Biniam Girmay beats Arne Marit and wins for NSN Cycling in Valencia stage
Biniam Girmay managed to win on his first race day for NSN Cycling. The Eritrean was the fastest in the opening stage of the Tour of Valencia. He beat Arne Marit and Giovanni Lonardi in the sprint.
The 165-kilometer opening stage of the Tour of Valencia secretly contained quite a few elevation meters, but GC contenders like Remco Evenepoel and João Almeida were not expected to attack straight away. The finale was flat, mainly offering opportunities for the sprinters. Unless something happened on the only categorized climb of the day. The top of this Alto de los Madroños – a climb of about three kilometers at just over 5% – was located roughly thirty kilometers from the finish in Torreblanca.
The break of the day consisted of four riders, including Danny van der Tuuk. The rider from Assen, racing for Euskaltel-Euskadi, who has a Polish mother and is currently registered as Polish with the UCI, was joined by Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta), Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma), and Adam Lewis (APS Pro Cycling).
Split in the peloton
The four escapees started the Alto de los Madroños with a lead. Van der Tuuk was first over the top of this climb and thus claimed the mountain jersey, but shortly after, the attackers were caught by a small peloton. Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe had set a strong pace uphill, which significantly thinned out the group.
Notably, João Almeida missed the move. The Portuguese rider would later – together with a large group – bridge back. Mads Pedersen, previously marked as a top favorite for the stage win, was not in this returning group.
Meanwhile, Giulio Pellizzari launched an attack from the first group. The Italian started a solo move, but behind him the organization quickly came into play. It seemed an impossible mission for the climber of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. He held on surprisingly long, but just before the red kite his adventure came to an end. It would come down to a sprint.
Girmay takes it
Uno-X Mobility had a well-organized lead-out for Carl-Frederik Bévort, but Ben Turner made it a long sprint. The British rider from INEOS Grenadiers, however, had Biniam Girmay on his wheel, and the Eritrean could launch his sprint with speed. Although it was still a fair distance to the finish, he managed to hold off the advancing Arne Marit and Giovanni Lonardi by the smallest margin. Thus, he scored a victory immediately on his debut for NSN Cycling.
