Biniam Girmay has revealed that he is not yet sure if he will compete at the UCI Road World Championships held in Kigali, Rwanda in September. In an interview with Sporza, the Intermarché-Wanty rider said the amount of climbing in the elite men’s will not favour his strengths.
“It’s above my limit. If you make the journey just to be dropped at that World Championship, it’s pointless,” Girmay said.
“I always aim for a good result. If my country wants me there, I will definitely go. But personally, it is not necessary for me to just be there and take part.”
The elite men’s 267.5km road race will feature 5,475 metres of climbing making it among the toughest courses in rainbow-jersey history, and as such it is expected to favour the climbing specialists.
The Eritrean made history as the first Black African to win a stage at the Tour de France last summer when he stormed across the stage 3 finish line in Torino. He captured another win on stage 8 into Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises and won a third time on stage 12 into Villeneuve-sur-Lot, before carrying the green jersey into the finale in Nice to win the points classification.
But Girmay had already made a name for himself as a ‘game changer’ when he hit the headlines in 2021 after securing the silver in the under-23 race at the Leuven Worlds, then again the following year as he took victories at Gent-Wevelgem and on stage 10 into Jesi at the Giro d’Italia.
The Rwanda Worlds marks a significant moment in the sport of cycling because it is the first time the event will be hosted in Africa. Girmay said that he recognised this event as a landmark moment for African cycling and said he hopes to be on the start line, if he is selected to the national team roster, even if the route does not suit him.
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“Of course, this World Championship is a milestone for African cycling, but I can’t do anything there myself. Will I not go? We’ll see,” he said. “I would like to be there and I will try, but it will be difficult for me to even finish. It’s not about me, it’s about African cycling. It’s a great opportunity.”
Girmay also spoke to Het Nieuwsblad on the same subject, noting the large number of climbing metres on the course. He said that, if he were to be in contention in Rwanda then he might also expect to be in the mix in the high mountains at the Tour de France.
“There are 5,500 vertical meters in it, that says enough, doesn’t it? I’ve raced there twice, I know the course very well and I know myself very well,” Girmay said. “I know what I’m capable of and what I can’t do.
“If I’m still at the front in the last lap, then I could also compete in a queen stage in the Tour. We just have to be realistic, I can’t do anything there.”
Girmay’s team manager at Intermarché-Wanty called on the World Championships organisers to switch up the highly challenging route to accommodate Africa’s biggest cycling star.
Aike Visbeek said that he “hopes reason prevails”, though a change in route after it has already been finalised and announced would be unprecedented.
‘He is now the first African to win the green jersey in the Tour, but imagine if he were to win the rainbow jersey?” Visbeek said. “That would have an even greater impact. Now you have a World Championship in Rwanda, but there is a chance that Louis Meintjens is the only African who has not yet been dropped with 80km to go.
“I hope that they will come to their senses and that they will change something on the course. Because if it stays like this, the same three riders will be competing for the medals in the next three years and I don’t know if the race will improve because of that.”
