He was the big odds of the final. In a group of four riders for the win with Frenchman Christophe Laporte, currently in the shape of his life, or Jasper Stuyven, winner of Milan-San Remo in 2021, few would have bet on Biniam Girmay (21). However, it was indeed the rider from the Belgian team Intermaché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux who won, on Sunday March 27, Ghent-Wevelgem, one of the major meetings of the Classics season. But who is this man, at the origin of this resounding surprise in the world of cycling?
Legend. That’s the word. #RideForAntoine #GentWevelgem pic.twitter.com/exLzWtQQEh
– Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (@IntermarcheWG) March 27, 2022
He is the future of African cycling, but already in its history
He is a star in Eritrea. And his victory on Sunday should further cement his status as a local sports hero. Biniam Girmay has become the first African rider in history to win a Classic World Tour. Other riders from the continent had already shown themselves before him in recent seasons, such as his compatriot Daniel Teklehaimanot, the first rider from black Africa to compete in the Tour de France in 2012, and to wear a distinctive jersey, the one with polka dots in 2015. Or the South African Daryl Impey, stage winner and wearer of the yellow jersey of the Grande Boucle in 2019. But Girmay is on his second feat of arms in the annals of African cycling.
Biniam Girmay in history! The Eritrean won over Ghent-Wevelgem and at the age of 21 signed the first victory for a rider from a sub-Saharan African country in a cycling classic! #LesRP #GWE22 pic.twitter.com/jkYKsvpYLP
— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) March 27, 2022
Before his magnificent victory over Ghent-Wevelgem, he had already distinguished himself by becoming the first cyclist from black Africa to win a medal at the Worlds. He had won silver in the U23 race in Leuven in September. Biniam Girmay is therefore not at his first attempt. And his performance on Sunday calls for others, which could further accelerate the development of the discipline across the continent, as Rwanda hosts the Worlds in 2025.”This victory will change a lot of things for me and for all of Eritreahe reacted. The future is bright for all African runners.“
He only uncovers the cobblestones
Brilliant in Louvain during the Worlds last year, Girmay seems particularly at ease on the cobblestones. Which was far from obvious. He had never raced on the cobbles before bursting the screen by being one of the last to resist the onslaught of the Jumbo-Visma and Wout van Aert on the Grand Prix E3, last Friday, before taking fifth square. He hadn’t even recognized the course, because it hadn’t been planned by his team this week! It only took him two days of racing in these conditions to raise his arms, far from the adage that experience is the key on the cobblestones.
Sunday’s show offers great promise before the main Flandrian events on the calendar. But Girmay prefers to temper. “I haven’t been home for a long time, I haven’t seen my wife, my daughter for three months and I miss them, he assured on arrival Sunday. I’m going home.” “But in the future I will be here for sure, all the classics in Belgium are in my heart so I really need to race here more“, he insisted to Cyclingnews on Friday.
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“My goal this year is the Giro, he announced to The Team at the start of the season. I want to be the first black African to win a stage. Especially in Italy, of which Eritrea was a colony. It would be a beautiful symbol.“
He is from this generation of (very) precocious talents
His story stands out among the traditional resumes of winners of major one-day races. His age too. At only 21 years old, Biniam Girmay did not wait to demonstrate his talent as a puncher, in line with early champions of recent seasons such as Egan Bernal (25 years old), Tadej Pogacar (23 years old) or Remco Evenepoel (22 years old) .
Observers of international cycling had long since detected Girmay’s extraordinary abilities. For his first major international race, the Tropicale Amissa Bongo, in 2019, he won from the third stage, offering himself in the sprint to references like Niccolo Bonifazio or André Greipel. For his second European professional race on European soil, only Giulio Ciccone, best climber in the Tour of Italy the previous year, had beaten him to the Laigueglia Trophy in 2020.
Above all, Biniam Girmay combines two rare qualities being so young: the thirst for learning, and a winning mentality. “He is a leader at heart, described him Luc Cheilanformer Delko training performance manager, for DirectVélo last June. He won in his first race with us. He quickly proved that he had abilities and that he could be trusted. Mentally, he’s a winner.” “I run to win, not just to perform“, said the main interested party to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad before the E3 Grand Prix.
He raced in France for a season and a half
French cycling can boast of having been the incubator of a new promise in world cycling. If Biniam Girmay evolves within the Belgian formation Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux, it might have been different without a story of big money. The Eritrean had been brought to the European continent to make a career there by Delko, a Provençal team, in 2020.
Girmay had committed to it until 2024 in the hope of gradually making his mark in the peloton. But significant financial problems prevented Delko from paying its staff, before completely disappearing at the end of last season. Intermarché – Wanty – Groupe Gobert did not miss the opportunity to attract the cyclist to its ranks and promote it on the World Tour scene.
What a gift for the team
For Antoine Demoitié
For Eritrea
For African Cycling#GentWevelgem #RideForAntoine pic.twitter.com/TanRM4VpNQ– Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert (@IntermarcheWG) March 27, 2022
“He is a runner on whom we quickly reliedtold Benjamin Giraud, ex-sports director of Delko to DirectVélo. He counted in the workforce, it was an important element to get results. I see a bright future for him, he’s a huge talent with great potential.“Giraud was right. And Biniam Girmay has probably not finished talking about him. Intermarché – Wanty – Groupe Gobert is rubbing his hands on it, while healing his wounds. Six years ago to the day, his hope Antoine Demoitié lost his life during Ghent-Wevelgem, knocked down by a motorcycle after falling.The greatest of dramas, before the return, on Sunday, of the most beautiful of smiles.