Girmay ‘opens door’ for Africa with Tour stage win as Carapaz takes lead | New Straits Times

TURIN: Eritrean Biniam Girmay dedicated his victory in the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday to “the African continent”, while Richard Carapaz took the lead in the general classification in Turin.

“Let me open the door,” the 24-year-old Girmay posted on social media after earlier claiming he was the “first black African to win the Tour”.

“It means a lot to me personally and to the African continent,” he added.

Girmay is the third African to win the Grande Boucle, which was first held in 1903, beating South Africans Daryl Impey and Rob Hunter.

“Congratulations to all: Biniam Girmay makes history and wins stage 3 of the Tour de France. A great and memorable day for #eritrecycling and #africancycling,” Yemane G. Meskel, Eritrea’s Minister of Information, wrote on X.

Multiple Tour winner Chris Froome was born in Kenya, but rode for Great Britain.

“African riders face many obstacles,” said Intermarche rider Girmay.

“I had to come to Europe, learn English, learn the language of cycling. That takes time and support.

“I have to thank my team because thanks to them I have grown every season.”

It was also a first for the Intermarche team.

“We hadn’t won the Tour de France yet, but now is our moment,” said Girmay.

Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian to wear the yellow leader’s jersey, taking over from Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, who crashed just before the finish.

Carapaz and Pogacar have held equal positions at the top of the general classification, but the 31-year-old driver is ahead thanks to his better finishing position in the day’s race.

Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel and Denmark’s two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard are third and fourth respectively, also in the same time.

Girmay beat Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria and Belgium’s Arnaud De Lie after a chaotic finale that included a late crash, with the riders reaching speeds of around 65km/h on their way to the finish.

The crash, in which the big favourite for the sprint, the Belgian Jasper Philipsen, was involved, caused an escape in the peloton.

Two-time race winner Pogacar, who was aiming for a historic Giro d’Italia and Tour double, did not crash but was delayed.

Veteran Mark Cavendish was held up by a wheel change as he chased a record 35-stage victory.

The 39-year-old excitable sprinter seemed genuinely happy for Girmay.

“That’s huge, for him, for the Tour, for Africa. He’s a legend now, isn’t he,” Cavendish said.

Carapaz finished third in the 2021 Tour but was overlooked in the run-up to this edition after crashing on the opening day last year.

The Olympic road champion was also not selected by Ecuador to defend his title at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Now he has surpassed the Fab Four of Pogacar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, who slowed down the pace in Turin.

“I was sick after the Tour de Suisse and I know you have to be in top condition here,” said former Giro winner Carapaz.

“Yesterday I felt much better for the first time. Whatever comes after, it’s a victory, but we will defend the shirt with everything, as long as we can.”

After two scorching stages, the sky was grey as we entered the industrial city in northern Italy. Shortly after the race, thunderstorms and torrential rain fell.

Girmay is a strong sprinter and his style is based on that of Peter Sagan.

He was helped to his victory in Turin by the absence of favourite Philipsen, who crashed in the race.

The stage winner talked about his youth in Eritrea, where cycling is an important sport.

“After lunch in July my father always said: ‘Come on guys, let’s watch the Tour de France’.

“One day, after Sagan won, I asked my father if he thought I could ever win. He said that if I worked hard, I could.

“But I was also inspired by Daniel Teklehaimanot when he was given the polka dot jersey in 2015,” he recalls of his compatriot.

“But this is for everyone, they all inspired me, all the Eritrean cyclists.”

It was his second stage win in a Grand Tour, following the 2022 Giro, where he suffered an eye injury when he cracked open a bottle of prosecco on the podium.