Biniam Girmay is among the best sprinters in the current peloton and has definitely left a mark at the Tour de France this year, winning three stages and arriving in Nice with the green jersey. At the Saitama Criterium they were two of the stars present and the Eritrean was asked about Mark Cavendish's influence on his career.
“I'm one of the kids inspired from Cavendish to be honest. I remember when I started watching cycling he was winning his first stage in the Tour when he was with HTC Columbia, it blew my mind," Girmay said in an interview with Cyclingnews. In the exhibition 'race' taking place in Japan, Girmay was the first over the finish line, in front of his childhood idol.
Cavendish was the great sprinter of the late 2000's and early 2010's, but his career has seen several revivals and through a very complex set of transfers and dramatic situations, ultimately with the Astana Qazaqstan Team this year he managed to break the record that he had been seeking for so many years already. Safe to say that Cavendish was a idol to many young cyclists at the time and Girmay was one of them.
"I was like ‘fuck, I want to be like this guy in the future’. For me, it's a big honour to race with Cavendish, I always say to him also". Whether the two will continue in the same peloton next season will largely depend on Cavendish's choice over the coming motnhs.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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