"Hundreds of fans running after you with big flags... that scared me" - Dylan Groenewegen on the unique atmosphere created by Biniam Girmay's fans at post-Tour crits
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The busy period for Biniam Girmay is slowly coming to an end with Sunday's Olympic road race. Before that, the Eritrean from Intermarché - Wanty first rode the Tour de France for three weeks, where he won three stages and the green jersey, and then rode many post-Tour criteriums where many Eritrean fans came to cheer on their national hero.
That was also the case in Roosendaal. The riders who wanted to do a lap of honour after the finish were out of luck. That was no longer possible: the course was already full of people dressed in green, red and blue (the colours of the Eritrean flag). After the podium ceremony, Girmay would go to the changing rooms in the stadium of football club RBC Roosendaal.
In the dressing room, which is normally intended for refereeing, Dylan Groenewegen and Girmay entered the room relieved. "This was scary, man," Groenewegen still panted, who then told his story to a number of other riders. "Hundreds of fans running after you with big flags... that scared me. And then the gates were closed," said the Dutchman, who also found the situation he found himself in quite special.
"So we quickly lift the bikes over the fence and quickly continue riding," he continued his story. "I think they are all standing outside here." Girmay himself came out of the toilet after the exciting story of the number two of the day, as if it did not bother him that much. "This was scary, he?", Groenwegen asked him. "Yeah, yeah, always huh," was the reaction of the man who was the center of attention.
If there is anything that looks like Biniam Girmay, his fans jump on it. In Chaam, teammate Huub Artz also rode. The young rider was attacked after the finish by Bini fans, who mistook Artz for the real Girmay from afar. To their great disappointment, the fans saw that it was not their great idol, after which they looked further. That was also the case in Roosendaal.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Good boy Obviously doesn’t need that much help dealing with pressure, as some have suggested. Wiser (and humbler) than many far further along their careers. About offering him the moon, recently someone came up with an explanation of the downfall of a football great (either referring to Maradona or Portuguese Ronaldo) saying it was kind of normal after coming back from the moon, except that others, including some who actually did go to the moon like Armstrong (Neil in case anyone is too switched off to realise) didn’t go through any of the same motions after coming back. A lot of how you deal with situations has less to do with the situation than with your character.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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💚 BINI ENERGY 🇪🇷💚 Tour de France celebrations during criterium in the Netherlands on 29 July 😍
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