PRESS CONFERENCE - "That's why also my result are better this year" - Biniam Girmay on key change that took him back to winning ways

In the center of Barcelona, NSN Cycling Team was in the heart of the cycling world this Wednesday afternoon. Dozens gathered to talk to the likes of Biniam Girmay and Andrés Iniesta on the eve of the Tour's presentation, in which interesting sight was shared. CyclingUpToDate was on site to follow the latest observations from the Swiss team's leader and management.

Girmay enters the race with the ultimate goal of winning the points classification as happened two years ago, or alternatively, conquer stage wins in the race that matters most to the sprinters. He will do so with a team fully backing him up, and a 'home start' as the team's title sponsor NSN is based in Barcelona.

For this reason, Girmay was not only joined by sports director on stage, but also Andrés Iniesta by his side. The former Barcelona and Spanish national team player was perhaps the true star of the press conference, however on the competitive side it was the Eritrean was the headliner.

Girmay talked about his ambitions heading into the race, what has changed since his move to NSN, his advantages over the more 'pure' sprinters, and more...

Answer: Yeah, first of all, thank you guys for coming. Today I think this Tour is special for the team, and of course also for me every year, being on the tour, it's special as a cyclist because this is one of the biggest bike races in the world. So it's special to be here. For me every year, I have a big dream, so that's to win a stage and again also to win the green jersey. And this year we have a really strong team around to compare the past three years I had. So I'm super happy and super motivated to start here in Barcelona and to go for a stage victory and also to chase the green jersey. Thank you very much.

A: Actually it's not much of a big difference. Like I said, I have stronger teammates, a stronger lead-out, and if you see the material-wise, I think it's more or less the same. Of course we have better tires, I would mention this, because we didn't have the best tires (at Intermarché - Wanty, ed.), so that's actually... As a bike rider, the tires are really important because that's connected with the tarmac, so we have strong tires. That's why also my result are better this year than 25, and I'm really looking forward and we will also work so hard for this event, because our main goal is to achieve what we planned in the beginning of the season.

So that's actually the difference. I have enough preparation for this Tour, I would say, especially compared to last year. Everybody's more or less in the same shape, everybody's in the top shape. That also makes a big difference, because as a team we need to have everybody on the same level at the same time, so I think I would mention that, because we already saw the last couple of days we rode together. That's a good confidence we have for the moment, so I would hope to continue like this for the next 21 days.

A: Yeah, absolutely. I think if it's my best performance on the sprinting, it's in 2024, so that's actually... We start in Italy, so we are really like three days, two days really hot, and super hard stage, and that's affects more the heavy guys than me. And then I'm also more resistant on the heat than the other guys, so that's actually a good benefit that I would say I had maybe this year, because we will start here in Barcelona. And the first two, three days it's pretty hot and hard, maybe except the TT.

Like you mentioned, that's actually more I'm looking for into this year, because for me, I can survive better than the sprinters, but I think nowadays everybody can climb well, I would say. The only thing I have more benefit is the heat, and of course also I can recover a little bit faster, so let's see this year, it will be maybe more interesting for me to do more my best sprint.

A: It's two different things, at that time I was more than 11 years old, I was young, I was playing football, 11 and 12 years old, I was good at it, but at the same time, I think here in Eritrea cycling is bigger. So I decided to change sports, actually I'm happy to be a cyclist, I achieved my dreams, that's what I dreamed of when I was a kid, I don't have any regrets, I'm just happy I changed cycling.