Ahead – and first to the finish: Biniam Girmay (l.) won the classic Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday.
Photo: imago images/Belgian
It could be loud this Tuesday in Eritrea’s capital Asmara. Then Biniam Girmay returns to his homeland from Europe. In fact, he should have been there a long time ago. »Three months in Europe is long. I miss my family and my daughter. But when the team asked me to compete at Gent-Wevelgem beforehand, I didn’t hesitate,” said the professional cyclist. He would have gotten home in time for his 22nd birthday on April 2nd. Now, Girmay has two things to celebrate. Because he not only started, but also won the classic on Belgian cobblestones thanks to a perfectly launched sprint, he can now call himself the first black winner from Africa in a World Tour race.
He didn’t want to think about the reception at home at the moment. As early as autumn 2021, he achieved star status at home as the newly crowned U23 vice world champion. »Actually, I don’t like all the media hype, I’m more of a quiet person. But of course there were a lot of inquiries back then,” he said, looking back on this success. At the end of the year he was honored as Africa’s Cyclist of the Year. President of the jury was Bernard Hinault. ‘He’s the most promising talent. His second place at the World Championships was no coincidence,” praised the five-time winner of the Tour de France.
What amazes Girmay is how quickly he can adapt. Previously, he only knew the cobblestone sections from Gent-Wevelgem from television. Nonetheless, he won at the first attempt. Not even the classic and sprint specialists Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb or Mario Cipollini managed to do that. Not only were they older than Girmay when they first won in West Belgium, they also knew the race from a competitive perspective.
Girmay has also settled down quickly in Europe in general. Only a few weeks after his arrival at the junior academy of the world association UCI in Aigle, the Eritrean beat the Belgian super talent Remco Evenepoel in his first race. “He has a well-developed racing instinct. And physically he’s extremely strong anyway,” said teammate Benjamin Giraud from his first professional team, Delko, in praise of him.
Girmay initially developed his talents in Eritrea. “There are one-day races there every weekend. You have to give everything that day, position yourself well. That trains,” he said about his beginnings. At the age of 13 he had first started on his older brother’s bike. “Then my father bought me one of his own – for 4,000 euros, that was a lot of money for us,” says Girmay. The father is a carpenter in Asmara. His son Biniam often accompanied him on the ten kilometers from home to the workshop – but he dreamed of a great career.
Above all, the success of his compatriot Daniel Teklehaimanot stimulated Girmay. »When Daniel wore the jersey of the mountain king at the Tour de France in 2015, that was a huge motivation. At that time everyone told me that they wanted to see me on a Grand Tour like Daniel. That was also a key moment for me to turn professional,” he explained.
Even then, Africa seemed ready for the big breakthrough in cycling. A year later, Teklehaimanot won the mountains classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné, followed directly by the Ethiopian Tsgabu Grmay and Chris Froome, the “white Kenyan”, even though he was already driving under the British flag at the time. Natnael Berhane from Eritrea also scratched the top ten in the World Championship race in 2016 with 13th place.
But then the development stagnated. Drivers who were led into the World Tour by the South African racing team MTN Qhubeka could not assert themselves. The racing team itself increasingly relied on professionals from other continents – and finally withdrew from the world tour. “African talents have it harder now than I did then,” states Girmay. But his victory can unleash new strength.
After all: Girmay had not been exposed to racist hostilities in the field of drivers, about which other blacks such as Frenchman Kevin Reza recently complained, he said a few months ago. One can only hope it stays that way.
His next races after a training block in the Eritrean mountains are Eschborn-Frankfurt and the Giro d’Italia. But the 2025 World Cup is already firmly in sight. It will be held in Rwanda, for the first time in Africa. Perhaps Girmay will then confirm his own prophecy: »One day there will be a world champion from Africa.«
