Biniam Girmay Stuns Tour de France with Historic Stage Victory and Sprint Masterclass

Eritrean sprint star Biniam Girmay rolls to the Lille start line of the 2025 Tour de France carrying both the green jersey he captured last summer and the hopes of an entire continent. At 25, the Intermarché–Wanty leader is the only Black African on this year’s 184-rider roster, and Saturday’s flat 170 km opener offers a rare chance to pull on the fabled maillot jaune with a first-day sprint win. “Winning stage 1 would be a pleasure for my family, my country and my continent,” Girmay told reporters at Lille’s Opéra House, acknowledging the “pressure” of being Africa’s lone representative. Yet he insists the weight is balanced by confidence after claiming three stages and the points crown in 2024, feats that already made him the first Black African stage winner in Tour history. Saturday’s sprint showdown is expected to pit Girmay against defending green-jersey rival Jasper Philipsen, backed by lead-out maestro Mathieu van der Poel. Both riders warned that a pile-up on day one could wreck three weeks of ambitions, but Girmay believes France’s current heatwave is an ally: “If there’s one person happy to ride in the heat, it’s me—the hotter, the better.” Beyond stage 1, the Eritrean’s objectives are clear: defend the green jersey, add at least one more stage victory, and—if form and fortune align—carry yellow into the early cross-wind stages near the Channel coast. Victory would resonate far beyond Lille, reinforcing the rapid rise of African cycling talent first signposted by Girmay’s Gent-Wevelgem triumph in 2022 and his Giro d’Italia stage win the same year. With GC giants Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard expected to trade blows in the Alps, the opening week is designed for sprinters to shine. If Girmay seizes the spotlight in Lille, he won’t just rewrite Tour history again; he’ll accelerate cycling’s expansion across a continent already galvanized by his groundbreaking success. Fans from Asmara to Addis Ababa will be glued to the live streams, waiting to see whether Africa’s fastest finisher can out-drag Europe’s elite and paint the Tour’s first leader’s jersey gold, green and red.