Biniam Girmay was already very dashing on Friday at the E3 Grand Prix, responding first to almost every attack. The Eritrean finished fifth, a minute and a half behind Wout Van Aert and Christophe Laporte, the shock duo of Jumbo-Visma.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
When he got back on the bus, his manager at Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert told him he had to change his plans. Rather than line up as planned for the Roue Tourangelle, a second level race in France, he would stay in Belgium to take part in Ghent-Wevelgem, a great classic of the WorldTour.
Still a neophyte on these roads punctuated by mountains and cobblestones, which he had never recognized, Girmay shaved all the best specialists on the planet, surprising his three breakaway companions with an irresistible sprint.
After his victory, his first at this level, the young man sat down on the asphalt and leaned against the fence, as if to better absorb the feat he had just achieved.
First African on the podium of Ghent-Wevelgem, raced since 1934, he is also the first cyclist from his continent to win a WorldTour classic. All this at 21.
“It’s incredible, fantastic, I couldn’t expect that! “Reacted Girmay, smiling broadly, a few minutes later.
It changes a lot of things for me. The future is bright, especially for all African runners.
Biniam Girmay
To understand the emergence of Girmay, you have to go back in time, the great and the small. A small country of 4 million people located in the Horn of Africa, Eritrea is crazy about cycling, a legacy of Italian colonizers.
Quebec coach Pierre Hutsebaut was struck by the “extraordinary enthusiasm” of Eritreans for cycling during a visit in November 2005. Continental adviser for the International Cycling Union, he traveled to Asmara, the capital, to give a seminar.
“I was surprised at the level of the athletes and the passion of the elders who took care of the runners, he said Monday. They spoke Italian among themselves. They had the culture of cycling. »
Located in the heart of a mountain plateau at an altitude of 2325 metres, Asmara is an ideal playground for developing the cardiovascular capacities of cyclists.
In the races he attended, Hutsebaut saw participants who “knew how to ride very well”, who were well positioned on their mounts and who could maintain speeds of 45 km/h. Despite poverty and a gross domestic product of just $500 per capita at the time, they rode good quality bikes courtesy of the diaspora.
On his return after two weeks there, he had a recommendation for his bosses: “There is extraordinary talent in Eritrea, they must be invited to the World Cycling Centre. »
Founded in 2002 in Aigle, Switzerland, the World Cycling Center (WCC) welcomes and trains trainees from emerging countries. Daniel Teklehaimanot was the first Eritrean recommended by Hutsebaut. A few years after his time at the CCM, Teklehaimanot joined a WorldTour team. In 2015, with his compatriot Merhawi Kudus, they became the first black Africans to take part in the Tour de France. Teklehaimanot wore the best climber’s polka dot jersey for four days.
“Honestly, I can say that I was the one who awakened the UCI to the potential of Eritrea”, welcomed Hutsebaut.
“The only one who beat Evenepoel”
In 2018, ten years after the passage of Teklehaimanot, Biniam Girmay landed at the CCM. At 18, he had won three African junior championship titles. One of his two coaches at the time, Jean-Jacques Henry, remembers a “thoroughbred” to whom we did not have to repeat the same advice twice.
“He has quite exceptional physical qualities, but not necessarily in tests that can be done in the laboratory, specified the coach French from Aigle. But when you see him in competition, he’s a fighter. He has a pretty incredible explosiveness. Plus, he’s a lightweight runner. At 1.80 m and 66 kg [aujourd’hui 70], it has an interesting power to weight ratio. »
Already technically skilled, the native of Asmara had a form of recklessness that served him well in competition.
“He’s a no-nonsense runner,” said Henry, Project Detection and Education coordinator at CMC.
“He’s never stressed, he’s smart in the race. He has a somewhat extraordinary capacity for analysis. He learns quickly. In high-level cycling, the cognitive aspect is important. There are many physically strong runners, but cognitively, it does not follow. Him, on this side, there are no problems. »
Henry was therefore not overwhelmed to see him win in Ghent-Wevelgem: “In the juniors, he beat Remco Evenepoel, who was the phenomenon of world cycling. He’s the only one who beat him. He had already accustomed us to achieving this type of performance. In fact, he continues. »
After a first professional contract with French outfit Delko, Girmay moved to Belgian WorldTour team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert last year. Winner of a small race in Spain in January, he had already announced the color by taking the 12and rank at Milan-San Remo, 10 days ago.
“It does not fall from the sky”
Hugo Houle, who competed in the two Belgian classics and Paris-Nice alongside him, applauds this breath of fresh air.
“I’m definitely happy to see a guy like him win rather than Wout Van Aert, who wins every weekend! the Israel-Premier Tech member commented. Stories like that are a bit of what makes the beauty of our sport and of sport in general. »
The 31-year-old Quebecer discovered the Eritrean last fall at the World Championships in Leuven, where he won silver in the U23 road event. “It doesn’t fall from the sky either. Since the beginning of the season, he is there, he is present. There he really shone to his full potential. »
Winning Ghent-Wevelgem is still quite a race. Especially at his age. It testifies to his strength and his quality as a runner.
Hugo Houle
A closed and isolated country, Eritrea is renowned as one of the most brutal dictatorships in the world. Reporters Without Borders ranks the country 180and and last in terms of press freedom, behind North Korea. Obtaining entry and exit visas is very complex.
In his previous three seasons with Astana, Houle was able to better measure the reality of Eritrean runners by rubbing shoulders with Merhawi Kudus, also a former resident of the CMC. He shared a room with the climber during a training camp.
“They don’t live in the same world as us, in Eritrea. When you talk to them, they explain to you that there isn’t really a banking system there, so they prefer to keep their money in euros. They go from afar. They often have difficulty with visas. Their girlfriends cannot necessarily come to see them. They have their own challenges. In my opinion, behind Girmay’s victory, there is a lot of work and perseverance. It’s all to his credit. »
At a press conference on Monday, Girmay reiterated that he would not participate in the Tour of Flanders, where he would have been among the main favorites on Sunday, the day after his 22and birthday. Absent from his country since January 3 – he lives in San Marino – he was very eager to find his wife and daughter.
“The family comes first, even before the bike,” he told reporters on site. So I have to take care of them. My wife took care of the baby and everything else. I am in good shape, but I continue to follow my plan. »
In Asmara, dozens of amateur cyclists will be able to accompany him to training for his next objective, the Tour of Italy (from May 6 to 29), where Jean-Jacques Henry would see him win a stage.