Biniam Girmay makes history as he becomes the first black African to win a stage in the Tour de France

Biniam Girmay celebrates victory in the 3rd stage of the 111th edition of the Tour de France, a 230.5 km cycling race between Piacenza and Turin, in Italy. Photo/AFP

Richard Carapaz claimed the first yellow jersey of his career on stage 3 of the Tour de France, but Monday’s finale in Turin was all about Biniam Girmay, the Eritrean who made history in the sport’s biggest race. Girmay beat a depleted pack of sprinters in a scrappy finale to become the first black African to win the Tour, following his victory at the 2022 Giro d’Italia.

Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) became the first black African to win a stage in the Tour de France while he rode a chaotic sprint in the third stage.

The road opened up gloriously for the Eritrean cyclist in the closing stages, as he took victory ahead of Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny). Girmay, who also won a stage at the 2022 Giro d’Italia, was overcome with emotion in his post-race interview.

The finale was messy and Alpecin-Deceuninck’s hopes were dashed when Jasper Philipsen’s main rider Mathieu van der Poel suffered a mechanical problem. A crash in the closing stages divided the sprint trains, including Mark Cavendish’s Astana Qazaqstan ensemble.

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A philosophical Cavendish confirmed that he and his teammates were unharmed, but the crash split the peloton and a breakaway of around 20 riders went off to sprint. Among them was Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), who started the stage tied with general classification leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) at the time.

After two hilly stages, this was the first chance for the sprinters to shine and even the intermediate sprint with over 100km to go was hotly contested, foreshadowing the chaos that was to come. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) crossed the line first and was the first contender to open his sprint in the finale in the middle of the road with Gaviria and De Lie in tow, but Girmay crept around the right side of the barriers and timed his kick perfectly as Pedersen began to tire.

The newly crowned Dutch champion Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) followed him, but could not find a starting position. The Eritrean started celebrating his victory before he crossed the finish line. He called his victory a victory for “all of Africa”.

Carapaz crossed the finish line 14 places behind, celebrating his own bit of history by becoming the first Ecuadorian to wear the yellow jersey thanks to a better final position in the stage, although Pogacar didn’t seem too disappointed to lose the responsibility of leading the race. He remains on the same time as Carapaz, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) and especially his Visma-Lease a Bike rival Jonas Vingegaard, as their GC battle resumes tomorrow on the Col du Galibier.

The hectic finish was a stark contrast to the rest of a sleepy Stage 3, the longest of the Tour de France. France which gave the riders the chance to recover after an energy-sapping opening weekend.

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