"Biniam is reasonably aware of how fast he is, but we don't want to make too big a story of it yet" - Aike Visbeek

Intermarché - Circus - Wanty are not one of the teams that come into the Tour de France in the spotlight the most, however with Biniam Girmay on their lineup that may come to be. The Eritrean is making his debut at the Grand Boucle and is expected to be one of the most popular at the stage starts and finishes.

“We don't want any stress with Louis [Meintjes]. We did that in 2021, by gathering men around him. We have to trust that Louis can make up time in the mountain stages. We have our own tactics in that, which may not be the prettiest tactic," Aike Visbeek, performance manager at Intermarché - Circus - Wanty, told In de Leiderstrui. "When it gets more difficult, it automatically moves forward. Those twenty or thirty seconds he might lose don't matter at the end.”

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Whilst Meintjes, who rode to a strong seventh place last year, will aim for the overall classification, the rest of the team get their freedom to chase stage wins. "You can combine the hunt for the top ten with the hunt for a stage victory, that's what we do. Last year we were constantly on the attack in the last week, so those two goals also come together."

But on the flat days, the team will be working towards the ambitions of Girmay, who has recently won a stage at the Tour de Suisse. After a breakthrough Giro d'Italia last year where he outsprinted Mathieu van der Poel to a spectacular win, he aims towards France this year, and has the form necessary to grab a win which could make the race for the Belgian team.

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“We were also pleasantly surprised that his condition was already so good. Biniam is also still young, at that age you always have that little bit more real speed. However, we are still not done with that journey of discovery," Visbeek says. "If you look at his sprints in last year's Giro, you can see that he consistently finished in the top five, with no lead-out. Now he does have it."

The main cog in that wheel will be Mike Teunissen, who was signed from Jumbo-Visma to have this roll, and has been doing so quite well. "They have a lot of trust in each other. Mike is someone who communicates well, remains calm and has an overview. That's also what Bini needs, someone who stays calm and makes space. In the spring they both had bad luck, but we have been working on it for some time. We would have preferred to be able to practice it more often, but that was not to be the case."

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Alongside the duo, Adrien Petit and Dion Smith will be providing more support in the flat finishes. Girmay could also perform on some of the hilly days, taking into consideration his palmarès. "Biniam is reasonably aware of how fast he is, but we don't want to make too big a story of it yet."

"All in all, we know that he can handle a good sprint for a long time, but all in all he doesn't really know what he can do. We won't be surprised if he suddenly joins the front in a stage through the middle mountains. He wants to experience it, he wants to show himself," Visbeek concluded.

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