Last updated on August 27th, 2024 at 06:31 pm
Biniam Girmay is breaking barriers in professional cycling. After recently capturing the world’s attention at the Tour de France, Eritrean 24-year-old rider Biniam Girmay did something unprecedented: no Black African ever won a stage at the prestigious Tour de France.
Earlier this month, Girmay made history when he won his first-ever stage at the Tour, the first Black African to have ever done so. Since then, he won two more stages, splashing the scene with his exceptional sprinting skills and quite possibly setting the scene for many others.
Earlier, Girmay had already written history by becoming the very first Black African to have won a stage at the Giro d’Italia. The triumphs he lived through in the recent sport—personal achievements but also for other Black riders as inspirations.
Girmay’s love for cycling stems from when he was still in Asmara, Eritrea, and he recalls viewing the Tour de France on the television. Girmay’s role models are cyclists such as Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan, but most importantly, his countryman Daniel Teklehaimanot, whom he found the drive and ambition to emulate.
Moved at 18 to the UCI’s World Cycling Centre in Switzerland, Girmay faced a steep learning curve adapting to life out of Africa. “I needed to learn English, the cycling language, and adjust to a new environment,” he recalled.
He joined Intermarche-Wanty in 2021 after a successful junior career and he just signed an extension of his contract with the team through 2026. He feels that this, along with his partnership with the team, is one of the most important steps toward his goal of making African cycling history.
This historical achievement within the Grand Tour highlighted his career in 2022 as the race’s first Black African to ever win a stage. On the podium, his celebrations went awfully wrong; the prosecco bottle with which he was handed the cork, and it injured his eye in a freak accident.
Teklehaimanot is thrilled by the performances of the Eritrean: “In fact, this guy has probably been gifted with more exceptional talent than anyone else, besides everything else, thanks to his very rapid rise in this sport.”
Historic Tour de France Triumph
It was the moment he made his maiden appearance in the Tour de France, but July 1 gave him another important date in his win of Stage 3. It was historic-he became the first Black African to ever win a Tour stage. So far, only two other African riders, Robbie Hunter and Daryl Impey, have won stages of the Tour de France.
“It is a dream to be at the Tour de France,” Girmay said after his victory. “Today, [it’s] just unbelievable to win.”
He has added victories in Stages 8 and 12 to his resume and is becoming a serious contender. He’s paving the way for the next generation of Black cyclists to come.
He doesn’t seem overly concerned by the crash on Stage 16, which adversely affected his chances for the green jersey. “The pain after the fall is high, but the mental strength motivates me,” he said.
