The 21-year-old Girmay surprisingly won the sprint of a leading group of four in front of the Frenchman after 248.8 kilometers on Sunday (March 27th, 2022). Christophe Laporte and the Belgian Dries van Gestel. German drivers played no role in the decision.
Girmay predicts “rosy future”
“It’s unbelievable. I didn’t expect to win such a race”, Girmay said after his coup and sees a great future for African cycling: “A lot will change. We will have a bright future.”
Girmay made history at the World Cup last year when he became the first black African to finish on the podium, finishing second in the U23 race. The 21-year-old came into professional cycling through the development program of the world association UCI. In the middle of last year, he finally switched to the WorldTour to the Belgian team Intermarché-Wanty Gobert.
No Tour of Flanders for the surprise winner
This year Girmay really took off. On Mallorca he won the race in Alcudia. Strong performances followed at Milan-Sanremo (10th) and the E3 Prize (5th). However, he does not want to start in the Tour of Flanders next weekend. “I miss my wife, my daughter. I want to go home first.”
All eyes were on all-rounder van Aert. And the Belgian, who only won the E3 prize in Harelbeke on Friday, launched an attack on the Kemmelberg on the last climb. But the rivals didn’t let the Olympic silver medalist go this time.
Nikias Arndt had played a good role for a long time. The 30-year-old belonged to a breakaway group that had been caught a good 65 kilometers from the finish.