Day: March 27, 2022

The Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay Hailu (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) made history this Sunday by winning the 84th edition of the Belgian classic Ghent-Wevelgem, disputed over 248.8 kilometers starting in Ypres and finishing in Wevelgem, and becoming the first cyclist from his country than to win the race.

Biniam Girmay, born 21 years ago in Asmara, won a four-man sprint after beating Frenchman Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) and Belgian Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) in the last 250 meters of this classic cobblestone. He thus achieved the most important victory of his short sports career and made history for his country.

The Eritrean was part of the group of four escapees with 24 kilometers to go. The quartet stood out until the victory was disputed in a sprint in which Biniam Girmay was the most powerful, beating Laporte and the Belgians Dries van Gestel and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo).

“It’s unbelievable, amazing. I couldn’t wait for this. We just changed the plan a few days ago, on Friday. We just came for a good result. This race is unbelievable. Unbelievable,” said Biniam Girmay after winning the race.

The Eritrean says that the safest thing is that he will not play the Tour of Flanders. “I’ve been here a long time, three months. I miss my wife and daughter, so I’m coming home,” he said.

Biniam Girmay succeeded Belgian Wout van Aert, winner of the last edition (2021), in the Ghent-Wevelgem honors.

Classifications

Classification of the Ghent-Wevelgem 2022:

1. Biniam Ghirmay Hailu (ERI/Intermarché-Wanty) – 5:37:31

2. Christophe Laporte (FRA/Jumbo-Visma) – mt

3. Dries Van Gestel (BEL/TotalEnergies) – mt

4. Jasper Stuyven (BEL/ Trek-Segafredo) – mt

5. Soren Kragh Andersen (DEN/Dsm) at 0:08

6. Tim Merlier (BEL/Alpecin-Fenix) at 0:08

7. Mads Pedersen (DEN/Trek-Segafredo) at 0:08

8. Iván García Cortina (ESP/Movistar) at 0:08

9. Matej Mohoric (SLO/Bahrain-Victorious) at 0:08

10. Arnaud Démare (FRA/Groupama-FDJ) at 0:08

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux came into Gent-Wevelgem with strong ambitions and they have surprised with a brilliant win as Biniam Ghirmay put on another brilliant performance, winning the sprint from the attacking group that ent clear in the final part of the season.

A day where the breakaway regularly has no chances due to it’s long distance as hard pace, a group containing Johan Jacobs (Movistar Team), Jelle Wallays (Cofidis), Alexander Konychev (Team BikeExchange – Jayco), Nikias Arndt (Team DSM), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal Pauwels Sauces WB), Lindsay de Vylder (Sport Vlaanderen – Baloise) and Lars Saugstad (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team). Of those Jacobs was the last survivor, as he was absorved within the gravel sectors with 66 kilometers to go.

As the peloton got to the hilly section Jumbo-Visma stepped up the pace. On the first time up the Kemmelberg some cracks appeared as Asgreen pushed the pace, but several gaps that opened up were closed as the peloton remained bunched up in several big groups. The second ascent of the Kemmelberg saw a similar situation, but a relatively compact peloton arrived at the final ascent.

There, it was Wout van Aert who turned up the pace, going solo however being reeled in by a small group afterwards, and with the headwind and lack of collaboration a group of around 25 riders came together.

The race could be decided in a sprint, however plenty attacks came and one stuck as Laporte, Ghirmay, van Gestel and Stuyven made a move with 24 kilometers to go. The group collaborated well and put in over 30 seconds in the chasing group that relied on Groupama to do most of the work. Alpecin and Movistar put riders in front aswell despite evident struggles. Although the gap came below 20 seconds in the final kilometers, the peloton didn’t have the legs to close the gap as many riders sat on.

Laporte had the front of the group into the final meters, and Biniam Ghirmay launched his sprint from behind early on. Despite the surge of Laporte, the 21-year old has taken a career-marking win which not only confirms his potential in the cobbled classics, it also puts him in a position where he not stick to his initial plan and go for the Tour de Flandres. He beat Christophe Laporte and Dries van Gestel.

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

The Ghent-Wevelgem race is one of the spring classics and arouses great emotions among cycling fans. On the one hand, it is a tasty morsel for sprinters, on the other hand, it often happens that the winner comes from a small breakaway. That is why the party always brings a lot of emotions.

This time there were also many of them, because several escape attempts were made. The decisive action was started by four players: Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma), Biniam Ghirmay (Intermarche-Wanty), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) and Dries van Gestel (TotalEnergies).

