Biniam Girmay, who brought Eritrea its first victory, and Richard Carapaz, who gave Ecuador its first yellow jersey, made history on Monday at the Tour de France, witnesses to a peloton that is becoming international.
The longest stage of this 111th edition was also supposed to be the most soporific, a moment of relaxation after a weekend of amphetamines in Italy. It will go down in history for two major firsts that resonate well beyond the traditional borders of a sport that is still very European.
Whether it was the ecstatic victory of “Bini”, the hero of an entire continent, or that of Carapaz, a figure already well established in the peloton, they provoked immense emotion in their respective countries.
“It means a lot to me to become the first black African rider to win the Tour de France,” Girmay said at a press conference.
“This is a victory for all Africans. Now we are truly part of the biggest race. This is our moment, our hour,” he stammered, in tears, a few minutes earlier during the interview protocol.
Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay (left) during his victory on the 3rd stage of the Tour de France, in Turin, on July 1, 2024
Tim De Waele – POOL/AFP
“It’s going to be crazy in the country. In training, before the Tour, I was encouraged everywhere. They told me: win the Tour de France. Now they must be throwing tables and televisions in the bars,” he said, followed in Turin as everywhere by a small cohort of compatriot supporters who emigrated to Europe.
The native of Asmara becomes, at 24, only the third African rider to win on the roads of the Tour after the South Africans Daryl Impey and Rob Hunter.
– The Tour on TV with his father –
He revealed himself in 2022 when he won a great classic, Ghent-Wevelgem and a stage of the Tour of Italy, before experiencing a more difficult season.
Representative of cycling on the rise, symbolized by the organization of the 2025 Road World Championships in Rwanda, the rider from Eritrea passed through the World Cycling Center, a structure of the International Cycling Union (UCI) to destination talents from less favored countries.
He started his professional career in 2020 with the French team Delko before joining Intermarché, the Belgian team to whom he gave its first success on the Tour.
Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay on the podium after his victory on the 3rd stage of the Tour de France, in Turin, July 1, 2024
Thomas SAMSON – AFP
In Eritrea, where cycling arrived with the Italian colonization between 1885 and 1941, Girmay is already a hero who surpasses the pioneer Daniel Teklehaimanot, who wore the polka dot jersey in the Tour in 2015: “a moment that changed everything for us”, according to Girmay.
“My father watched the Tour de France every day,” said +Bini+.
“He would turn on the TV right after dinner and call us to show us and tell us how difficult it was. He assured us that it was the number one sport in the world. I asked my father if I too could one day race the Tour de France, he said yes but on condition that you believe in your chances.”
On Monday, Girmay believed very strongly to win in the sprint ahead of the Colombian Fernando Gaviria and the Belgian Arnaud De Lie in a chaotic finale with a major collective fall two kilometers from the finish which notably eliminated the favorite Jasper Philipsen.
– Carapaz’s dream –
This big crash created a break in the peloton at a point in the race where there is no longer any consequence for the general classification since the times are frozen in the last three (five on Monday) kilometers in the event of a fall or mechanical incident.
Except that four riders were in the same second at the start of the stage, separated only by the cumulative number of their places at the finish in the previous days, which meant that Tadej Pogacar wore the jersey on Tuesday.
Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz with the yellow jersey after the 3rd stage of the Tour de France, in Turin, July 1, 2024
Anne-Christine POUJOULAT – AFP
Delayed by the fall, the Slovenian finished behind, in 38th place, ceding the yellow jersey to Carapaz.
The Ecuadorian is already accustomed to the greatest honors, having won the Tour of Italy in 2019 and was crowned Olympic champion in Tokyo. But his pride was, like Girmay’s, immense in having written “a historical page for (s)his country”.
“For Ecuador, for me, for my team, it’s a dream come true in the biggest race in the world,” added the EF Education rider for whom it’s also a sweet revenge after not being selected by the Ecuadorian Federation to defend his title at the Paris Olympics.
He will defend his yellow jersey on Tuesday on the slopes of Galibier, for the arrival of the Tour in France.
By Jacques KLOPP / Turin (Italy) (AFP) / © 2024 AFP
