Who is Biniam Girmay, the Eritrean Who Made History at the Tour De France?

Getting started

Girmay is a cousin of Meron Teshome Hagos, an Eritrean cyclist who rode for Bike Aid. Inspired by Hagos, Girmay discovered cycling and joined the World Cycling Center, a renowned training facility in Switzerland in 2018, during his junior year. That same year, he became a triple junior cycling champion of Africa. Since then, Girmay has established himself as a consistent pace-setter and history-maker.

Despite facing setbacks, such as sustaining an eye injury from a wine cork during a podium celebration in 2022, which forced him to withdraw from the race to heal, and crashing twice during the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia earlier this year, resulting in a hip injury that required surgery, Girmay has remained undeterred. These challenges have not held him back from making his mark on the sport.

A recap of record-breaking wins

Girmay’s professional career is marked by record-breaking successes. In 2019, riding with the Eritrean national team, he secured his first professional win by claiming the third stage of the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in a sprint finish. This victory also made Girmay the first cyclist born in the 2000s to win a professional race.

In 2020, he joined the UCI ProTeam Nippo Delko Provence and finished second in both the Trofeo Laigueglia and the Tour du Doubs. He debuted at the Tour de Pologne in August 2021, and a month afterward, Girmay cycled at the UCI Road World Championships and became the first Black African rider to achieve a podium finish. The following year, he became the first sub-Saharan African to win the classic Gent-Wevelgem race. Previously, only two Africans, both from South Africa in 2007 and 2019, had won this race. Later that year, Girmay made history when he won stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia, becoming the first Black African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage.

One might think these victories would suffice for a stellar career, but Girmay’s achievements don’t stop there. In 2023, he clinched Stage 1 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse. His 2024 season included a strong showing at the Tour Down Under, where he secured second place in the points classification, triumphed at the Surf Coast Classic, and emerged victorious at the Circuit Franco-Belge.

On July 1, 2024, Girmay once again made history by winning the third stage, which is the longest leg at the Tour de France, setting another record as the first Black African to claim a stage victory in the race.

The race continues

Girmay has shattered another record and paved the way, even if by a small measure, for more Africans to enter a sport that has long been Eurocentric and dominated by white participants. However, the Tour de France spans three weeks and comprises 21 stages. While more challenges lie ahead, Girmay is happy that he has come this far. “It’s unbelievable to me, to win in front of some of the fastest in the world,” Girmay added in the post-race interview.