Biniam Girmay wrote another piece of cycling history at the 105th Giro d'Italia.
Around a month and a half after his surprise victory in the Belgian classic Gent-Wevelgem, the 22-year-old became the first Eritrean ever to win a stage in one of the three major national tours. After 196 kilometres over undulating terrain from Pescara to Jesi, Girmay ultimately prevailed in the sprint against the Dutch winner Mathieu van der Poel.
"We controlled the race and I have to thank my team. They all did a great job. I'm so happy," said the overjoyed Girmay, who rides for the Belgian team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, following his second coup in the 2022 cycling year.
The pink jersey of the race leader was once again successfully defended by Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez, who leads by twelve seconds ahead of Portugal's João Almeida. Emanuel Buchmann from Ravensburg is still the best German in ninth place, 69 seconds behind.
The sprinters are likely to get their money's worth on the eleventh stage on Wednesday. The 203-kilometre stage leads from Santarcangelo di Romagna to Reggio Emilia and has no mountain classification. The 2022 Tour of Italy will come to an end on 29 May with an individual time trial in Verona.
Copyright 2022, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