For a moment it seemed that the peloton would catch up with them, but there was no cooperation in the main group. And although five kilometers before the finish line the escapees had less than half a minute of advantage, as it turned out, they managed to get her to the finish line.

In the fight on the line, the brave cyclist from Eritrea turned out to be the best, he was centimeters ahead of Laporte. Thus, he became the first rider from this small African country to achieve such great success in the professional peloton .

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

There are victories that define themselves. Never before has an African runner managed to win a world cycling classic. Today the Eritrean Biniam Ghirmay has achieved it. He is only 21 years old. Enough to enter the history of cycling. To change the paradigm of two wheels with a victory that will be an example for millions and millions of people. Girmay won the Ghent Wevelgem in the sprint. A milestone that means a lot for African sports.

Girmay’s feat came on the pavé, a surface destined for the victories of the classicomaniacs. Where Peter Sagan, Van Aert, Pedersen, Tom Boonen, Oscar Freire or Cipollini prevailed before, Ghirmay triumphed, after starting with a lot of power he got emotional as soon as he crossed the finish line.

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux had not planned to compete in the Flemish classic, but in the end he stayed in Europe and won the demanding race. “This is incredible. I never expected this. My plans changed just a few days ago, Friday night actually. I came here for a good result, but this? This is unbelievable.”, he expressed.

“I’ve been here in Europe for more than three months and I miss my wife and daughter, so I have to go home”, said ‘Bini’, who stated that he will not be at the Tour of Flanders the other weekend.

“I felt very good, but there were also strong riders. Therefore, I was a little scared. But when I saw that we were going to make it, I had faith. Especially in the last 250 meters. I was confident in my sprint. It’s amazing that he wins,” said the first African winner of a Belgian classic. “A lot has changed for me, but this means there is a bright future for African cyclists. Congratulations to all Africans”, he celebrated.

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

Eritrean 21-year-old outsprints Laporte from late four-man breakaway

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) made history at Gent-Wevelgem, the Eritrean taking the win by outsprinting Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) in the final 250 metres of the cobbled Classic for the biggest win of his young career.

The 21-year-old was part of the four-man group that stole away on the flat run to the finish after the final ascent of the cobbled Kemmelberg. The quartet held off a spirited chase from behind to contest the sprint, with Dries van Gestel (TotalEnergies) taking third ahead of Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo).

“It’s unbelievable, amazing. I cannot expect this. We just change my plan a few days ago on Friday. We just came for a good result. This race is amazing. Unbelievable,” Girmay said after the finish about being the first African champion of the race.

“I don’t think [I’ll stay for Tour of Flanders]. I stayed here a long time – three months. I miss my wife and daughter so I go back home.”

The crucial selection in the race was formed 24km from the finish, when Girmay, Laporte, Stuyven and Van Gestel broke clear of a large group that had formed on the aftermath of the final ascent of the Kemmelberg.

With top sprinters Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen (both Alpecin-Fenix) all still present in that group, there was a committed chase, but the leading quartet rode well enough together to stay clear.

The sprint for victory was bound to be a tight one, with all four riders packing a significant punch.

“Of course I feel much better but also there’s really strong guys with me so I’m a bit afraid. But I felt confident in the last 250 metres. It’s unbelievable, yeah. It changed a lot in the future, especially for all African riders,” Girmay said.

“I lost many places, especially on the first section and on the first cobblestones. I felt a bit uncomfortable. But after i felt better and better, rode smart, followed. Then in the end you know everybody is waiting for Van Aert so I played it a bit easy.”

How it unfolded

As a race that often hinges on how strong the wind blows, it came as a disappointment for any riders hoping for more of a selective race when they woke up to calm, mild conditions.

Still, there were three ascents of the cobbled Kemmelberg to contend with, along with six other major climbs, and three gravel ‘Plugstreet’ sectors, too, before a flat run to the finish line.

The first, flat half of the race therefore proceeded mostly without incident, as the riders waited for the climbs to start before they began racing in earnest.

A seven-man break went up the road consisting of Jelle Wallays (Lotto Soudal), Johan Jacobs (Movistar), Nikias Arndt (Team DSM), Alexander Konychev (BikeExchange-Jayco), Lars Saugstad (Uno-X), Ludovic Robeet (Bingoal-Pauwels Sauces-WB) and Lindsay De Vylder (Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise).

