Biniam Girmay Makes History with Stage 3 Victory at the 2024 Tour de France on Speedy Bunch Sprint Finish

 

On a radiant day in the Po Valley of Italy's Piedmont region, Biniam Girmay and his Intermarché–Wanty teammates 

Girmay sprinted to an authoritative victory, becoming the first Ethiopian to win a stage at the Tour de France.

Fabien Grellier (TotalEnergies) looked to hold off the pack, but was eventually caught with 17 km to go from the finish, where the race came together.

Teams began jockeying for position at the 10 km mark, while Mathieu van der Poel, the main lead out man for Alpecin-Deceuninck had unfortunate mechanical issues 6 km out from the finish. This was a big blow for Jasper Philipsen, van der Poel's teammate, who was expected to contest victory at the finish on the day.

The final 5 km highlighted the testy nature of the day, and Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) took a fall. 

With 1.5 kilometers to go, a hectic bunch sprint approach to the finish created a crash which disrupted a number of riders. The Israel-Premier Tech team was particularly affected by the crash.

1 km from the finish, the race was Sam Bennett's to lose during the reduced bunch spring, with Arnaud de Lie and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) in good position.

Mads Pedersen made the first jump for the final push, but was unable to hold on as Biniam Girmay (Intermarche) began a charge on the right side of the course next to the barrier in the final two hundred meters, finishing a full bike length ahead of the rest of the pack. Timing his final kick at the perfect time, 

Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) finished in second, followed by Arnaud de Lie (Lotto-Dstny) in third, and Mads Pedersen was fourth. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco-AlUla) appearaed frustrated, having received some close contact with Arnaud de Lie on the finish. Mark Cavendish was not in the lead group that contested the win but Cavendish crossed the line on his bike with  his Astana-Qazaqstan teammates.

Richard Carapaz (EF) was able to finish close enough to the front on the day to take over the Maillot Jaune as the overall leader of the 2024 Tour de France after Stage 3. Tadej Pogačar (UAW Team Emirates) is second after Stage 3, and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) is in third overall. Evenepoel also tops the Best Young Rider category going onto Stage 4.

Jonas Abrahamsen continues a strong performance, with the lead in the points category as well as the King of the Mountains category. He will wear the green jersey on Stage 4 of the 2024 Tour de France.

Stage 4 will be a 139.6 km route in the mountains from Pinerolo to Valloire.