Biniam Girmay confirmed as flagbearer for Eritrea during 2024 Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony
Cycling
Arguably the biggest sporting icon in Eritrea today, Biniam Girmay has been gifted the honour of being flag bearer for his nation in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this evening.
Some of other notable sporting names lucky enough to have been given flag bearer honours for their respective nations include tennis star Coco Gauff and basketball icon LeBron James for the United States of America, fellow NBA talent Giannis Antetokounmpo for Greece, British diving star Tom Daley, Kiwi cyclist Aaron Gate for New Zealand and mountain biker Nino Schurter for Switzerland among others, putting Girmay in some elite company.
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The hero of African cycling made history once again at the 2024 Tour de France, winning three stages, becoming the the first black African to triumph in the sport's most iconic race and writing similar records with his points classification victory, taking home the Green Jersey.
Not much is known yet about what to expect of the opening ceremony in Paris although it has been touted that there will be musical performances by the likes of Lady Gaga and Celine Dion, with much of the action taking place in the iconically picturesque location of the River Seine.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
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First African to ever win a Tour de France jersey and now Biniam Girmay will carry the 🇪🇷Eritrean flag at the #ParisOlympics! Opening Ceremony 📺: Noon ET on NBC and Peacock
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