Biniam Girmay pulls out of Giro d’Italia after injuring eye with prosecco cork

Biniam Girmay pulled out of the Giro d’Italia before the start of Wednesday’s stage 11 after injuring his eye while celebrating his historic win on Tuesday.

Girmay became the first black African to win a stage of a Grand Tour when he beat Mathieu van der Poel in the sprint at Jesi, but his celebrations were cut short when he was struck in the eye by the cork from a prosecco bottle he opened on the podium.

The 22-year-old spent several hours at a local hospital before being able to enjoy dinner with his Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux teammates but, as confirmed on Wednesday morning, his debut Grand Tour is now over.

“Yesterday when I arrived [at the hotel] after the hospital, the bad moment, I enjoyed it a bit with my teammates, the staff, everybody,” Girmay said in a video posted by the team. “I am happy now, I was a bit sad about what happened with the champagne but when I came back they were super happy.

“But today unluckily I didn’t start the race because still, my eye, I need some rest to give more power to the eye. I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season. Thank you to everybody who supported me and pushed me. I’m OK now. See you soon.”