One month after his historical victory in the Tour of Italy, Biniam Girmay returned to competition with a victory in the national time trial championships. He conquered his first title in the elite category this Friday by beating his World Tour compatriots Merhawi Kudus (EEF) and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Trek-Segafredo) on the 36 kilometer parcours around capital Asmara in 43 minutes 36, averaging 49.2 kilometer per hour.
In this way, the 22 year old conquered the title in the U23 and Elite category and offered the Belgian World Team its sixteenth victory of 2022. After his fourth success of the season, his first ever time trial win, Biniam Girmay will participate in the road race on Sunday.
« I'm proud to be Eritrean and I dreamed of showing our flag everywhere in the world as a national champion. But winning one of both disciplines was everything but easy. The level in Eritrea is high. This season, I only participated in two time trials, in Paris-Nice and in the Giro. I really gave everything and to my surprise I managed to be faster than the defending champion and to conquer the title. The parcours was thee same as the previous years and maybe the rather flat profile played in my favor, as my main competitors were climbers. A big celebration started and after my victories in Europe, I really enjoyed celebrating this title with my family and dearest friends. At the same time I'm focusing on the road race on Sunday. It will be a challenging course in the heart of my home city Asmara. The battle against the numerical superiority of the local teams will be a very tough challenge. I'm hoping for a hard race and maybe the short climb on the course will take its toll at the end of the 171 kilometer race. »
