It’s probably impossible for us to imagine quite how famous Biniam Girmay is in Eritrea, his home country, right now.
The Intermarché-Wanty rider won for a third time on stage 12 of the Tour de France in Villeneuve-sur-Lot on Thursday, proving that he is the most in-form sprinter in the race in the process.
But he is not just the best sprinter in this race, but one of - if not the most - successful Eritream sportsman on the planet right now. He is, also, the first ever Black rider to win a Tour stage, a second Tour stage, and now a third Tour stage. Girmay could – probably will – also win the green jersey, as he leads the points competition by over 100 from his nearest challenger. It should not be forgotten that he is the only Black rider here, too.
In this race of history-making, the 24-year-old’s performance has been seriously impressive, given how difficult his journey to the top has been, given the chronic underrepresentation of ethnic minorities and Africans in cycling has been. It is not just another win.
Given all that, Girmay is a big name in Eritrea.
"Already my phone was going crazy after the first stage,” he explained. “Now it’s better if I don’t use my phone. One time after my second victory on my normal phone [there were] close to 600 messages. I even had a problem with my team because I couldn’t see [team messages] because I kept getting new messages. I always ask my roommate what the plan is for today. The reaction is already high, especially in my country, and it’s going a bit crazy now.”
The Tour de France has had Eritrean trailblazers before - Daniel Teklehaimanot, Natnael Berhane, Merhawi Kudus, among others - but Girmay has hopefully opened the door for many more black Africans to follow.
“I’m comfortable in myself,” he said. "To be honest, cycling is not a global sport like other sports, so I’m super happy to show and deliver that it is more global. We are seeing more and more from different continents, which is nice. It’s a good vision for young talent, because if you work on that, especially on European teams, if they invest a lot in African cycling, we can have a more global sport. This year, I am the only one, black rider in the peloton, which is not nice. I wish there were more black riders in the peloton. For me, it’s pretty comfortable, because I enjoy every single moment.”
Girmay being the only black rider at the Tour is the rule, and the exception, too. Of 524 male WorldTour riders, there are just five black Africans: Henok Mulubrhan (Astana Qazaqstan), Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier and Natnael Tesfatsion (both Lidl-Trek), Welay Hagos Berhe (Jayco AlUla), and Girmay.
The barriers to getting into professional cycling are enormous, and are insurmountable to many. However, Girmay being here and in such good form should provide a beacon to all.
There is usually a sprinter in the race who stamps their authority - Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) last year, Mark Cavendish (then Deceuninck-Quick Step) in 2021 - and it is often a rider we think of as the best sprinter of his age group. For Girmay to be in this company is very impressive.
“I think I’m here with the best shape of my life,” he said. “I felt super good every single moment. I wake up every day and say in the mirror, 'let’s do it again, let’s show'. To win three stages… for me, I knew given how hard it is to get any pro victory that it’s unbelievable, it’s super motivating, and it gives me good power for the rest of my career.”
The Intermarché rider is only 24, and has most of his career ahead of him. If he can harness this power, then he could go on to great things, even if Cavendish’s record seems out of reach; “I haven’t had 35 pro victories, so it’s going to be tough to win 35,” he joked.
Something has clearly changed for Girmay, who has become almost dominant at this race.
“To be honest, the last two years were pretty hard,” he said. “2022 I showed I could do good results, and then everything was on my shoulders, a lot of pressure. Everyone expected a lot of me. This gave me a lot of pressure inside myself. Last year was the time to learn, the time to improve. Everything social media, and they way people look at me, I learned quite a lot. I put pressure to myself to the limit… I changed a lot of things on my training schedule this year, even my philosophy. I learned quite a lot from last year's Tour de France, and this year I am working on my mistakes from last year.”
If this is Girmay learning from his mistakes, then who is to say he can’t learn from his successes and become the world’s best sprinter? The making of history hasn’t finished yet, and nor will his fame in Eritrea.
