in better shape than I was for Margam. So it was just a case of, on the start line, Liam is there and I thought If I can get towards the front I’ll be in a good position to try and stay with him as long as I can. So that was the plan, if I blew then I blew, I just wanted to take it on, so it was really pleasing.

It has always been Liam and Oli for the last few years and there haven’t been many riders who have been able to bridge the gap, so that’s been my target for the last season or so.


And did it give you confidence that you were able to stay with him in the race on such a tough course?

Oh definitely, I was really pleased, and I looked at the lap times and it wasn’t a case of him going away from me, I slowed down as I got tired and that really boosts confidence because that is just fitness. He is so fit, obviously he is always in the right gear, his technique is perfect and he drives you really hard, so yeah I was pleased and you learn a lot from following him. So I’ll work a bit more on fitness now, extra speed will come with that and then next season hopefully I’ll bridge the gap.


So what’s the goal for the rest of the season and into next year?

Well, I’m in good form now so obviously it’s the Nationals for this year, I’ll try and keep form and peak for that, then it goes a little quiet and the World Cups at the end of the season. Then I’ll go into a Winter programme ready for next season.


Starbucks or Costa?

Oh Starbucks everytime, I like Starbucks!


McDonalds or Burger King

(Hesitation).......Burger King, every now and then.


Well Lee, good luck for the rest of the season. It’s great to see you doing so well and I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more from you soon.

See more of Lee at the following links...

Lee's Blog