Biniam Girmay confident in defence of Tour de France green jersey
Eritrean talks about prioritising green over Olympics as he speaks to the press on the Tour's first rest day.
In the last week, Biniam Girmay has made a habit of making history at the Tour de France, but he’s not finished yet.
The now two-time Tour stage winner is hoping to become the first African ever to win a jersey at a Grand Tour, with his eyes set firmly on the points classification.
Girmay’s two stage wins into Turin on stage three and Colombey-les-Deux-Églises on stage eight have put him 96 points ahead of Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jasper Philipsen, who won the classification last year. It’s been a remarkable return to form for Girmay, who spoke recently about his struggles with dealing with pressure over the last two seasons.
The success has sparked wild scenes on the streets of the Eritrean capital of Asmara, with crowds in their thousands coming out to celebrate Girmay’s stage wins.
Speaking to the press on the first rest day, Girmay reflected on a week full of highs.
“I enjoy every single moment. Two victories, with the green jersey. Also to win a stage, it's never going to be easy. I win also with the green jersey. For me, I was just super happy and super confident also,” he said.
With the opportunity to win green now in front of them, Intermarché-Wanty are putting their full resources behind Girmay. The 24-year-old has full confidence in his team to deliver, but is aware of the mammoth task ahead.
“It's not finished yet. If you lose two sprints, it's already 100 [points]. So, yeah, I'm just trying to do the best that I can.”
“The only thing I'm most proud of is I have a really strong lead-out with me, so that can give me really big confidence. I can control this jersey until Nice, because if you see the lead-out, how they came, it's unbelievably strong.”
“They are also, three of them, the first time in Tour de France, so that gives me really a good energy because they are really motivated. They just want to be as good as they can and just doing a great job.”
“I think, together with my team, we will deliver this jersey.”
The second week brings with it three more sprint opportunities, before a brutal final week with just one possible flat stage. The next few days will be key to Girmay’s potential success.
He believes that his climbing skills give him the advantage over the rest in the fight for green. Girmay pointed out the exploits of one of his heroes, seven-time green jersey winner Peter Sagan, who consistently racked up points by going into the breakaways.
“He was better on the climbs so he always collected intermediate points there, but we will see – maybe I will do that in the last week,” Girmay told Cycling Weekly last week.
The big points in the classification come from the final placings on sprint days. Girmay will continue to put most of his focus on those opportunities.
“I need to be really close to the top three in every single sprint at the end to keep the jersey, otherwise if I am a bit far back from the top-three I will lose a lot of points,” he said.
Green over Gold
Outside of the Tour de France Girmay’s big target for this season is the Olympic Games in Paris. The course for the Olympic road race suits Girmay perfectly, with its Classics style. Paris 2024 would give Girmay the opportunity to create even more history.
Girmay told the press that his success at the Tour has changed plans slightly. He will now put Paris to the back of his mind, instead focussing on taking green to Nice.
“Normally, the plan was to build up for the Olympic Games, but now I think I'm almost in my top shape, so I hope first the goal is to finish the Tour safely and then to go to Nice with the green jersey.”
“If I finish with the green jersey in Nice, I think this is more than an Olympic Games for me personally.”
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'It's not easy to handle' - Biniam Girmay opens up about the pressures of expectation
Ever since that famous March afternoon in 2022, when Biniam Girmay held hands aloft becoming the first black rider to win a classic at Gent-Wevelgem, the cycling world has expected great things from the Eritrean. Not least his Eritrean fans, who follow him to every race, hoping for a glimpse of greatness.
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