Biniam Girmay capped off his strong start to the season with a quick win. The Eritrean from the Belgian WorldTour team Intermarché-Wanty made a convincing start in a small group to victory in the Surf Coast Classic, an Australian 1.1 race.
The Surf Coast Classic bridges the gap between two WorldTour races in Australia: the six-day Tour Down Under and next Sunday’s Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.
In the Tour Down Under, Girmay took second place in the points standings thanks to a package of close honorable finishes. Today, after 158km between Lorne and Torquay, it was a complete success: Girmay was clearly the best of the 25 runners.
He won ahead of Italian Elia Viviani and Australian Corbin Strong. Milan Fretin of Cofidis was the best Belgian in 4th place.
Piet Allegaert, Fretin’s teammate, was the second Belgian in the top 10 in 8th place.
It was the first victory of the beginning of the cycling season for both Girmay and Intermarché-Wanty.
The 23-year-old Eritrean made a name for himself in 2022 with a win at Gent-Wevelgem and a stage in the Giro d’Italia, but last year he endured a difficult season in which he failed to live up to high expectations. Even a heavy crash at the Tour of Flanders didn’t help.
2024-01-25 07:54:05
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