The celebrations of Biniam Girmay’s historic stage win at the Giro d’Italia were cut short after the was struck in the eye by a champagne cork as it exploded on the podium - ruling him out of the rest of the race.
At 22, Eritrean rider Girmay became the first black African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage when beating Mathieu van der Poel in a sprint finish during Tuesday’s stage 10.
While attempting to open the champagne bottle customarily awarded to him on the podium, Girmay rested it on the ground only to have the cork pop off and hit him in his left eye.
He was quickly taken to a hospital in the Italian town of Jesi for a medical examination following the incident. He is expected to make a full recovery.
“Medical examinations revealed a haemorrhage in the anterior chamber of the left eye of Biniam Girmay,” Piet Daneels, Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert team doctor, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“His injury is evolving in the right direction and will be followed up by a medical team in the next days. In order to minimise the risk of expansion of the haemorrhage and the intraocular pressure, it is strongly recommended to avoid physical activity.”
It was an unfortunate end to what was a landmark Giro for Girmay who earlier this year became the first rider from Eritrea to win a cycling World Tour (elite) race at the Ghent-Wevelgem classic.
“I was a bit sad about what happened with the champagne,” Girnay said in a video message. “When I came back to the hotel, my team was super happy but also a bit afraid. When [they saw] I looked okay, we really enjoyed it, and I'm happy.”
Girmay leaves the Giro d'Italia second in the sprint standings, three points behind France's Arnaud Demare. Wednesday's 11th stage is a flat route spanning 203km from Santarcangelo di Romagna to Reggio Emilia.
