Biniyam Girmay makes it second in the Uphill Sprint

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Stage 3 winner Biniyam Girmay won again in the Tour de France on Saturday, proving to be the best in a tough sprint to the line in Colombe-les-Deux-Eglise.

The Intermarché-Vanti rider overtook last year’s green jersey winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Deceaninck) in a drag race to the line, trailing slightly as the sprint opened but gradually pulled away to win by half a bike length. Went ahead.

Belgian champion Arnaud de Lee (Lotto Destany) was moving fast but was stuck between two riders and had nowhere to go.

“It’s unbelievable. To win twice…I don’t know what to say? I just want to say thank you to God for everything,” Girmay said right after the finale.

“I feel that I should give this victory to my mother, my father. He believed in me. They give every possible support to become a cyclist, to become a professional. I just want to say thank you very much to my family, I’m very proud.

The victory strengthened Girmé’s hold on the green jersey, and marked the second victory by a black African rider in the history of the Tour de France.

Girme is a more lightly built rider than many of the other runners and agrees with the suggestion that the finish was perfect for him.

“That’s why I won,” he said, smiling. “I like these kind of sprints because if it’s really flat, other guys are bigger and heavier than me, so they can put out more watts and go faster. But this finish is very good for me with my weight.

Race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) avoided trouble, being close to the front at the start when various moves were made to try to reach the early brakes. He remained safe throughout and finished 13th, three places behind his nearest rival Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step).

Pogacar is 33 seconds ahead of him in the overall standings heading into Sunday’s gravel sector stage.

“I’m happy with the way the team is,” he said. “Tomorrow is a stressful day, there are nerves, and we will need to be focused from zero to the end. We will see what happens tomorrow.

“Like any other gravel stage, I rewatched. Lots of gravel,” he said, laughing. “Tomorrow maybe wind or rain could be a factor, we’ll see how it goes.”

Long, lonely broken pads take the mountain but get pulled back

Stage 8 of the Tour de France was a lumpy 183.4 km from Seymour-en-Auxois to Colombe-les-Deux-Églises. It contained five classified climbs, but also several more hills which were not given official designation, and which contributed to an elevation gain of 2,300 metres. There was also a slight increase at the finish line.

A group sprint was predicted, but there was also a chance of a breakaway. Kom leader Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), together with EF Education-EasyPost duo Nielsen Powless and Stefan Biesegger, cleared the way for three people to escape as the flag was dropped.

They opened up a lead of over two minutes, with another EF Education-EasyPost pair of Ben Healy and Alberto Bettiol and Steve Williams (Israel Premier Tech) trying unsuccessfully to cross the bridge. Abrahamsen was flying and shot down Powless and Biesegger at a distance of about 30 km.

As their lead grew to more than six minutes, they gained more mountain points, but the sprinters’ teams gradually turned the screw and reduced their advantage to half a minute with 17.2 km remaining. Ultimately he got stuck 15 kilometers inside.

Sprinters’ teams continued to advance, including GC squads such as Ineos Grenadiers. Sam Bennett’s Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team led him to the kite, but faded inside the final kilometre.

Girme’s Intermarché-Vanti team took possession and Eritrea then launched an impressive sprint, overtaking Philipson over the line and securing another impressive victory.

The win took his total points to 216, far more than last year’s winner Philipson, who was on 128.

“I was really proud to win in the green jersey,” he said. “I guess that doesn’t happen very often. My plan for me was to first win a stage of the Tour de France and then wear the jersey.

“It’s perfect to win and get more points.”

He described himself as ‘very happy’ and said that he had already achieved his goals.

“I think it’s almost done now,” he said. “If I can still go to Nice without a win now, I’ll be very happy.”

Don’t expect him to sit back and relax, though. He has the speed and pace to take more steps and defend Maillot Vert This is both increasingly important and increasingly possible.