Girmay’s Historic Škoda Green Jersey Will Change the Sport

It was welcomed by the hundreds of millions of cycling fans who want to see a more diverse sport; by the hundreds of millions of Black Africans, who now see that one of their own can become a star in a sport that had always seemed closed to them; and, from a wider perspective, by the billions of people of color around the world, who have seen another apparent barrier break down, for Girmay is the first Black African rider to win a Grand Tour jersey.

This may seem hyperbole to some, but I don’t think it is. And neither do the lords of cycling, the UCI and the organizers of Grand Tours, Monuments, Classics and all the other road races. Because, as Girmay himself had predicted, after his first victory in the race, on stage 3, that by having greater diversity, road racing could finally become a truly global sport and that he was “super happy to show and deliver so that cycling can be more global.”

Girmay’s triumph was part of a historic moment in the sport because the 2025 UCI Road World Championships will be held in Kigali, Rwanda, a first for the continent.

Girmay’s victory was both assured and dramatic – and also helped by a bit of luck. His only real competitor, the defending Škoda Green Jersey winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), shot himself in the foot by deviating from his line during the bunch sprint of stage 6 and impeding Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike). Philipsen finished second in the sprint, to Dylan Groenewegen, but was relegated and stripped of the points.

This came in very handy for Girmay, especially after he crashed with 2km to race on stage 16, which Philipsen won thanks to a powerhouse lead-out by world champion Mathieu van der Poel. A lead that had been 86 points, 363 to 277, shrank to a mere 32. But Girmay then beat Philipsen in the stage 17 intermediate sprint, adding a point to his lead. The final rankings had him winning with 387 points to Philipsen’s 354.

Road cycling

From Dreaming in Eritrea to Starting at the Tour de France: Biniam Girmay’s Incredible Rise

Reportedly, Girmay was fortunate in another way. He said that he had not been named as the main sprinter of his Intermarché-Wanty team. That had been Gerben Thijssen, for whom he was supposed to work as main lead-out rider. But in the first flat stage of the Tour, stage 3, he and Thijssen had become separated and his team had told him to go for the sprint himself.

And then, as he told the French sports publication L’Équipe, “I lost my teammate and tried to make the best possible sprint. I didn’t go to the left because that’s where the wind was coming from. So I decided to ride along the barriers on the right, at the risk of being blocked. But I managed to get next to Mads Pedersen [Lidl-Trek]. I closed my eyes and I made it.”

And the rest, he could also have said, is history.

“Wearing the green jersey is an honor, the symbol of the sprinter,” Girmay said after Sunday’s final Tour stage. “This is a new dream come true. To be honest I didn’t come into this race with this ambition, I just came here to show I’m not a bad rider. I’m just grateful to have today, it’s the most amazing day of my life.”

In the interview with L’Équipe, Girmay said that he had been inspired by every rider, but cited two names in particular, Daniel Teklehaimanot and Merhawi Kudus, the first Black Africans to ride in the Tour (in fact, in 2015 Teklehaimanot briefly wore the King of the Mountains jersey).

“They come from the same town as I do and we often trained together, which is always the case,” Girmay said. “That always motivated me.”

He went on to say that it was his father who had first got him interested in cycling. “When I was young, my father watched the Tour every summer after eating. He called us and explained how it worked.

“I started watching it in 2011. I asked my father if I could ride the Tour de France one day. He said yes, if I continue to believe that I had a chance. Everything changed when Teklehaimanot wore the polka-dot jersey. That made me believed that I had a chance.”

More than a chance, as it turned out. With three Tour stage victories to his name, and only 24 years of age, a golden future beckons the man from Asmara, Eritrea – and cycling.

Final Škoda Green Jersey Top Five