Two months after his bad crash in the Tour of Flanders, Biniam Girmay pinned a number for the first time in the Brussels Cycling Classic this Sunday. And not just a number, thanks to the succes of Taco van der Hoorn in the latest edition he had the honour to wear number one.
From the start of the race, his teammates filtered the candidates for the breakaway and only let four riders go. Aimé De Gendt then took command of the peloton to control the gap.
During the first of two ascensions of the Muur van Geraardsbergen, Sven Erik Bystrøm made the peloton explode, so a group of twenty riders with also Girmay and Laurenz Rex could escape.
By accelerating during the second passage of the Muur van Geraardsbergen, Girmay made the junction with the lead of the race together with Bystrøm. The Norwegian rider led the group of 23 riders and on his own, he managed to keep the peloton behind.
Thanks to the work of Bystrøm, and his teammates disturbing the chase of the peloton behind, Girmay could sprint for the victory in the streets of Laken. The 23 year old Eritrean rider finished fourth.
"I'm satisfied with my return into competition, two months after my bad crash in the Tour of Flanders. I'm especially proud on the performance of the team. We took responsibility from the beginning and then made the race harder with attacks. Also myself, when I accelerated on the Muur van Geraardsbergen. It was interesting to test my feeling after two months without competition. Physically I feel completely recovered from my injuries. It was a good day, there are several positive takeaways. I still have to improve my condition, which should become better day by day. Now I'm heading to races in Switzerland before I focus on July."
