Biniam Girmay tops Mathieu van der Poel to take a historic win
Biniam Girmay tops Mathieu van der Poel to take a historic win
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) made history on Tuesday’s stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia, where he became the first black African to win a Grand Tour stage.
The 22-year-old Eritrean took the victory in a reduced sprint at the end of a hilly, Classics-style stage from Pescara to Jesi. After several of his teammates, including climbing specialist Domenico Pozzovivo, put in turns in the final kilometer, Girmay launched with around 350 meters still to go.
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) immediately jumped onto his wheel, and a few moments later, Van der Poel seemed close to pulling even, but then started to fade with around 50 meters to go.
Girmay held on to take the win and Van der Poel flashed him a thumbs-up from a little ways behind, with Vincenzo Albanese (EOLO-Kometa) taking third on the day.
“This success is from the family, the team,” Girmay said after his win. “Every day we make new history so I’m really happy about what I did.”
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