Girmay targets return to winning ways at Ronde van Limburg after promising Roubaix debut: "We must have the ambition to win"

After a steady but unspectacular classics campaign, Biniam Girmay will look to reignite his season this Wednesday at the Ronde van Limburg. The Intermarché–Wanty rider, who last tasted victory at the 2024 Tour de France where he secured the green jersey, but there’s cautious optimism within his camp that things could change in Limburg.

Girmay made his debut at Paris-Roubaix just days ago, finishing an impressive 15th in one of cycling’s most brutal races. While not quite a breakthrough, it was a reminder of the 25-year-old’s capabilities, especially considering how disrupted his spring campaign has been so far.

But not for bad reasons!

Back in February, Girmay was granted permission to travel home to Eritrea to be with his wife and newborn child. The trip meant he missed both Opening Weekend and Tirreno-Adriatico, losing vital race days at a key point in the season. Still, it was a much more wholesome reason to miss races, and at least he had avoided any crashes. Upon his return to Europe, he struggled to find consistent form and ended the spring without a single top-five finish.

Intermarché – Wanty’s Head of Performance, Aike Visbeek, explained to Wielerflits the reasoning behind the late additions to Girmay’s calendar, including his Roubaix debut and this week’s Ronde van Limburg.

“Due to the cancellation of those competition days, we decided then to add not only Paris-Roubaix, but also the Tour of Limburg and the Brabantse Pijl to his racing program. Otherwise, his peak in form would have been very short.”

The team is setting its sights high for Limburg, but with a degree of caution, given the wear and tear that comes from Roubaix's unforgiving pavé. Fortunately, Girmay stayed clear of trouble, but that doesn’t mean his body won’t still be suffering from the race they call Hell.

"With Biniam, we must have the ambition to win. However, he has just ridden Paris-Roubaix for the first time in his career and we still have to wait and see how he has recovered. He has come through the race well and normally his recovery is his strong point. That makes me cautiously optimistic for Wednesday."

Girmay has shown flashes of form this season, most notably at the Volta ao Algarve and Gent–Wevelgem, but his overall performance in sprints has lacked the sharpness that defined his standout 2024.

“If we want to be critical, we have to conclude that his sprints and positioning were not up to par. He only came out well in the Tour of the Algarve and Gent-Wevelgem, in the other races he often lacked the sharpness that he had in the Tour. That is why he missed out on a few good results. That really has to improve now.”

Visbeek acknowledges, however, that sprint finishes in the spring classics don’t always follow a script, and believes Girmay’s best opportunities still lie ahead as the team builds toward the Tour de France.

Remember, this year’s Tour is stacked full of sprinters. Not only will Girmay have to defend his green jersey against the 2023 winner Jasper Philipsen, but also against Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier. There is no doubt that so far in 2025 Milan and Merlier have shown more speed than both Girmay and Philipsen.

Still, Girmay’s team feels positive that they have time to fine tune their form in the coming months.

“On the other hand, the classics often produce strange sprints. You have fewer riders and a more tired peloton. In the coming months, we will see Bini working much more in the real mass sprints towards the Tour. In that respect, the Tour of Limburg is a great opportunity to regain the confidence that he can do it. He should be able to sprint completely freely again.”