His friendship with De Lie, the management of his notoriety, his love of the color green: winner in Saitama, Biniam Girmay speaks with an open heart

Biniam, when you look in the rearview mirror of this year 2024, how would you describe it?

“Both magnificent and unexpected. When you are a cyclist and you start the Tour de France, you inevitably dream of winning a stage. But raising your arms three times and bringing home the green jersey is something that I would not have dared to imagine, at least in the short term. The 2024 Tour will forever remain an unforgettable moment of my life.”

Do these sprint successes push you to specialize even more in this direction or do you want to remain more than that, a runner also capable of shining in the classics?

“I want to remain who I am, to preserve the qualities that make me unique because that is why I have worked for so long. I also think that it is this mix which has, in part, made my strength on the Tour to win, it is sometimes more a question of freshness in the final than of pure power and to hope to compete for the green jersey, you have to know how to cope with the difference in altitude as Sagan did in the past for example. rather atypical profile for a sprinter I think, I’m quite light and that’s precisely what gives me an advantage on steep terrain. The plan is to continue on this path, and I hope that this will also allow me to shine. during the spring.”

Some photos of the gala dinner of your Intermarché-Wanty team circulated on social networks around ten days ago. We see you there dressed in a sublime and very elegant green suit. This color seems to be at the heart of your life since you even wear green sneakers here in Japan!

“(Laughs) I had this pair of shoes already before the Tour, I assure you. Green and navy blue are my two favorite colors and so I have a lot of clothes and accessories in these tones. For the gala that you mention, it was one of my best friends in Eritrea, owner of a costume store, who offered to make me a tailor-made suit especially for the occasion When I arrived at the reception venue. , everything was green, even the spotlights It had a real elegance and I can’t hide that it made me proud (smile).”

Can we ask you what you did with your green jersey? Is it hanging in your living room?

“You don’t think I was going to leave it in a drawer (laughs)! At home, I have a room entirely dedicated to my racing memories. I keep the bibs with which I won but also jerseys, cups and other things like that I started this quite early and there is for example my silver medal from the U20 world championship in 2021, the Ghent-Wevelgem trophy, the one from my stage. on the Giro et cetera. When friends or family come to visit me, it’s a piece that they always ask me to see and when they come in, the green jersey is often like a magnet (laughs)… “

For the next Tour de France, do you agree that there is a real opportunity for you to aim for another tunic? The yellow jersey seems feasible on the first stages in the North.

“Yes, that’s for sure. And if a chance like this exists, we obviously have to do everything to seize it! Over the last two years, the Grand Départs did not offer this prospect to runners like me and I am therefore delighted with what the next edition will offer But the fight will be intense because many sprinters are now climbing well and will have the same ambition as me Philipsen, van Aert, van der Poel and even De Lie: the competition is coming. tough! I will do everything to prepare as well as possible, but if I win one more stage in 2025, that would already be fantastic in my eyes.”

During the presentation of the Tour de France at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, you confided how much your life had changed since July since you now had to deal with real notoriety. How does your rather humble and discreet nature accommodate this?

“It’s obviously quite nice and flattering to be recognized for your achievements, but I wasn’t raised wanting glory. And when I returned to Eritrea after the Tour, it was all the same pretty crazy (laughs)… Being here in Japan and seeing that people know me and are waiting for me in front of the hotel for a photo or an autograph, I still find it crazy. That’s where we go even more. taking into account the scope of the Tour, Cycling would certainly not be the same. I have been to Canada and other countries around the world and everywhere I see that people now know who I am. I’m probably the most easily identifiable guy in the peloton (laughs)… For me, cycling is a passion but also the job that gives me a living while the fans who sometimes stand around for hours for a photo are driven by the sole love of cycling, I therefore find that it is the least I can do to give them a little of my time.”

Can you explain to us what made the difference between your success on the Tour this summer and your first participation in the Grande Boucle a year earlier?

“Experience certainly. As in many other areas of life, ultimately it makes all the difference. The Tour is a completely different race and people sometimes forget the age of some of its actors. When you see what Remco has already accomplished at 24, it’s still not bad (smile) The public is sometimes impatient. In 2023, for my first participation in the Tour, I finished 3rd on the stage. Bordeaux and 6th on the Champs Elysées when I was only 23 years old and I had already won Ghent-Wevelgem A rather positive start in my eyes, but people always want more. You have to learn to tame it. Tour, the stress of the peloton, the very particular approaches to the sprints, the media The first days, I wondered where I was, everything is so different from the rest of the season. TV, I understand that it’s difficult to realize all that, but the second year, we inevitably arrive with more experience, we know better how to manage and approach these three very special weeks. How to eat, recover, position yourself: it changes everything! There aren’t many guys who raise their arms on the Tour during their first participation: it’s not a coincidence.”

Do you think that Arnaud De Lie, who made a promising debut on the Tour this year, could experience a trajectory comparable to yours?

“I get along really well with Arnaud who had an excellent first Tour in fact. He’s really strong, no one doubts that anymore. It’s quite impressive the power he gives off. He’s going to become one of the best sprinters in the world When you see him on his bike he can seem quite massive but he climbs well considering his profile. He’s a guy who never gives up and I really like him! mentality. We are often in contact. I am convinced that Arnaud can have the same trajectory as me in the near future, his experience will be useful to him.

The next World Cup will inevitably be special for you since it will be contested on the African continent. Don’t you regret that its route is so steep and therefore doesn’t really suit you?

“I prefer to broaden the perspective of these world championships which do not only concern me, far from it. We are talking here about a race which will inevitably change the face of entire African cycling in my opinion. Cycling enthusiasts from The whole world will be looking at Kigali for more than a week and I am convinced that this will have the power to inspire thousands of children in Africa Cycling is an entire culture and it will take a while. – be a little time for it to fully infuse the African people. But this stage, with this World Cup, is very important.”

Biniam Girmay winner of the Saitama criterium in the rain: “Proof that I can win in classic Belgian weather”