"This first week was absolutely perfect" - Biniam Girmay's star continues to rise at 2024 Tour de France with brilliant gravel display
Cycling
After taking his second stage win of the 2024 Tour de France on Saturday, Biniam Girmay was impressive again on Sunday's gravel stage, taking a heap more points for his Green Jersey classification goals and eventually finishing 9th.
"I had fun at the beginning, but after 50 kilometres I was completely empty," the history making Eritrean of the Intermarché - Wanty team admitted honestly afterwards. “I just tried to keep going to score some points for the Green Jersey. I thought it would be a battle for the general classification riders, but in the end I was still in contention for the stage win, which was really nice.”
In truth, Girmay has barely put a foot wrong all race so far. Two stage wins (the only rider to double up at the Tour de France so far this year ed.) and a comfortable lead in the points classification (96 points clear of last year's Green Jersey winner, Jasper Philipsen ed.), the 24-year-old is continuing to prove himself among the very best the peloton has to offer and the biggest race on the calendar.
"This first week was absolutely perfect. The start of this Tour was great and I really enjoyed it," he assesses with pure delight. "Both physically and mentally I was super good. I feel even more confident after winning that third stage."
Read also
2024 Tour de France points classification standings at first rest day:
| Rnk | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | GIRMAY Biniam | Intermarché - Wanty | 224 |
| 2 | PHILIPSEN Jasper | Alpecin - Deceuninck | 128 |
| 3 | ABRAHAMSEN Jonas | Uno-X Mobility | 107 |
| 4 | TURGIS Anthony | TotalEnergies | 96 |
| 5 | DE LIE Arnaud | Lotto Dstny | 92 |
| 6 | COQUARD Bryan | Cofidis | 86 |
| 7 | DÉMARE Arnaud | Arkéa - B&B Hotels | 73 |
| 8 | GAVIRIA Fernando | Movistar Team | 73 |
| 9 | GROENEWEGEN Dylan | Team Jayco AlUla | 71 |
| 10 | VAUQUELIN Kévin | Arkéa - B&B Hotels | 70 |
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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🥇 Stage 3 🥇 Stage 8 🥈 Stage 6 🏆 Best Team stage 3 🏆 Best Team stage 5 💚 Points classification leader Unbelievable first week of Tour de France 😍 #TDF2024
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