"I had to do everything by myself because I had no teammates with me" - Biniam Girmay sprints to a second place in Lille
Cycling
2025 is a season marked by second places for Biniam Girmay - and the opening stage of Tour de France didn't dispel his curse. In a stage that turned out much more exciting than anyone expected, the defending winner of Points Classification lost to his predecessor Jasper Philipsen.
"I'm sort of happy with my second place, but also a bit pissed. It is not nice to miss such a good opportunity to wear the Yellow jersey. The white jersey is a good consolation prize, especially in my last year competing for it - but I have to admit that, in my mind, the best jersey in the Tour de France is the green one," the Eritrean said after the stage.
The tension in peloton has been palpable since the first kilometers of the stage, he explains: "A lot of guys were super nervous about the wind from the beginning of the stage. I was sure the bunch was going to split at some point."
Girmay's gut feeling turned out to be on point. "I tried to find a good spot for myself in case something happened, and I managed to do it when the real split happened."
Sadly for the sprinter of Intermarché - Wanty, he found himself isolated in the front group as none of his teammates was as attentive as him. "Unfortunately, I had to do everything by myself and spend a lot of energy because I didn’t have any teammates with me - and I missed them."
The advantage of numbers clearly showed in Lille. Whereas Philipsen had a nearly full train on rails and was delivered in perfect position, Girmay was closed on the barrier behind his Belgian opponent and had to settle for a second place.
"In any case, I’m super happy with my shape as I was able to feel comfortable from start to finish on the stage. I feel tired now, but there is another good chance for me tomorrow. I came here to win stages, and I’ll try to land one as quickly as possible."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment