Year After Garnering National Acclaim From First Lady, American Cyclist Lily Williams Secures Podium Spot at UCI Track Championship League

Published 11/13/2023, 7:58 AM EST

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She was a track and field athlete. Then she took a turnaround and changed tracks to start afresh in an all-new track. So, she started her career as a cyclist in 2018 after transitioning from collegiate running. A sportsperson at heart, Lily Williams did not take long to make her name count on this novel journey.

Lily’s footprints in the sport reached all the way to the White House as First Lady Jill Biden spotted and acknowledged her for her participation in the coveted Tour de France Femmes last year. With all this glory, Lily has made her mark once again, adding to her list of accolades.

Lily Williams reiterates her success on tracks

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On November 13, USA Cycling posted on their X handle to highlight Lily’s latest achievement. The post reads, Lily Williams takes third in the @ucitcl overall!” UCI Track Champions League is a season-long track cycling competition held over four rounds around Europe during November and December. The competition has two categories: endurance and sprint. Lily took part in the endurance category. The achievement does not come suddenly, going by her past performances in the sport.

Lily opened her cycling career by winning the 2018 Winston Salem Cycling Classic. She then became part of the team that went on to win the World Championships in 2020. This gave way to even greater success as she became a member of the Olympic team in 2020. The team ultimately went on to bring bronze to the country. This perhaps gave Lily enough confidence as she started taking part in individual events after the Olympics. This very confidence saw her taking part in the prestigious Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in the year 2022, something that caught the attention of none other than First Lady Jill Biden.

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Jill Biden’s shutout for Lily

Last year, The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift returned to women’s cycling for the first time in 33 years. Lily Williams took the opportunity to participate in this historic edition of the race. Considered as one of the most prestigious and toughest races, Lily was well aware of the gravity of it as she had told Velo in an interview, “It has been great, I think that everyone that doesn’t really know about cycling can empathize with it a little bit and understand that this is something that is really big, oftentimes, even more than a world title or the Olympics.” How could a US First Lady miss such an occasion embraced by an American?

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Just after stage 1 of the race Biden took to X. While expressing happiness over the return of the race after 33 years, she took time to give Lily a mention. “What an amazing stage 1 of @letourfemmes  and such a great side to see after 33 long years. Wishing the best of luck to Florida native, @lily_bwilliams, and all the cyclists competing this week.” For obvious reasons, Lily shot to national fame after the recognition. As it seems, she is sincere enough to keep up that name. We will wait to see Lily doing Justice to it, again and again.

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Written by:

Shayni Maitra

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I have always been obsessed with the Olympics especially when it comes to Gymnastics. Whether it's Jordan Chiles showing off her artistic movies or Simone Biles clinching titles to her name. Growing up, I have always been fascinated by sports.
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Edited by:

BHUJAYA RAY CHOWDHURY