Roel Van Sintmaartensdijk defends Biniam Girmay abandon of Giro d'Italia after two crashes: "It's very easy for people to talk from their couch"

Biniam Girmay marked his second Giro d'Italia with an early departure, rather than another individual success. The Eritrean hit the deck twice in rainy stage four and subsequently refused to continue to race with a minor hip injury - something many fans and experts had little understanding for as his team Intermarché - Wanty built the whole team around Girmay.

Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, who is making a Grand tour debut however arrived to support Girmay in an interview for IDLProCycling. "It's very easy for people to talk from their couch. If you crash at seventy kilometers per hour and you see that he had a twenty-centimeter protrusion on his hip... It was also very difficult for him to get back on the bike, so all that speculation is cheap. It's great that he essentially has no big injuries, because he was in pretty bad shape."

Read also

Giro d'Italia: Valentin Paret-Peintre takes first pro win atop Bocca della Selva summit finish as Romain Bardet re-enters GC fight

Luckily, for Intermarché - Wanty, young Estonian Madis Mihkels stepped up into the sprinter role, making a decent name for himself in bunch sprints. "When the leader of a team drops out, you feel a huge disappointment and need to regroup. Fortunately, we have Madis Mihkels, another sprinter, who we were able to leverage for two top-ten finishes on days four and five."

Van Sintmaartensdijk tries to conclude on a high note, recognizing this is a great opportunity to show themselves in the spotlight. "We haven’t let it get us down, although it's unfortunate that Bini is gone." The Dutchman stresses he'll aim to put his name in a breakaway as well as for the time trials. "I did plan to ride a good time trial, also with an eye toward the future. There aren’t many in a year, so every chance you get to go for it is valuable"

Read also

PREVIEW | Giro d'Italia 2024 stage 11 - Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier take on another bunch sprint battle

Medical Report and withdrawals Giro d'Italia 2024 | Update stage 10: 4 sprinters leave race ill after rest day