Tour de France history-maker Biniam Girmay is gearing up for another run at cycling’s most prestigious sprint title, bringing fresh ambition, a new squad, and the backing of football World Cup champion Andres Iniesta to this year’s race.
It has been two years since the 26-year-old Eritrean cyclist etched his name into the record books at the 2024 Tour de France, when he became the first black African rider to claim a stage victory, then went on to secure the event’s green jersey — cycling’s top honor for sprinters — as the first African rider ever to win the classification. After five seasons with Belgium’s Intermarche-Wanty team, Girmay made a high-profile move last December, signing a three-year deal with NSN Cycling, a squad co-founded by former Spanish international and Barcelona icon Iniesta, who lifted the 2010 FIFA World Cup trophy with his national side.
“I am super happy and super motivated to start, to go for stage wins, and chase the green jersey,” Girmay told BBC Sport Africa. “This has been our main goal since the beginning of this season. I have stronger team-mates and a stronger lead-out compared to last year. That is why my results are better. We have worked so hard for this event and we want to achieve what we have planned.”
This year’s Tour kicks off with a blistering 20km team time trial in the searing heat of Barcelona, followed by a third stage that cuts across the Pyrenees — a tough opening that will test specialist sprinters from the very first day. But Girmay, who grew up in East Africa, says the hot, harsh conditions may work to his advantage. “If you look at my best sprint performances, they were in the 2024 Tour de France, and we had two super hard and hot stages to start in Italy. That’s harder for the others – this is potentially also a benefit for me this year, as I can survive the heat better. We have hot and hard stages to begin right after the team time trial.”
Backed by a joint venture between Swiss investment firm Stoneweg and Iniesta’s Never Say Never sports promotion company, NSN Cycling boasts a far larger budget and stronger resource pool than Girmay’s former team, and the early returns on the move have already been positive. Ahead of this year’s Tour, Girmay has notched three wins at UCI-sanctioned races, and claimed the overall green points classification at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana. After taking third in the green jersey standings at last year’s Tour, he is confident his new setup puts him in position to compete for the top prize once again.
“I’ve had enough preparation for this year’s race, especially compared to previous years,” he said. “We also have everybody more or less in the same shape. That also makes a big difference because, as a team, we need to have everybody at the same level.”
All eyes will be on Girmay when the race reaches its first dedicated sprint stages. Most cycling analysts peg the fifth stage, which runs from Lannemezan to Pau in southwestern France, as his first real opportunity to showcase his speed. NSN’s tactical team will be keeping close tabs on his main rivals: Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech and Tim Merlier of Soudal-QuickStep, the two other top sprinters in this year’s field. Even earlier, Girmay could make an impact on the grueling 195.9km third stage, which ends with a 1.7km climb at a 7% gradient — a challenge that should play to his strengths as the strongest climber among the race’s top sprinters.
As the only African rider competing in this year’s Tour, Girmay carries the hopes of his home continent on his shoulders, but he says the next generation of Eritrean cycling talent is already on track to join him at cycling’s biggest event. He singled out 20-year-old Milkias Maekele, a fellow sprinter who claimed a dominant solo victory at the Eritrean National Road Championships last month. A product of the same Asmara-based As.Be.Co development program that launched Girmay’s career, Maekele spent 2025 with Germany’s UCI Continental Team Bike Aid — a squad with a long track record of supporting emerging African talent — and earned a promotion to the development team of top-tier World Tour squad Netcompany Ineos after just one standout season.
Girmay says the 6-foot-tall young sprinter has all the makings of a future star. “He has a strong mind for racing, a truly winning mentality. I am super happy for him for winning the national championships. He really deserved it as he raced very well.”
Eritrea already stands as Africa’s most successful cycling nation, with four other Eritrean riders competing at the World Tour level, including fan-favorites Henok Mulubrhan of XDS Astana and Natnael Tesfatsion of Movistar. But Girmay remains the undisputed face of African cycling, and a second green jersey win would only cement his legacy. For the coming weeks of the Tour, expect to see hundreds of Eritrean flags waving at every sprint finish as the history-making rider chases another milestone.