First, Biniam Girmay wrote another piece of cycling history at the 105th Giro d’Italia – then he had to go to the hospital. The 22-year-old was the first Eritrean to win a stage in one of the three major national tours on Monday, but when he opened the champagne bottle for the award ceremony, the cork hit him in the face and injured his left eye. Only a few weeks after his surprise victory in the Belgian classic Gent-Wevelgem, Girmay had previously prevailed in the sprint after 196 kilometers from Pescara to Jesi against the Dutch winner of the opening race, Mathieu van der Poel. Third was the Italian Vincenzo Albanese. “It’s incredible. The team did a great job. We were in control all day,” said Girmay after arrival: “I have no words for what my teammates did.” The best German was Emanuel Buchmann. The Ravensburger finished 16th with the leading group. There were hardly any changes in the overall ranking. At the end of March, Girmay was the first African to win the classic race Gent-Wevelgem and thus drew attention to Africa’s enormous cycling potential – even if there are only eight Africans among around 550 professionals in 18 World Tour teams, four of them South Africans, three Eritreans and one Ethiopian .
Giro d’Italia – Historic victory for Eritrean Girmay – Sport
