Biniam Girmay: "I am really looking forward to discovering the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France"

After a breakthrough year in 2022 including wins at Gent Wevelgem and the Giro d'Italia, Biniam Girmay has revealed his big goals for the upcoming season, one in which he hopes he can take the next step.

"In 2023, this sophisticated planning is all about three Monuments and the Tour de France. After my debut in Milan-Sanremo and the Giro d'Italia last year," Girmay reveals to In de Leiderstrui. "I am really looking forward to discovering the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France. These are popular competitions that are followed by everyone on television in Eritrea and that I dreamed of participating in as a child."

After making history by becoming the first Black African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage, Girmay realises it won't be easy to take his sprinting to the next level in 2023. "It is my ambition to do better every year, but without putting pressure on myself. Together with the team, we have a vision to work in the long term."

"My rapid development has given me a lot of confidence in my abilities, in the teammates who surround me and in the staff who guide me. It makes me so happy to see everyone working hard together to invest in my development," says Girmay. "This season I am surrounded by a classic core with a lot of experience. The course reconnaissance and planned training sessions in the Flemish Ardennes aim to allow me to take a new step in the coming months. Our team is bubbling with quality."