"I had to do everything by myself because I had no teammates with me" - Biniam Girmay sprints to a second place in Lille

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."