Biniam Girmay makes history as Richard Carapaz takes yellow on Tour de France

Biniam Girmay made history as the first black African to win a stage of the Tour de France with victory on stage three in Turin after Mark Cavendish was held up by a late crash in the pack.

Sam Bennett finished ninth in the stage, which saw many of the race's top sprinters lining up for a crack at a victory after two hilly opening days.

In a reduced sprint finish, Girmay powered his way along the barriers to overhaul Mads Pedersen, beating Fernando Gaviria and Arnaud De Lie to the line at the end of the 231km stage from Plaisance – the longest day of this year's Tour.

The discussion leading up to the stage had focused on whether or not Cavendish could make history with what would have been a record-breaking 35th career Tour stage win, but a crash inside the last two kilometres split the peloton and left many riders – including the Manxman – out of position.

Instead it was Girmay’s day to break new ground, while Richard Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian to wear the yellow jersey, taking the overall lead off Tadej Pogacar by countback with the two riders on the same time along with Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard.

Ben Healy is 38th, two minutes and 44 seconds down on the leaders.

Girmay, 24, won a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2022 and had a third-placed finish on stage seven of last year’s Tour, but this moment will carry much greater significance.

"First of all I would say thanks to God for everything, for giving me all the strength and support," Girmay said before wiping away tears in his post-race interview.

"Since I started cycling I was never dreaming to be part of the Tour de France but now I can’t believe it. To win in the Tour de France in my second year in a big bunch sprint is unbelievable.

"I want to say thank