Even though the 159 kilometer between Auffargis and Orléans didn’t contain any difficulties on paper, the force of the wind set the second stage of Paris-Nice (2.UWT) on fire this Monday.
Eritrean sprinter Biniam Girmay, who took sixth place in the opening stage, lined up in the white young rider’s jersey and perfectly joined the first echelon when crosswinds split the peloton with 100 kilometer to go.
Girmay was together with Loïc Vliegen part of this first group which caught the early breakaway at full speed, until they were involved in a crash and lost the connection with 70 kilometer to go.
Without giving up, Biniam Girmay fought until the finish and the 21 year old reached the line in the second chasing group, 1’29 after the winner.
On Tuesday, an explosive final awaits the peloton in Dun-le-Palestel (Creuse) at the end of a 190 kilometer stage. The second race half contains three climbs of third category.
« We performed well in the opening stage, so it was disappointing to see our chances go up in smoke because of a crash today. Biniam Girmay, Rein Taaramäe and Loïc Vliegen were part of the first echelon and without the incident they probably would have sprinted for the victory in the first group. We can expect another very intense stage on Tuesday and the explosive finish suits Biniam even better than the two opening stages. So the whole team will be ready again to fight with him for the stage win, our goal in this Paris-Nice. »
