Biniam Girmay enters the big league. The Eritrean climbed onto the final podium of the Tour de France, in Nice, alongside the yellow jersey, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar. In three weeks, the young rider from Asmara has become a major figure in the international peloton, with his three stage victories and therefore this green jersey. He is the first African rider to win a distinctive jersey on the Tour.
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With our special correspondent in Nice, Thomas of Saint Léger
Yet another crowd bath awaits him. The finish line of the Tour de France crossed, Biniam Girmay embraces his wife and daughter. A moment of intimacy, fleeting, everyone wants a smile from the revelation of the Tour.
” We saw him, remarkable, in the heart of a classic, two years ago. But there, he explodes at the highest level with an incredible feline style, of total fluidity. Of course, he can inspire, that’s what we wanted, generations of future champions, without the slightest doubt “, says Christian Prudhomme, the race director.
“He must continue to write the history of his sport”
Green jersey, best sprinter in the world at 24. And now, what can he aim for? Biniam Girmay ? This supporter has a little idea: ” The gold medal in Paris. It is to complete his mission. There, he has a mission “.
THE Olympic Games in a few days, why not. The course suits him well, but Biniam Girmay will also have to manage the aftermath of the Tour. Píerre Rolland is a former stage winner on the Grande Boucle: ” He’s going to have to assimilate everything he’s done, question himself, and go back to work this winter. He’s not going to have to get too high on his little cloud because this sport is thankless. He has to continue to write the history of his sport. I think he was born for this. “.
Also listen toTour de France: “There is a celebration for Biniam Girmay in Asmara every day”