"His feeling and values are more than okay" - Intermarché - Wanty have high hopes of Biniam Girmay at Sanremo
Cycling
The 'Sprinter Monument' Milano-Sanremo lists only very few pure sprinters among favorites this Saturday. Even many classics men can only dream of holding the wheel of Tadej Pogacar or Mathieu van der Poel, but Biniam Girmay does. The winner of three Tour de France stages last year and 2022 Gent-Wevelgem champion made many sacrifices to be at the front in Sanremo.
"Bini actually completed a 2.5 week altitude training camp. Because in Eritrea he lives at an altitude of 2,100 metres," says his Intermarché - Wanty coach Frederik Veuchelen to Sporza. He followed Girmay's training sessions in Eritrea from a far, yet as closely as possible. To keep in touch when the Eritrean hero travels to spend time with his family back home was often a problem in the past.
"It is known that the internet connection in Eritrea, and therefore also to Bini, is very limited. As a result, we sometimes did not hear from him for a long time. But we have been working on that for the past 2 years. Bini now keeps a much stricter record of his training data and tries to upload it regularly. If the uploading doesn't work, he calls me to tell me about his training and his feelings."
Veuchelen also received regular phone calls from Eritrea over the past 3 weeks. "And it was always full of positivity. Bini is happy that his wife safely delivered his second daughter. That could give him an extra boost tomorrow."
Milano-Sanremo
"If you ask Bini which classic he wants to win, he will always answer Milano-Sanremo," Veuchelen knows. "That race is at the top of his bucket list, it is the race of his dreams this year. It is a classic that inspires him, because he knows that with a bit of luck he can win La Primavera."
"With even more volume and aerobic training, we have specifically worked towards Milano-Sanremo this season. As a result, Bini now has a broader base to fall back on during the race."
Obviously, the best sprinter of last Tour de France will probably never keep equal footing with the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar. But limiting the damage is something Girmay worked on too in the past months:
"Because when Pogacar and Van der Poel attack uphill, he will always be lacking something. Thanks to these specific training sessions, we hope that Bini can connect with the big guns at the top of the Poggio or on the descent."
The signals are already positive. "On Tuesday and Wednesday, Bini trained on the Cipressa and the Poggio. The cadence looked very smooth. Also the way he sat on his bike, his recovery feeling and his values are more than okay," Veuchelen concludes.
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- I agree, this article is silly. Pogacar won that TdF because he was stronger than Roglic on the time trial not because he was unknown. Each rider has their own strengths and ride to those. Each of the classics and monuments have their own unique features that the riders must strategize.GB25-03-2025
- Yes, I think he still has a lot to say in road cycling. In the CX races he showed a very good gear but... the problem was essentially his NERVOUSNESS then he took bad decisions in finding the best strategies and paths. He needs confidence (calm down) and maybe a very good preparation gave him that.
maria2024202425-03-2025 - I don't believe so sadly, much as pulling another rider into that group I think Tadej and MVDP have raised the game so far they are essentially untouchable. The spoils of this season will be split between them, I believe Tadej will take RVV, LBL and Lombardia, MVDP MSR and Roubaix. I'm not even sure Remco will be at their level when he comes back. Tadej and MVDP are just a step above everyone elseslappers6625-03-2025
- Tadej and MVDP bring that panache back to cycling that we missed right through the Armstrong years, the Sky years and to an extent the couple of Visma tour wins. Whole team blocking a race, no attacking, no excitement till the leaders jumped away inslappers6625-03-2025
- Glad to know he's confident now, even though he didn't win; it's true, he never complains but in past interviews he often expressed his insecurity and bewilderment when he hadn't won the gold on the track or a time trial.maria2024202425-03-2025
- Would be so cool. Might not be possible regularly but a few, even Jungels showed glimpses of his past form after going through mental deserts.Jumpyjohn25-03-2025
- Yeah, might not feel like leaving his family or ending up like Senna or Schumacher. I’d have no problems with that, critics might have a tough time, finding a new target to focus on, maybe Remco? He’d be more tricky.Mistermaumau25-03-2025
- This is cycling, no pills ;-)Mistermaumau25-03-2025
- Many have points, often even good, one has to decide and it’s basically binary, either yes or no each time, like with elections, there’re always unhappy people.Jumpyjohn25-03-2025
- Get an educationJumpyjohn25-03-2025