Biniam Girmay can already celebrate the victory in the points classification: “All we had to do was survive and reach the finish”

Who would have thought that Biniam Girmay would take the green jersey to Nice, let alone win a stage, before the Grand Départ in Florence. But the Eritrean stepped out of his shadow in the past three weeks and not only won three stages, but also won the points classification ahead of Jasper Philipsen.

For Intermarché – Wanty, this is a huge success. The Belgian team went into the race with two potential leaders for the sprint, but after Girmay’s first success, Gerben Thijssen had to step down to a supporting role. “From the beginning of the Tour I’ve had such incredible teammates, you know. All the staff, the team manager, the bosses, I want to thank them because from the beginning we had a great atmosphere, a great team spirit. Especially the riders, they are super nice guys and we don’t have time to celebrate tomorrow during the time trial, so we said okay guys, we have enough time, so let’s celebrate now, because we definitely deserve it,” Girmay told the organisers after stage 20.