A great happiness, then an improbable story. On Tuesday, Biniam Girmay entered more cycling history by becoming the first black African to win a stage of a grand tour by winning the Giro in a strong suit. Winner in the sprint ahead of the Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel in the streets of Jesi, the Eritrean from the Intermarché-Wanty Gobert team was forced to skip the mixed zone and the press conference in the wake of his success. The reason ? An incident that occurred during the protocol ceremony.
The 22-year-old rider, winner of the Belgian classic Ghent-Wevelgem in March, was injured while uncorking the traditional bottle of Prosecco on the podium. On a video, we see Biniam Girmay, leaning over the bottle, suddenly holding the left side of his head as the cork squirts. The Eritrean was then taken to hospital for check-ups. According to L’Equipe, Mathieu van der Poel almost suffered the same incident when he donned the pink jersey of leader of the Italian race.
