This Sunday 18th of May, Biniam Girmay added a second podium finish in the space of two races in Rund um Köln, a one day race of 181 kilometers held in the area around the city.
Five days after his second place in the Classic Dunkerque, the Eritrean sprinter once again came close to victory at the end of a classic race controlled from start to finish by Intermarché-Wanty. Vigilant on the few short climbs that dotted the 181-kilometer course, Biniam Girmay’s teammates did everything possible to allow their leader to contest the victory in a bunch sprint.
After work in the chase behind the early breakaway from Gerben Kuypers, Adrien Petit, and Tobias Müller, the sprint train composed of Jonas Rutsch, Huub Artz, and finally Hugo Page brought Girmay into the final straight, before a head-to-head with Matthew Brennan. With this second place, he repeats his performance from last year in the same event, 50 days before the Tour de France.
“Today we did a great job as a team, taking our responsibility to control the race. It wasn’t easy, as the other teams challenged us from the beginning. I saw them talking to each other, so we anticipated the acceleration on the first climb and were well represented in the front. The attacks continued until the final, but we were always in control and my teammates also did a great job to prepare my sprint. It is of course frustrating to finish again so close to the victory, but at least I can reward my teammates with this nice podium. Congratulations to Matthew Brennan, he has already shown that he is one of the top contenders in the sprint.”
