By winning the 10th stage of the Tour of Italy at just 22 years old, on May 17, 2022, Biniam Girmay caused a sensation. This is the first time that a black African rider has won a Grand Tour. Injured in the eye on the finish podium, he was forced to retire, but this victory marks an important step for African cycling and confirms a promising talent that Thomas de Saint Leger, journalist at the sports department, makes us discover. from RFI.
In this episode of News cookies, Thomas de Saint-Leger begins by explaining why he specifically chose to follow the 10th stage of the Giro. ” I have been Biniam Girmay since its beginnings three years ago. I had met him on one of the tours in Africa. I know its characteristics and begin to understand how it works. Studying the Giro route, I told myself that the 10th stage could suit him for a victory, but there is necessarily an element of luck in my choice. “.
Unfortunately, this victory did not call others, Biniam Girmay, was injured during the ceremony on the podium. He received the cork from the bottle of Prosecco offered to the winner and was forced to abandon the Giro.
Biniam Girmay was spotted quite young, continues Thomas: “ By the World Cycling Center located in Aigle in Switzerland. Because he had performed at the level of the African and Eritrean championships. The institution aims to find talent in countries where there is no infrastructure that allows cyclists to perform at a very high level. Biniam will therefore do his training there and he will quickly win at the African level. Especially on La Tropicale Amissa Bongo (Tour of Gabon). At 18, he beat a reference in the sprint, the German André Greipel. He will also win the Tour of Rwanda and that’s when I realize that he is a very mature person with very defined career objectives, but that he also has the will not to burn steps. He’s a very built person. “.
With his victories, the rider quickly becomes a model for young African cyclists who encounter a lot of difficulties to exist: “ African cyclists have to fight a lot more than European cyclists to exist and even more to hope to win victories. There are a lot of financial difficulties. A bicycle is expensive. And then a lot of administrative problems as well. Often, it is very difficult to obtain visas to get these athletes out of their country, but there are plenty of talented runners in Rwanda, Cameroon, Togo and even Benin. The people who fight to advance them must receive a small share of Biniam’s victory. A victory that I hope will call for others “.
Subscribe to “News Witnesses”
News cookies is available to listen to on all podcast platforms: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Google Podcasts, TuneIn or any other application using the RSS feed.
If you like this podcast, give it 5 stars and post a comment on these applications so that it is visible and therefore even more listened to.