Africans at the Giro d'Italia
Who are the three Eritreans and two South Africans competing in Italy over the next three weeks?
The days are getting longer and the weather a bit warmer (except for where I live in Scotland…). It must mean that the Giro d’Italia is upon us!
Five Africans will line up at the Giro this year; three Eritreans and two South Africans.
At last year’s Giro, there was an important breakthrough for African cycling as Biniam Girmay became the first black African to win a grand tour stage. Africa’s superstar targets the Tour de France this year, so there are opportunities for a new name to be written into the history books.
Here is a look at the five Africans taking on the 106th Giro d’Italia.
Natnael Tesfatsion
I’m a big fan of Natnael Tesfatsion.
Many describe him as a pure climber, but I think the Eritrean is more of a Diego Ulissi type of rider. He can climb, but the thing that sets him apart is his fast sprint.
Tesfatsion is in his first year with Trek-Segafredo and he’s started strongly. The 23-year-old was 6th on the Corkscrew stage Down Under, then 13th overall at Coppi e Bartali, with a pair of stage top-10s. Just after that he finished 4th at GP Industria & Artigianato.
This is Tesfatsion’s third Giro. He has achieved at least one top-10 in stages of both of his previous two - when he was riding for Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli. To illustrate his versatility, last year one of these came from a bunch sprint, the other from a mountain-top finish.
Looking at the American team’s squad for the race, it looks to me like every rider is going to get opportunities to race for his own results.
I’m making a prediction: Natnael Tesfatsion will win stage 12 and become the second Eritrean grand tour stage winner.
Ryan Gibbons
Johannesburg-born Gibbons is 28 now. It’s about this point in a rider’s career when they’ve worked out their place in the world of cycling. Gibbons’ place is in one of the biggest teams in the world, providing support to their biggest sprinter.
Gibbons has spent most of the year training and racing with Pascal Ackermann. The team clearly see them as a natural pairing, with Gibbons slotting in as the German’s final lead-out man.
It means that Gibbons is getting fewer opportunities to ride for himself, but I think this can give him longevity in his career. He’s one of those funny riders who is not quite quick enough to be a top sprinter, but not quite good enough on the climbs to be a puncheur. He slots somewhere in between Ackermann and Covi in terms of his attributes, which means he gets crowded out of chasing his own opportunities.
I think Gibbons is excellent in this role. However, it’s fair to say that the partnership between the two is still in production. No wins yet this year for Ackermann, just a couple of podium placings. Hopefully things click into place for the two of them at this race.
Henok Mulubrhan
It’s quite something to think that just over a year ago Henok Mulubrhan was without a team, his future as a professional was uncertain. Now he takes on his first grand tour.
At the end of 2021, having aged out of the under-23 category, Mulubrhan had to leave the continental Qhubeka squad. He had no way to be promoted in that system as the professional team had folded. He was saved by Bike Aid at the last minute.
After strong showings at the Tours of Antalya and Rwanda and winning the African continental championships, Mulubrhan was picked up by Italian pro team Bardiani-CSF.
He went on to have a solid, if unspectacular, rest of the 2022 season. This year however, things have really clicked into place for the 23-year-old. In February, he picked up the win at the Tour du Rwanda and defended his African continental title.
It’s clear that Mulubrhan is not yet the finished product. He's still learning and building experience. Once thought of as a pure climber who might one day win in the mountains of Italy, I think that Mulubrhan is developing into a more punchy rider with a fast sprint. His two continental championship wins have come in bunch kicks where he’s beaten the likes of Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg and Yacine Hamza.
He’s likely to follow the same strategy as his team always employ at this race: attacking. Expect to see him in breakaways on the medium mountain days and watch out for him in a small group sprint.
Stefan de Bod
De Bod seems to have found a happy place this season, working in support of his big leaders and taking opportunities as they come. The South African will be a key climbing domestique for Hugh Carthy and Rigoberto Uran over the next three weeks.
11th overall at the UAE Tour was a good result early in the season. De Bod was on for a top-5 before fading on the final climb of the race, Jebel Hafeet. He’s shown good recent form too with a 5th place on stage four of the Tour of the Alps from a breakaway.
This is the 26-year-old’s third grand tour, he should be finding his feet now in these races and he could provide some solid support for Carthy and Uran.
EF often give all their riders opportunities, so perhaps he gets a chance to go in a breakaway too. A stage win would be a dream for de Bod. Who knows? It could come true.
Amanuel Gebreigzabhier
Gebreigzabhier spent most of 2022 recovering from an awful crash at the Volta Catalunya, which caused multiple injuries including vertebrae fractures.
He no longer seems to be suffering the effects of these injuries as he’s had a solid start to the season, mostly riding in support of others.
When he did get an opportunity at the GP Industria & Artigianato, he took it. The 28-year-old finished second at the Italian one day race, only beaten by one of the riders of the spring, Ben Healy.
It’s a sign of promise for this race. Just like his team-mate, Tesfatsion, he will get opportunities to ride for himself over the next few weeks. More of a pure climber than Tesfatsion, Gebreigzabhier will likely target the long mountain passes of the third week.
A special mention for another Eritrean rider, Merhawi Kudus, who has ridden really well so far this year but just missed out on a spot on the EF squad for the race.
Thanks for reading Global Peloton!
Who are you rooting for over the next three weeks? How do you think these five riders will do?
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