Daily Post : Cyclists recall talents of murdered Holyhead spy Gareth Williams

Cyclists recall talents of murdered Holyhead spy Gareth Williams

by Deborah James, Daily Post | August 27, 2010

FELLOW cyclists paid tribute to codebreaker Gareth Williams for his skills on two wheels.

Mr Williams, 30, was a talented rider who regularly took part in road races and time trials. He was a former member of Holyhead Cycling Club and belonged to Cheltenham and County Cycling Club.

Records show he took part in cycling races in Snowdonia last September, and on Anglesey in September and on Valentine’s Day this year.

Speaking of their shock at learning of his suspicious death, friends from the cycling community described him as a “maths genius” who came across as “a very nice, friendly and quiet chap”.

Keith Thompson, of Holyhead Cycling Club, said he’d known Mr Williams since he joined the club aged of 17. He had won a trophy for being the Anglesey club’s junior best all rounder in 1996 and was named senior best all rounder from 1997 to 2000.

“I heard the news in a text message and it was a shock,” said Mr Thompson. “We are a small club, only 20 members, and all of us knew Gareth. We are totally devastated. He was a really lovely young man.

“Of course, once he moved to Cheltenham he joined the club there and we didn’t see much of him. I last saw him on our Boxing Day meeting last year. He was his usual self. It’s true that he was very quiet. He wasn’t a great conversationalist.

“We were club mates but Gareth wasn’t the sort to go to the pub after a race so he didn’t have any close friends in the group. I never spoke to him about his job or his private life. Nobody did.

“It was his cycling that we knew about. He was known for being very good on hill races. He was also a good runner, his whole family is very sporty. His father was a member of this club and (sister) Ceri was an athlete.

“We’ll be getting in touch to offer our condolences when they are home. We have also cancelled a club event we had planned for tonight. Nobody feels up to it now.”

David Hughes, from Clwb Rasio Mona, said: “As neighbouring clubs, we used to come across each other all the time. Although I didn’t know him personally, he was known around the cycling scene as a lovely person. He was a fine sportsman.”

While studying an advanced maths course at Cambridge in 2000, he joined the university cycling club and became the team’s “star rider”. Friends who raced alongside him left messages on the VeloRiders internet forum. One wrote: “He was a maths genius... People sometimes thought he was dense because he spoke rather slowly and sometimes seemed distracted. How wrong can you get?

A fellow Cambridge student called Tim said: “He seemed a shy and quiet chap, but had a peculiarly memorable laugh and smile that are haunting me somewhat today.”