Their lead came close to seven minutes, but work from the likes of QuickStep-AlphaVinyl and Jumbo-Visma kept them under control.

The pace picked up in the peloton as the teams vied for position ahead of the first climb of the day, the Scherpenberg, 97km from the finish.

Amid the increased pace was also the first crash of the day, as several riders fell into a ditch at a pinch point 105km from the finish, including Florian Senechal (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl).

The incident caused splits in the peloton, with multiple smaller groups having to chase back on, with Tom Pidcock (Ineso Grenadiers), Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) and Sep Vanmarcke (Israel-PremierTech) among those caught out.

Jumbo-Visma and Bahrain-Victorious won the battle for position ahead of the Scherpenberg, and were still the most prominent teams at the next climb, the Baneberg, but the latter lost one of their men after the climb as Kamil Gradek went down in a crash also involving Brent Van Moer (Lotto-Soudal).

Although his teammate Davide Ballerini slightly overshot the corner leading onto the first ascent of the Kemmelberg, Kasper Asgreen led the peloton for some of the climb, before Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) took over going over the top.

The peloton was still large after this key climb, but was missing Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies), who had been dropped.

Rather than a climb, it was a flat section shortly after the Kemmelberg 78km from the finish that saw the first dangerous selection form, when Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) accelerated at the front of the peloton, and brought around 15 riders with him including Asgreen, Greg Van Avermaet (Ag2r Citroen), Biniam Girmay (Intermatche-Wanty-Gobert) and Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ).

This group caught the break during the plugstreets, and they held a gap of around 20 seconds over the peloton, where TotalEnergies were leading the chase.

Their work proved to be enough, and the catch was made with 58km left to ride, meaning a leading group made it to the second ascent of the Kemmelberg together.

Van Aert and Asgreen were again the leaders on that climb, and took 13 riders with them, with Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Arnaud Demare and Victor Campanaerts (Lotto Soudal) especially prominent. But as happened earlier there was enough of an organised chase behind to bring them back, and the race was again back together 45km from the finish.

Despite a few attacks from riders including Van Avermaet and Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma) then Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) and Jacobs, the group remained together for the day’s penultimate climb, Baneberg, where Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) and Tiej Benoot again tried to go clear to no avail.

That left just one climb to make a difference, the third and final time up the Kemmelberg.

Van Aert started the climb a few wheels back from where he would have liked, but produced a brutal acceleration to move to the front and crest the summit with a small gap.

He was joined by Asgreen, Mads Pedersen (TrekSegafredo), Søren Kragh Andersen (DSM), Mohoric, Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers), and teammates Benoot and Laporte on the descent, in what was a very strong looking group.

But the presence of Van Aert and so many Jumbo-Visma riders seemed to discourage the other riders from working, and another group was able to join them 27km from the finish which included fast finishers Démare, Philipsen and Girmay.

Shortly after this regroupment the race-winning move was made, as Laporte, Girmay, Styven and Van Gestel went clear 24km from the finish. Van Avermaet and Rasmus Tiller (Uno-X) tried to bridge up to them, but sat up when they found themselves stuck in no-man’s land.

The quartet’s advantage grew to about 40 seconds, but looked in danger of being caught towards the end, as it fell to just 20 seconds with 3.5km to go. However, an attack from Kragh Andersen appeared to take the impetus out of the chase 2km from the finish, and the quartet were left to sprint for victory.

It was a close-run thing at the line as Girmay launched his final dash very early with 250 metres to go – a huge distance for a finishing sprint – but the Eritrean held off Laporte to claim the win.

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

The Eritrean Cycling National team that has been taking part at the Africa Cycling Championship 2022 in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, from 22 to 27 March grasped Gold Medal through Henok Mulubrahan at the final event held today, 27 March.

At the competition that covered 150.8 km and in which elite group and under 23 took part Henok Mulubrhan brought outstanding victory to his country and himself.

The national teams of South Africa and Algeria took second and third positions.

In the female’s category the Eritrean national team finished the race with the first 20 competitors.

In the overall performance, the Eritrean National Team collected 15 medals including seven Gold, six Silver and two Bronze.

At the 18th Africa Cycling Championship 2022 national teams of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Rwanda, Mauritius, Nigeria, Benin, Ethiopia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Uganda and Namibia took part.

In related news, at a competition that covered 248.8 km in Belgium today, professional Eritrean road cyclist Biniam Girmay who ride for UCI World team intermarche, stood first.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea