Revealed in the 2010s, Eritrean cycling continues to surprise on European roads, this time with Biniam Girmay, a candidate for a stage victory in the Tour of Italy sprints. The first representative of sub-Saharan African cycling to win a classic last March at Ghent-Wevelgem, he is one of the attractions of the 105th Giro.
The Tour of Italy, Biniam Girmay watched it as a child on television. Friday, May 6, he started this three-week journey by hitting hard with a second place in the first stage behind the talented Mathieu van der Poel. Proof that the 22-year-old boy is not afraid, after being the first cyclist from black Africa to stand on the podium of a World Championship in 2021 (2nd in the Espoirs race).
Since then, he has distinguished himself by winning the Flandrian classic on the sunny roadway of Ghent-Wevelgem on March 27 with the Belgian team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux. Today, he dreams of becoming the first black African rider to win a Grand Tour stage.
Worthy successor to Daniel Teklehaimanot
Also Eritrean, Daniel Teklehaimanot was the first black rider on the continent to participate in the Tour de France, in 2015. He wore the best climber’s tunic for four days. It was the Frenchman Michel Thèze who had spotted the latter, on a race in Morocco, then who had prepared him to become a professional.
The success of Biniam Girmay “ arrives at the best time, it will give a second wind », now believes Michel Thèze who, as former director of the World Cycling Center (CMC), created by the International Cycling Union to support the talents of emerging countries, has made known many other riders from this small country of the Horn of Africa. ” It is a confirmation of the great potential that exists there “, adds the French in an interview with AFP.
” This will change a lot of things for my future, I also hope for that of African runners “, abounded Biniam Girmay after his victory over Ghent-Wevelgem. Winner at the end of January of a race in Majorca (Spain), Girmay has progressed over the season. For example, he stood out with his 12th place in the classic Milan-Sanremo in March.
Eritrea, a country wedged between the highlands of the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, has lived in virtual autarky, under an authoritarian one-party regime, since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Since the 2010s , professional teams have turned to other Eritreans, such as Merhawi Kudus (EF Education-EasyPost), currently on the Giro d’Italia, Natnael Tesfatsion (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli), or Natnael Berhane, winner of the Tour de Turkey in 2013, and the Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon in 2014. Inherited from Italian colonization between 1885 and 1941, the practice of cycling is deeply rooted in Eritrean culture.
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“Even on the cobbles, he did not touch the brakes”
Biniam Girmay is a bit of a cycling master key. He knows how to place himself in a peloton and stay in the top positions when the race heats up and the finish line is in sight. During Ghent-Wevelgem, cobblestones, Biniam Girmay had never seen any before the start of the season. And yet…” These are races which it is often said that you have to have done several times to know their pitfalls and dangers. But he comes here for the first time and he wins it “, testified his teammate Adrien Petit. ” Even on the cobbles, he didn’t touch the brakes. It also made things easier for us. I remember for example that when I had to put it up in the Kemmel (a cobbled mountain on the Ghent-Wevelgem route, editor’s note), I didn’t have to turn around. I knew he followed without problem “, added the French in the columns of West France.
At 19, Biniam Girmay had offered himself a stage on the steep roads of the Tour of Rwanda. During the Trofeo Laigueglia, in February 2020, he took 2nd place ahead of the Italians Diego Rosa and Andrea Vendrame. According to several observers, the young man has the science of racing. Positioning yourself, anticipating and attacking at the right time: Biniam Girmay has already understood the essence of cycling. “Bini” (his nickname), a media attraction for his sub-Saharan origins, will undoubtedly very quickly become known only for his sporting exploits.