Biniam Girmay recorded his best result at the Tour de France since the opening stage of last year’s race as he sprinted to third in Bordeaux on Friday.
Having placed sixth in Wednesday’s chaotic and technical opening sprint in Pau, Biniam showed his speed alongside the Garonne, a more conventional drag race finish after a fast run into the famous wine city.
“It was a nice moment to try to go for a victory,” he says. “I think I was in a good position, but just in the last 250 meters I got boxed in, and I just lost my speed.
“When you lose the momentum, it’s not easy to find again. Once those other guys start sprinting, it’s so hard to catch them.
“But I’m super happy with my feelings. I was feeling super good during the race, and I can see now that all the sprinters are more or less at the same in the same level, so that gives me confidence. I just believe that, if I am in the right place to launch my sprint, I’m also one of the fastest.”
Third-place earned Biniam 40 points in the green jersey classification, which, combined with the 14 he picked up at the stage’s intermediate sprint, saw him move back up to second in the standings. He trails Mads Pedersen by 59 points, down from 77 after stage six.
Head DS Sam Bewley says: “It was a good performance today by Bini and the whole team. We understood the key points in the final, and we knew what our strategy was. They executed the plan really well, and Bini was close today.
“This finish showed that he’s fast enough, showed that he can put himself in the right position, so we’ve got good chances going forward.”