Biniam Girmay

Biniam Girmay Hailu (born 2 April 2000) is an Eritrean professional road cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam. At the 2024 Tour de France, won the Green Jersey which he held from stage 5 on, becoming the first black African to win any jersey at the Tour. At the same Tour, he made history by becoming the first black African rider to win a Tour de France stage – he won stages 3, 8 , and 12.

At the 2022 Giro d'Italia, he became the first black African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage after winning stage 10 in a reduced bunch sprint.

Early career
After discovering cycling through his cousin Meron Teshome, Biniam joined the World Cycling Centre in 2018 for his second junior year. That year, he became a triple junior cycling champion of Africa, winning the road race, time trial and team time trial. He also won the first stage of Aubel–Thimister–Stavelot, beating favourite Remco Evenepoel.

In 2019, with the Eritrea national team, he won the third stage in a sprint of the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, his first professional victory. This made Biniam the first cyclist born in the 2000s to win a professional race. His success continued, winning stage 5 of the Tour du Rwanda in a sprint against experienced riders, including Joseph Areruya and Daniel Turek who finished 2nd and 3rd.

For the 2020 season, Biniam joined UCI ProTeam, with whom he finished second in the Trofeo Laigueglia and the Tour du Doubs.

Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux (2021–present)
After he was let go by earlier in the year,  announced his signing on 6 August 2021. He made his debut for his new team days later at the Tour de Pologne.

On 24 September 2021, he finished second in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships, becoming the first black African rider to achieve a podium finish in the history of the UCI Road World Championships.

2022
On 27 March 2022, in Gent–Wevelgem, Biniam was part of the winning breakaway, which also included Christophe Laporte, Jasper Stuyven, and Dries Van Gestel. In the finale, he was the first to launch his sprint, coming from the back of the group, and held on for the victory. In doing so, he became the first African winner of a classic cycle race.

Later that season, Biniam rode his first Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia. On stage 1, he finished second to Mathieu van der Poel in an uphill sprint. Towards the next eight stages, he amassed four top five finishes in bunch sprints as well as a breakaway stage. On stage 10, in a reduced bunch sprint, he outsprinted van der Poel in a long sprint to win his first Grand Tour stage. He made history as he became the first black African cyclist to win a stage at a Grand Tour. However, at the podium, as Biniam was opening the bottle of Prosecco, the wine cork hit his left eye at full speed. He was checked by race and team doctors before being sent to the hospital for treatment. The following day, Biniam confirmed that he would abandon the Giro in order to let his eye injury fully heal.

2023
Biniam began the 2023 season racing in Spain, and had his first win of the year on stage 1 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. After a lack of results in the spring, he won the second stage of the Tour de Suisse, outsprinting Arnaud Démare and Wout van Aert. He entered his first Tour de France in 2023 as the team leader for, placing third in a sprint finish on stage 7. He was one of only two African riders alongside Louis Meintjes as well as the only black rider to compete in the race.

2024
Biniam began his 2024 season at the 2024 Tour Down Under, where he finished second in the points classification. A week later, he took his first victory of the season at the Surf Coast Classic. Biniam was announced as the team leader for Intermarché–Wanty for the 2024 Giro d'Italia. He completed three stages before crashing twice on the rainy fourth day and abandoning the race with a hip injury. He was able to return to racing 10 days later and, in late May, won the Circuit Franco-Belge in a sprint.

He rode in the Tour de France again in 2024 and won the third stage in a bunch sprint. He became the first black African to win a stage at the Tour. After stage 5 of the race, Biniam took the lead in the points classification, marking the first time that an African rider has worn the green jersey in the Tour. He took home the win in stage 8 of the race, narrowly beating reigning points classification winner Jasper Philipsen and marking his second stage win in the Tour. Girmay won stage 12 of the Tour for his third stage win, beating Wout Van Aert in the sprint finish.

Major results
Source:


 * 2018
 * African Junior Road Championships
 * 1st African Continental Champion Jersey.png Road race
 * 1st African Continental Champion Jersey.png Time trial
 * 1st Gold medal africa.svg Team time trial
 * 2nd Overall Grand Prix Rüebliland
 * 3rd Overall Aubel–Thimister–Stavelot
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 3rd Trofeo Comune di Vertova
 * 4th Trofeo Emilio Paganessi


 * 2019 (2 pro wins)
 * 1st Stage 3 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
 * 1st Stage 5 Tour du Rwanda


 * 2020 (2)
 * La Tropicale Amissa Bongo
 * 1st Jersey violet.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 3 & 6
 * 2nd Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 2nd Tour du Doubs
 * 4th Giro della Toscana


 * 2021 (1)
 * 1st Classic Grand Besançon Doubs
 * 2nd Silver medal uci.svg Road race, UCI Road World Under-23 Championships
 * 2nd Tour du Doubs
 * 5th Gran Piemonte
 * 5th Route Adélie
 * 6th La Roue Tourangelle
 * 7th Royal Bernard Drôme Classic
 * 7th Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 7th Tour du Jura
 * 9th Trofeo Laigueglia


 * 2022 (4)
 * 1st MaillotEritrea2.jpg Time trial, National Road Championships
 * 1st Gent–Wevelgem
 * 1st Trofeo Alcúdia–Port d'Alcúdia
 * Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stage 10
 * Held after Stage 1
 * 2nd Grand Prix de Wallonie
 * 3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
 * 4th Tour du Doubs
 * 5th E3 Saxo Bank Classic
 * 6th Bretagne Classic
 * 7th La Drôme Classic
 * 10th Milano–Torino


 * 2023 (2)
 * 1st Stage 2 Tour de Suisse
 * 1st Stage 1 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
 * 2nd Trofeo Palma
 * 3rd Trofeo Ses Salines–Alcúdia
 * 4th Brussels Cycling Classic
 * 7th Grand Prix de Wallonie
 * 7th Paris–Chauny
 * 8th Famenne Ardenne Classic


 * 2024 (5)
 * 1st Circuit Franco-Belge
 * 1st Surf Coast Classic
 * Tour de France
 * 1st Points classification
 * 1st Stages 3, 8 & 12
 * 2nd Brussels Cycling Classic
 * 2nd Rund um Köln
 * 3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
 * 7th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 9th Antwerp Port Epic