Girmay makes history at Ghent-Wevelgem

Wanty rider becomes first Eritrean to win any WorldTour race, reports James Shrubsall

- James Shrubsall

GHENT-WEVELGEM PODIUMS

Elite men

1. Biniam Girmay

2. Christophe Laporte

3. Dries Van Gestel

Elite women

1. Elisa Balsamo

2. Marianne Vos

3. Maria Giulia Confalonieri

U23 men

1. Samuel Watson

2. S. K. Changizi

3. V. Ratailleau

Junior men

1. Thomas Capra

2. T. Svarre

3. J. Smithson

Junior women

1. Nienke Veenhoven

2. L.L. Sander

3. M. Trégouet

If Biniam Girmay can find a quiet moment to watch the Tour of Flanders on TV this weekend, he might afford himself a quick ‘what could have been’.

But with his young family – and likely the rest of Eritrea – wanting to hug him, pat him on the back, or just spend some much missed quality time, quiet moments might be hard to come by in the coming days for the 21-year-old Intermarché-WantyGobert Matériaux rider.

The new GhentWevelgem champion became the first Eritrean to win a WorldTour race, and the first African to win a Classic, on Sunday when he sprinted to victory from a small group to win the Belgian cobbled Classic, having taken in three ascents of the Kemmelberg, extricated himself from the clutches of a dangerous-looking Wout van Aert (JumboVisma), and then dispatched van Aert’s team-mate Christophe Laporte, Dries Van Gestel (TotalEnergies) and Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) in the final 250 metres.