Biniam Girmay wrote another piece of cycling history at the 105th Giro d'Italia.
About a month and a half after his surprise victory in the Belgian classic Gent-Wevelgem, the 22-year-old was the first Eritrean to win a stage in one of the three major national tours on Monday.
After 196 kilometers over bumpy terrain from Pescara to Jesi, Girmay was able to assert himself in the sprint against the Dutch winner Mathieu van der Poel and Vincenzo Albanese from Italy.
"I'm so happy"
“We controlled the race and I have to thank my team.
Everyone did a great job.
I'm so happy," said Girmay, who rides for the Belgian team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, after his second coup of the 2022 cycling year.
In the meantime, there have been no major changes in the overall standings: the leader's pink jersey was again successfully defended by the Spaniard Juan Pedro Lopez and leads by twelve seconds ahead of the Portuguese João Almeida.
Ravensburger Emanuel Buchmann, who finished 16th with the leading group, is still the best German, 69 seconds behind, in ninth place.
The sprinters should get their money's worth on the eleventh stage on Tuesday.
The section from Santarcangelo di Romagna to Reggio Emilia runs over 203 kilometers and has no mountain classification.
The Tour of Italy 2022 ends on May 29th with an individual time trial in Verona.