Partly thanks to the successes of his big brother
Biniam Girmay, the relatively unknown Mewael Girmay has managed to secure a contract with
Wanty-ReUz-Technord, the training team of World Tour formation
Intermarché - Wanty. The 19-year-old brother of the new winner of the green jersey started racing three years ago, inspired by the success of his big brother and the Tour de France.
"Biniam played a role in his arrival, we are not going to lie about that," the U23 team director Kévin Van Melsen told
Het Nieuwsblad. "Biniam asked if there was room for his brother and then we started analyzing." Van Melsen was immediately impressed. "He's not just in the team because he's Biniam's brother. He has potential and that's why he's getting his chance. The values and wattages we received were very good."
In terms of morphology, he is very similar to his brother. "He goes along quite well when it is a bit hilly. I am very curious to see how far he can go, because I think he can be an excellent sprinter."
His debut on European soil was not without its problems. In his very first race he got hypothermia. Shortly after his arrival in Belgium, Mewael broke his collarbone. After his return from the injury, Mewael returned to action with a solid top-25 result at U23 Eschborn-Frankfurt, before returning home for the Eritrean championships, where he came fourth, even ahead of his older brother.
He also impressed the coach in training. "Rein (Taaramae, ed.) said after that internship that Mewael was really very impressive. After rides of 200 kilometers he was not much slower than Biniam in the sprint."
