The Eritrean books historic victories

To his fans, he is the ‘African king’: an international star and the first black African to win a stage in the Tour de France.

Biniam Girmay did it not once, but three times this year during cycling’s most important event. Barring an accident, the 24-year-old looks set to win the green jersey on Sunday – a prize awarded to the best sprinter during the gruelling three-week race.

But Girmay’s road to the top has been fraught with obstacles, as he has struggled with culture shock, European visa procedures and the loneliness of living thousands of miles apart from his wife and young daughter.

Now he embraces his role as a hero in his home country of Eritrea and is an inspiration to cyclists across Africa.

Many believe Girmay’s success will bring change to a predominantly white sport: in this year’s Tour de France, he is the only black rider in the entire peloton of 176 riders.

Girmay – or Bini to his loved ones and fans – was born and raised in Eritrea, a small East African country with a population of about 3.7 million.

Unusually, Girmay was never a champion of Asmara – the capital where he grew up – or Eritrea. Instead, he burst onto the international scene quite suddenly after being scouted by cycling’s world governing body, the UCI.

Girmay told Eritrean media earlier this year that it is easier to win the Tour de France than to become an Eritrean champion. This is because the country, despite its small population, has a wealth of talented cyclists, many of whom have won medals in global and continental races.

Cycling is one of the most popular sports in Eritrea, a pastime that emerged during the decades of Italian colonial rule.

For many Eritreans it is a source of pride. Their country usually only makes the world news because of the border conflicts and the poor human rights record, which is considered bad by human rights organizations but is defended tooth and nail by the government.

Girmay’s dream of becoming a cyclist was awakened by his cousin, the African champion Meron Teshome.

The cycling obsession also extends to his family: his younger brother is now a professional cyclist and his father, a carpenter, watched the Tour de France on TV with Girmay every year.

This is my momenta documentary charting his rise shows an older female relative telling him, “When I was young, no one could beat me, not even you!”

At the age of 12, Girmay won his first mountain bike race and as a teenager he was selected to represent Eritrea as a junior at the African Championships.

There he caught the attention of a UCI scout.

They invited him to train at the organization’s World Cycling Centre (WCC), an elite Swiss facility that attracts young athletes from countries where there may not be many opportunities for development.

In 2018, at the age of 17, Girmay dropped out of school and moved to Switzerland.

The transition was tough, he had no friends or family nearby and faced enormous culture shock.

“It was difficult to prepare Bini; he had to change many things: his lifestyle, his routines,” said Jean-Jacques Henry, head of talent discovery at the WCC. recalled as Girmay prepares for 2023 Tour de France.

“When he arrived in July, it was too cold for him. For us it was warm. He didn’t like cobbles (which riders of Girmay’s type often ride) and he didn’t understand tactics.”

But he believed he would overcome these problems and achieve his dream. He even took English lessons so he wouldn’t have to use a translator in media interviews when he eventually turned pro.

And indeed, in 2020 Girmay was acquired by the French team Delko.

While training in France, he began planning his wedding to Saliem, his partner in Eritrea.

But the coronavirus outbreak in 2020 threw a spanner in the works for his plans to return home, and he was unable to compete in Europe as several races were cancelled.

The following year, Girmay suffered another blow. Delko had gone bankrupt, leaving the young cyclist without a team.

However, he was able to travel back to Asmara and marry Saliem.

She later gave birth to a girl, but Girmay could not continue playing football for long as he was contracted by the Belgian team Intermarché–Wanty.

Obtaining a visa to continue his cycling journey was not easy. This Is My Moment documents the new father’s struggle to navigate the many visa application centres and embassies in Asmara.

Eventually, he managed to get a long-term visa, which he has to this day. However, the requirements require Girmay to leave the European Schengen area of ​​29 countries every three months. He usually returns to Asmara.

In 2022, the cyclist began his historic victory tour.

In the Belgian Gent-Wevelgem he became the first African to win a one-day classic. Girmay was part of a leading group of four riders in the last 30 km and sprinted to victory with 250 m to go.

“Veni… vidi… Bini!” bellowed an ecstatic British commentator as he raced across the finish line. The phrase, a play on the Latin for “I came, I saw, I conquered,” has become something of a catchphrase among his fans and the media.

As a sprinter, Girmay accelerates quickly towards the end of the race and makes a fast sprint to the finish line.

He is a rarity: as a mountainous country, Eritrea mainly produces ‘climbers’, cyclists who can race particularly well on steep slopes.

Girmay crowned his victory in Gent-Wevelgem with a historic stage win in the Giro d’Italia, the second biggest Grand Tour in cycling after the Tour de France.

The celebrations were abruptly ended when Girmay was taken to hospital after accidentally getting a cork from a prosecco in his eye on the podium.

He recovered quickly, but without his wife and daughter it was difficult to enjoy his victory.

Despite this homesickness, Girmay fought on. His wife and daughter eventually moved to the French city of Nice – and will be waiting for him after the Tour ends on Sunday.

Cycling fans in Eritrea will also be keeping a close eye on it.

After his third stage win in the Tour, people took to the streets of Asmara en masse, waving the national flag and dancing in the background as celebrating cars honked their horns.

Eritrean fans also often turn out to support Girmay away from home – at the 2023 Tour de Suisse, one fan told the BBC: “He is an African king. We are proud. Eritrea is known for bad things like war, now it is different.”

Girmay also represents the wider continent, Mani Arthur, who leads the Black Cyclists Network and has competed for Ghana, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa podcast last week.

“We don’t really see many black riders, especially from Africa, competing in the Tour de France,” he said.

“So it’s incredible to see Girmay not only competing, but winning a coveted stage. He’s proven that he’s one of the best riders in the world.”

Eritrean cycling coach Aklilu Haile, who has known Girmay for ten years, believes his success could have a major impact.

“Sometimes it seems like cycling is just for white people, but now he’s teaching us that cycling is for everyone,” he said.

After the Tour de France, Girmay will compete in the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. He hopes to win a gold medal, but that is unlikely – he is the only cyclist representing Eritrea and will therefore have no one to lead him to the front of the peloton to secure a spot for his sprint.

He also has high hopes for next year’s world championships in Rwanda, the country where he was first scouted by the UCI.

For many, Girmay’s victory in Rwanda has great significance.

Cycling fans from around the world witnessed an African rider racing across the finish line on African soil, before being surrounded by a crowd waving the green, blue and yellow Eritrean flag.