Biniam Girmay close, but second at Grand Tour debut: "More opportunities are waiting for us"

Biniam Girmay was one of the favourites to take the first pink jersey in Visegrád, and did not disappoint as he came the closest to Mathieu van der Poel who stormed to the win in the final sprint.

After what was a gruelling finale, Girmay recollected himself and said in a post-race interview: "From the first stage, in my first Grand Tour, I was already close to achieve this and I'm very happy about it." This was the Grand Tour debut for the Eritrean, however it took no time to get up to speed, with the Belgian team also taking up charges in the final climb to control the attacks of Lawrence Naesen and Lennard Kämna.

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He came to the line in second place, however he earned a trip to the podium as the leader of the youth classification: "I conquered the white jersey at the end of a fantastic collective performance and therefore I want to thank my teammates and staff. Rein Taaramäe, who controlled the breakaway and the rest of the team who protected me from the start and made the final hard."

"I launched my effort with more than 250 meter to go and I really dug deep. Mathieu van der Poel was the strongest today, but more opportunities are waiting for us," he concluded. Girmay has said he may be eyeing the points classification, and this start is ideal towards his ambitions - besides confirming that he's got the form to target stage wins further into the race.

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Biniam Girmay vs. Mathieu van der Poel. Enjoy. #Giro 🇮🇹🇭🇺

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