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Giro d'Italia

Biniam Girmay withdraws from the Giro d’Italia

Biniam Girmay will not appear at the start of the eleventh stage of the Tour of Italy in Santarcangelo di Romagna this Wednesday. The winner of the tenth stage, this Tuesday in Jesi, was victim of an incident on the podium. His left eye was hit and after the podium ceremony the Eritrean rider was immediately taken to the hospital in Jesi for medical examinations. These revealed damage in the left eye, which require the utmost care and rest.

So in consultation with the medical and sportive staff, the decision has been made that Biniam Girmay will not start anymore in this Giro d’Italia, which he is leaving with a stage victory, a second place and three other top five finishes. Team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux stays ambitious for this 105th edition of the Giro, with a selection that is able to chase more stage victories and is aiming to finish with one rider in the top ten of the final classification.

Following an incident on the podium, medical examinations revealed a hemorrhage in the anterior chamber of the left eye of Biniam Girmay. His injury is evolving in the right direction and will be followed up by a medical team in the next days. In order to minimize the risk of expansion of the hemorrhage and the intraocular pressure, it is strongly recommended to avoid physical activity. Our priority is a complete healing of the injury and that's why we decided together with the rider and the sports direction that Biniam will not appear at the start of the eleventh stage.

From the opening stage, Biniam Girmay showed that we were right to believe in our chances to win a stage. It is remarkable to see how his teammates go though fire each day to obtain the best possible result and how happy everyone is to work with him. So his victory brought out an intense feeling of euphoria within the team. The news about the incident felt like a cold shower, but Biniam joined us now and we celebrated the victory together. It is of course a pity to loose an element like Biniam, but the advice of the medical team is clear and the health of Biniam is our priority. However, I stay optimistic because the whole team is making an excellent impression since the start of the race. Rein Taaramäe, for example, proved on the Etna that we can be in the mix for the stage win by anticipating, just like last year. I also saw that several riders grew during the first week. In each of the next stages, we'll try to seize opportunities. We'll also continue to focus on the general classification of Domenico Pozzovivo. With his current form and his experience, his chances to finish among the ten best riders are realistic. With Jan Hirt we even have a second rider in the top fifteen of the provisional classification and in the past we have seen that his best performances occur in the third week. This Wednesday we will start with one asset less, but our determination remains unchanged!!

RESULTS

General Classification

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