"He has to follow his own path; who am I to dictate what he should do?" - Mike Teunissen clarifies controversial comments around Biniam Girmay

If Intermarché - Wanty are to have a successful season in 2024, you feel the relationship between Mike Teunissen and Biniam Girmay will be key.

After Teunissen recently told In de Leiderstrui, "He doesn't have WhatsApp in Africa, so I don't actually communicate with him when he's there. I've been hearing for two years now that he's going to move to Belgium, so I'm curious when that's really going to happen," it seemed like there was some underlying tension between the pair. Now though, Teunissen has moved to quickly clarify his comments.

"He's indeed planning to move to Belgium, that's the intention. But even if that doesn't materialize, we'll spend more time together in a hotel than at home," Teunissen explains in conversation with IDL. "He has to follow his own path; who am I to dictate what he should do?"

"During the winter, we didn't communicate much, but that was also because I had a lot on my plate and he was in Eritrea. Now, we're in frequent communication, and after Tirreno, I'll be staying with him in Italy for another week," Teunissen concludes. "In the following weeks, we'll also be together a lot. So the nuance is that during the winter, our contact was limited, but now it's quite the opposite."