Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay became the first African man to win a Tour de France stage on Monday.
The 24-year-old saw off close competition from Colombia’s Fernando Gaviria and Belgium’s Arnaud de Lie with his well-timed sprint finish to win the 230.9km stage 3 in Turin.
Girmay could not hide his excitement after the win and he dedicated the historic Tour de France achievement to Africans.
In March 2022, the Eritrean became the first babblack African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage at the Giro d’Italia.
“Ever since I started cycling, I’ve always been dreaming to be part of the Tour de France – but now, I can’t believe it, to win the Tour de France in my second year in a big bunch sprint, for me it is unbelievable,” Girmay said.
“I just want to thank my family, my wife, all the Eritreans, and Africans, we must be proud, now we are really part of the big races, now it’s our moment, our time.
“I just want to say congrats to all my whole team, because we didn’t have a victory yet [in the Tour de France]. But now is our moment, I’m super-happy. This win is for all Africans, congrats, I’m just super happy today.”
Meanwhile, Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz took the overall leader’s yellow jersey from Tadej Pogacar.
