‘Biniam Girmay – history maker’ is a phrase which has been used so often in professional cycling in recent years that one could almost be forgiven for thinking it’s the Eritrean rider’s full name.
But the headlines – first seen in 2021 when he took silver at the Leuven Worlds, then again the next year as he swept to victories at Gent-Wevelgem and in Jesi at the Giro d’Italia – will be recycled this week. Girmay, after all, has followed up those ‘firsts’ with another as the first Black African to win a Tour de France stage.
At the Giro, Girmay was on the other side of the country in Abruzzo when he scored Eritrea’s first-ever Grand Tour win. On Monday, 500km to the north-west in Turin, he took out his country’s first Tour de France stage victory, outpacing Fernando Gaviria and Arnaud De Lie after a crash-hit run to the line and amid a hairy finishing sprint.
It’s not the first time an Eritrean rider has stood atop a Tour de France podium, however. Nine years ago, five days after he became the first Black African to start the Tour, Daniel Teklehaimanot wore the polka dot jersey in Le Havre.
Speaking after his win in Turin, Girmay said that Teklehaimanot’s achievement had shown him and other young Eritreans that it was possible to succeed at the highest level in the sport.
“My father really liked to watch the Tour de France and would always say after lunch to put on the TV and watch,” Girmay explained. “He showed us how it works and how difficult it is. I remember in 2011 when Peter Sagan won, I said, ‘Maybe it’s possible to be part of that’ and my father said, ‘Keep believing, keep working hard, everything is possible’. This is still in my head.
“In 2015, everything changed when Teklehaimanot was on the podium in the polka dot jersey. He showed us that everything is possible and that we can try and win stages, so that definitely gave us a lot of good [motivation]. But still, there’s a lot of obstacles, ups and downs, especially for African riders.”
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Teklehaimanot became the first Eritrean pro racer back in 2012 upon signing for Orica-GreenEdge. Since then, others – including Natnael Berhane and Merhawi Kudus – have continued to blaze a trail for Eritrean cycling, while Girmay is currently joined in the WorldTour by Henok Mulubrhan (Astana Qazaqstan) and Lidl-Trek pair Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier and Natnael Tesfatsion.
Girmay is the most successful of them all, however. And, in line with his comments following those previous history-making achievements, the 24-year-old didn’t fail to hail his country as well as the wider African continent.
“It means a lot personally for me. And especially for the continent because it’s been a long time for African Black riders to not win at the Tour de France,” Girmay said. “It means a lot, especially for Eritrean cycling because we have a long history with cycling. We have cycling in our blood and know a lot about the Tour de France so to win today was amazing.
“[In Eritrea] for sure they’ll make a lot of films and TV, I think because I remember when I won at the Giro, I got a lot of people saying that they’re watching in the bar, and they really throw away the bottles and also the tables because they’re super happy.
“Today, to be honest, I think it will be already crazy. I can’t imagine. I have a lot of support and a lot of people behind me to motivate me. But now I don’t have any words to describe it. For sure, it’s already on fire.”
‘You just close your eyes and go for it – I crossed the line first’
Aside from the wider relevance and consequence of Girmay’s latest big win, there was also the sporting side.
He had come out on top in the closing sprint, having not only been among the select group of sprinters to avoid a crash in the peloton at 2.8km to go but having also been detached from his Intermarché-Wanty lead-out train as the riders sped into central Turin.
Up front, Laurens Rex, Mike Teunissen, and Gerben Thijssen led the charge towards the line, peeling off one by one only to reveal Decathlon AG2R pair Paul Lapeira and Sam Bennett and Lidl-Trek sprint duo Jasper Stuyven and Mads Pedersen.
The Dane was the first to jump, going long at 200 metres out, while De Lie and Gaviria fought their way past up the middle of the road. By the barriers, however, there was just enough space left for Girmay to make progress.
He’d squeeze past Pedersen – just – inside the final 50 metres, to hit the front just in time to celebrate the win a bike length up on the rest.
“I remember in the last kilometre closing my eyes and then trying to get the best possible wheel because I lost my teammates,” Girmay said, recalling that he had been stuck half a dozen riders back from his train.
“I just found the right wheel and did a smart way to move – not on the left side because there was a lot of wind, so I just tried to move close to the barrier and luckily didn’t have an accident.
“I passed Pedersen on the right really close to the barrier. You just close your eyes and go for it – I crossed the line first.”
The win counts as a number of firsts – for Girmay, for Black Africans, and also for his team, which has been a near-constant fixture since their debut in 2017.
The Belgian squad came into the race targeting stage wins and a top 10 overall with climber Louis Meintjes. The quest for the South African, currently 33rd overall, begins with the Col du Galibier on Tuesday, but thanks to Girmay, they have already ticked off one of their ambitions on day three.
👑 A royal sprint in Turin and a historic win for 🇪🇷@GrmayeBiniam!🎥Relive the finish of stage 3 😍👑 Un sprint royal à Turin pour une victoire historique de 🇪🇷@GrmayeBiniam ! 🎥Revivez le final de l’étape 3 😍 pic.twitter.com/CmYHolGbuSJuly 1, 2024
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