Biniam Girmay

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

Career Early life and career Biniam was born on 2 April 2000 in Asmara, the second son to his father Girmay Hailu, a carpenter, and his mother Freweyni. He comes from a cycling family, having watched the Tour de France with his father on television each year; both his brother and his cousin, Meron Teshome, are also professional cyclists. 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 (2021–2025) After he was let go by (who subsequently folded) 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 became the first black African cyclist to win a stage at a Grand Tour. 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 obtained his first victory of the season at the Surf Coast Classic in a bunch sprint beating Elia Viviani and Corbin Strong. 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. Biniam won stage 12 of the Tour for his third stage win, beating Wout Van Aert in the sprint finish. He maintained his lead over Phillipsen all the way to Nice to secure the points classification with a 33-point advantage. Two days later, he and Intermarche-Wanty announced they had signed a new contract keeping him at the team until the end of 2028, while preparing himself for the 2024's men's road race at the Olympics.

NSN Cycling Team On January 1, 2026, Biniam signed a three-year contract with NSN Cycling Team, moving from Intermarché-Wanty. The transfer came as NSN, the rebranded team formerly known as Israel-Premier Tech, announced its 2026 roster and unveiled a new team kit in Barcelona. Biniam joined a squad of approximately 28 riders that includes George Bennett, Alexey Lutsenko, and Stephen Williams.

At his first race of the season, Biniam won the opening stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, ending his dry spell he had since his green jersey win at the 2024 Tour de France.

Personal life Biniam Girmay lives in Leuven, Belgium while in Europe. He has been married to Saliem Hizkel since 2021.

Biniam regularly attended church when living in Eritrea, and gave thanks to God after his third Tour de France win, remarking 'without God we cannot do anything'.

Major results Source:

2018 African Junior Road Championships

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 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 Tour du Doubs 5th Gran Piemonte 5th Route Adélie 6th La Roue Tourangelle 7th La Drôme Classic 7th Druivenkoers Overijse 7th Tour du Jura 9th Trofeo Laigueglia 2022 (4) 1st 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 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec 2nd Brussels Cycling Classic 2nd Binche–Chimay–Binche 2nd Rund um Köln 3rd Time trial, National Road Championships 3rd Hamburg Cyclassics 4th Grand Prix de Wallonie 4th Münsterland Giro 7th Gent–Wevelgem 9th Antwerp Port Epic 2025 2nd Classique Dunkerque 2nd Rund um Köln 3rd Grand Prix de Wallonie 4th Trofeo Ses Salines 5th Bretagne Classic 6th Figueira Champions Classic 7th Gent–Wevelgem 8th Hamburg Cyclassics 9th Trofeo Palma Tour de France Held after Stage 1 2026 (3) 1st Clásica de Almería Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana 1st Points classification 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 1 Tour of Belgium 4th Dwars door Vlaanderen

Grand Tour general classification results timeline Grand Tour 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Giro d'Italia DNF — DNF — — Tour de France — 125 113 132 141 Vuelta a España — — — — —

Classics results timeline Monument 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Milan–San Remo — — 12 28 27 14 108 Tour of Flanders — — — DNF 59 35 Paris–RoubaixNH — — — — 15 Liège–Bastogne–Liège — — — — — — — Giro di Lombardia — — — — — — — Classic 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Milano–Torino — —10 18 — — — E3 Saxo Bank ClassicNH —5 DNF 19 22 57 Gent–Wevelgem — —1 9777 21 Dwars door Vlaanderen — — — — DNF 174 Brussels Cycling Classic — — —42 20 Hamburg Cyclassics — — — —38 Bretagne Classic 96 DNF6 DNF —5 Grand Prix Cycliste de QuébecNot held3 372 23 Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal DNF DNF DNF DNF Paris–Tours 20 — — 14 —

+ Legend — Did not compete DNF Did not finish