The team Intermarche-Wanty lands on the Tour de France Saturday with several playing cards, including Biniam Girmaywho will surely be keen to erase the memory of his abandonment following a fall during the 4th act of Giro. “I am proud to return to the Tour, it will be a special edition, rejoices the Eritrean. I learned a lot from my first participation last year. I am more serene because I followed an excellent preparation. The Tour is the most beautiful race in the world. There will be great opportunities, in the sprints against a very strong field of sprinters but also on the stage of the white roads.” But he is not the only sprinter on whom the expectations of the Belgian team rest, since Gerben Thijssen will also be there to discover the Tour. The idea, for this duo, will be to help each other to bring home a stage victory. “It’s a childhood dream come true for me,” admits the Belgian runner.
The presentation of the Tour teams in Florence!
“We are proud to lead the way…”
“In recent months I have had a difficult time due to my ankle injury, he continues, but now I’m at the start with good feelings and a positive state of mind. For my first Tour de France, I’m realistic, I’m not going to shout from the rooftops that I’m going to win a stage. But definitely, I will fight to get good results for the team. Above all, I am here to learn and continue my progress as a runner.” And for the general classification, it will always be the experienced Louis Meintjes in command, 7th in the Big loop in 2022 : “This edition will be special, very tough. I will give the best of myself to obtain the best possible ranking, and contribute to the team’s objectives of winning a stage.”
“With Louis Meintjes and Biniam Girmay, we are proud to lead the way on the Tour de France, just over a year from the World Championships in Rwanda, with two African riders to lead our team, who demonstrate the talent that this continent abounds with, completes the manager of the structure Aike Visbeek. In addition, I am convinced that this pool could be exploited even better on an international scale, with more structured support from the youth categories.”
