Biniam Girmay Hailu

Biniam Girmay was born on April 2, 2022 in Asmara, Eritrea.

He began racing for the World Cycling Centre (WCC) in 2018 and went on to win triple titles in the junior men's road race, individual time trial and team time trial at the African Continental Championships. He also won stages of the Aubel-Thimister-Stavelot, Tour du Rwanda and La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, which led to his first professional contract with NIPPO DELKO One Provence in 2020. He then secured a place on the WorldTour with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux as a trainee in 2021.

On the international stage, Girmay excelled in the one-day 1.Pro Series and 1.1-level races before securing the silver medal in the under-23 men's road race at the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in Leuven, Flanders, becoming the first Black African rider to achieve a podium finish in the history of the event.

In 2022, at just 22 years old, Girmay went on to score a historic victory for Eritrean and African cycling at Gent-Wevelgem. At the Giro d'Italia, he won stage 10 into Jesi, claiming the first Grand Tour stage victory of his own career, the first Grand Tour stage win in history for an Eritrean, and becoming the first Black African rider to win a Grand Tour stage.

Girmay's success in professional cycling was celebrated when he was voted African Cyclist of the Year for the third time in succession in 2022 after a season that saw him claim historic victories at Gent-Wevelgem and the Giro d’Italia.

In 2023, Girmay made his Tour de France debut but went home winless. He returned to much more success in 2024, when he claimed three stage wins and the overall points classification, making even more history for his country.

Girmay has extended his contract with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux through 2026.

Key Results
1st 2024 Tour de France stage 3, 8, 12

1st 2024 Tour de France points classification

1st Circuit Franco Belge (2024)

1st Surf Coast Classic (2024)

1st Tour de Suisse stage 2 (2024)

1st Gent-Wevelgem 2022

1st stage 10 Giro d'Italia 2022

1st junior men's road race African Continental Championships 2018
1st junior men's individual time trial African Continental Championships 2018
1st junior men's team time trial African Continental Championships 2018
2nd under-23 men's road race UCI Road World Championships 2021