Biniam Girmay brings up a hat-trick of Tour de France stage wins as Primoz Roglic suffers crash

Biniam Girmay took his third stage win of the Tour de France to continue his dominance of the sprints as Primoz Roglic's bid for yellow was all but ended on stage 12 to Villeneuve-sur-Lot.

Girmay beat Wout van Aert in a somewhat messy sprint that saw commissaires relegate Arnaud Demare and Mark Cavendish from third and fifth place respectively.

But there was then a more than two-minute wait for Roglic to finish after the Slovenian crashed around 10km from the end, falling nearly five minutes behind race leader Tadej Pogacar overall.

Girmay was already the only rider in the race with more than one stage win in this Tour, and he made it a hat-trick despite having plenty of ground to make up in the finale after the lead-out trains became uncoupled on a technical finish to the 204km stage from Aurillac.

"I knew I could do good results if I have the right wheels and I’ve proved in the last three sprints I can win," Girmay said.

"In the end when everyone came together I felt super good, and I said in the radio I feel super good so if you give me the support I can deliver."

The win puts Girmay in a commanding position in the points classification and, with Friday’s stage to Pau one of only two real opportunities left for the sprinters, the green jersey looks to be his to keep if he makes it to Nice.

"Since I’ve started to wear this jersey, somehow I’ve felt super fast, especially in my mind," Girmay added. "I just believe I can prove I am the best."

Ireland's Sam Bennett finished 12th, with compatriot Ben Healy back in 46th in the same time as stage winner Girmay.

Van Aert ?
Démare ?
No! BINIIII