Biniam Girmay beats Tour de France sprint aces again
Biniam Girmay surprises the Tour de France. A few days ago, he became the first Eritrean ever to win a stage at the French Grand Tour. On the eighth stage, he repeated the feat, this time "planned in advance."
Pro cyclist Biniam Girmay from Team Intermarché-Wanty won the eighth stage of the 111th Tour de France. The 24-year-old beat the Belgians Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie in the mass sprint.
After the slightly hilly 183.4 kilometers between Semur-en-Auxois and Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, the Eritrean won sensationally for the second time in this year's Tour in the green sprint jersey. The slightly uphill course profile was considered perfect for the sprinter.
"That was amazing," said his German teammate Georg Zimmermann in ARD: "But we had already had meetings about Biniam's sprint in the winter. It's great that the plan worked out." Tour debutant Pascal Ackermann finished fourth. "I was riding with Biniam, that was actually perfect. But I waited a moment too long," said the 30-year-old.
Deadly accident in Austria overshadows the stage
The joy in the peloton was muted, especially in the Norwegian Team Uno-X around the leader in the mountain classification, Jonas Abrahamsen, who rode alone for around 130 kilometers at the front on Saturday. However, while the Tour was rolling through France, Norwegian professional Andre Drege died in an accident on the Königsetappe of the parallel Austria Rundfahrt. "These are very sad news. I knew him a little from the national team. He was a good guy," said Uno-X top sprinter Alexander Kristoff after the Tour stage.
In the general classification, no changes were foreseeable. Superstar Tadej Pogacar still leads by 33 seconds over Belgian Remco Evenepoel, who won the time trial the day before. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard is in third place with a 1:15-minute deficit.
The top stars around Pogacar and Vingegaard are expected to take center stage again on Sunday on the ninth stage. On the 199 kilometers around the city of Troyes, there are gravel sections awaiting the riders in the race for the general classification. The riders could suffer significant time losses due to crashes or defects. A total of 14 gravel sections cover a length of 32 kilometers.
Biniam Girmay's victory in the Tour de France sprint is not the only talk in the cycling world. The tragic death of Norwegian professional Andre Drege during the Austria Rundfahrt's Königsetappe has cast a shadow over the cycling sport.
The success of Biniam Girmay in the Tour de France continues to showcase the diversity and global appeal of cycling as a sport, with himself becoming the first Eritrean to win two stages at the French Grand Tour.
