Mathieu Van der Poel’s magnificent gesture enhances significance of Biniam Girmay’s historic Giro d'Italia stage win

The advent of Eritrea’s first ever Giro d’Italia stage winner was far from a box-ticking exercise. Biniam Girmay didn’t just win a routine bunch sprint or kick clear from a reduced field on terrain that suited his strengths. Nor was he gifted the historic win – the first for a Black African rider in cycling’s Grand Tours – or triumph because others had gone home or thrown in the towel.

Girmay won in quite ridiculous yet utterly glorious circumstances. Distanced after taking a wrong turn, he had to fight back while relying on his superb Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert team-mates to put out all the fires in his absence. He then had to go from distance and beat arguably the best rider in these circumstances and over this terrain of his generation.

Ad/> And Girmay didn’t just beat Mathieu van der Poel. He broke him. He snapped his elastic at the very moment when his own could and should have been torn in two.

He pushed and pushed and pushed the Dutch superstar so far and for so long that his rival had no choice but to buckle and concede defeat – in a two-up slumping of the shoulders that recalled Van der Poel’s unexpected loss to Denmark’s Kasper Asgreen in the 2021 Tour of Flanders. Giro d'Italia'I'm in awe' — Girmay lauded after seeing off Van der Poel in historic win2 HOURS AGO But it was what happened next, before Girmay’s arms reached for the skies in celebration of his landmark win, which made for the image of the day: Van der Poel gave his vanquisher the thumbs-up. The 27-year-old had launched his sprint late, had clawed his way back and had got level; they were shoulder to shoulder for what felt like an eternity before he sat up and could only watch and approve as Girmay – who peaked at a VdP-in-Siena-eclipsing 1400 watts