{"id":204687,"date":"2026-02-05T13:42:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204687"},"modified":"2026-02-06T13:43:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:43:49","slug":"girmay-gets-first-win-in-more-than-a-year-as-pedersen-breaks-wrist-and-collarbone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/02\/05\/girmay-gets-first-win-in-more-than-a-year-as-pedersen-breaks-wrist-and-collarbone\/","title":{"rendered":"Girmay Gets First Win in More than a Year as Pedersen Breaks Wrist and Collarbone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wednesday\u2019s first stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which was also the first road race stage in Europe this year, turned out to be dramatic and significant beyond the level of this modest Pro race. For one thing, it was the venue of Biniam Girmay\u2019s first victory in over a year and his first victory for the NSN Cycling Team. The stage was also the scene of a serious crash involving the Lidl-Trek leader, Mads Pedersen, who fractured his left wrist and right collarbone and was scheduled to undergo surgery on Thursday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Girmay returns to form<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Girmay was the best of the riders in a reduced sprint at the end of the 160 km course from Segorbe to Torreblanca. He began his move from distance on the long straight to the line and was nearly caught by Arne Marit (Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe), who was gaining on him with every pedal stroke, but came up short. Giovanni Lonardi (Polti VisitMalta) finished third.<\/p>\n

The victory represented a welcome return to form for the 2024 Tour de France green jersey winner, who was winless in 2025 and whose last victory came on July 10, 2024, in stage 10 of that Tour. \u201cI struggled last year, and got second many times, but it was not enough,\u201d Girmay said afterwards. \u201cI’m just super-happy, motivated and looking forward to 2026. It’s great to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

He went on to say, \u201cThis is just my second time in a race lead, and being in the lead here in Valenciana gives me good memories.\u201d He also won the opening stage of the 2023 edition of this race and led that race for one day, as will certainly be the case again this year. Stage 2 of this Valenciana is a time trial for which the big favourite is the three-time world time trial champion, Remco Evenepoel<\/a> (Red Bull \u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe).<\/p>\n

\"Biniam<\/a>
Girmay was the best of the riders in a reduced sprint at the end of the 160 km course from Segorbe to Torreblanca. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Girmay joined NSN Cycling at the end of last year, after his former team, Intermarch\u00e9-Wanty, merged with another Belgian team, Lotto, to form Lotto Intermarch\u00e9. NSN Racing is the new iteration of the former Israel\u2013Premier Tech, which left the sport after pro-Palestinian protests disrupted last year\u2019s Vuelta because of the team\u2019s ties to Israel. It was NSN Cycling\u2019s second win of the year, after Ethan Vernon\u2019s victory in a stage of the Tour Down Under.<\/p>\n

Girmay thanked his teammates for being able to control Red Bull\u2019s attempts to steal a march on the sprinters by attacking on the only climb of the stage, the Puerto de los Madro\u00f1os (4.5 km @ 4%) and then sending the promising 22-year-old Giulio Pellizzari on a solo break with about 18 km left to ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, they surprised us on the climb,\u201d Girmay said. \u201cBut I was in a good position, and we managed to have someone in the front to keep an eye on what’s going on. Pellizzari was super-strong; he had 20 seconds \u2018til the last kilometre, but thanks to my teammates bringing him back, we managed to catch him and win. So this victory is for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

An unfortunate start to 2026 for Pedersen<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As for the unlucky Pedersen, his teammate Bauke Mollema described the crash<\/a> on social media. \u201cOne of those days I won’t miss when I’m done,\u201d the soon retiring Mollema wrote. \u201cA fresh and nervous peloton, and then a big high-speed crash just before the final climb \u2013 with Pedersen involved. Get well soon, boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how long the popular Dane will be sidelined. He was scheduled to ride Milan-Sanremo, the E3 Saxo Classic, In Flanders Fields, the Dwars door Vlaanderen, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the spring. The team has not yet announced a revised race schedule for him, saying on social media<\/a>, \u201cThe team\u2019s first priority is to ensure Mads gets the best care possible and the immediate focus will be on a successful recovery to minimise the disruption to his season goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pedersen will certainly be missed by cycling fans who love his courage and his aggressive style and by Lidl-Trek, which added Juan Ayuso and Derek Gee-West to its squad this year and is no doubt expecting a breakthrough season. The 30-year-old Pedersen, who has 60 wins in his career, is an essential part of the team\u2019s ambitions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wednesday\u2019s first stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which was also the first road race stage in Europe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":204688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[6356,4619,3559,3890],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-204687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-biniam-girmay","tag-cycling-news","tag-mads-pedersen","tag-volta-a-la-comunitat-valenciana","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nBiniam Girmay Gets First Win in More than a Year<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wednesday\u2019s first stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which was also the first road race stage in Europe this year, turned out to be dramatic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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