BINIAM GIRMAY PULLED out of the Giro d’Italia before the start of Wednesday’s stage 11 after injuring his eye while celebrating his historic win on Tuesday.
Girmay became the first black African to win a stage of a Grand Tour when he beat Mathieu van der Poel in a reduced sprint in Jesi, but his celebrations were cut short when he was struck in the eye by the cork from a Prosecco bottle on the podium.
The 22-year-old spent several hours at a local hospital before being able to enjoy dinner with his Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux team-mates but, as confirmed on Wednesday morning, his debut Grand Tour is now over.
“Yesterday when I arrived (at the hotel) after the hospital, the bad moment, I enjoyed it a bit with my team-mates, the staff, everybody,” Girmay said in a video posted by the team.
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“I am happy now, I was a bit sad about what happened with the champagne but when I came back they were super happy.
“But today unluckily I didn’t start the race because still, my eye, I need some rest to give more power to the eye. I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season. Thank you to everybody who supported me and pushed me. I’m OK now. See you soon.”
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Girmay withdraws from Giro after champagne cork mishap
BINIAM GIRMAY PULLED out of the Giro d’Italia before the start of Wednesday’s stage 11 after injuring his eye while celebrating his historic win on Tuesday.
Girmay became the first black African to win a stage of a Grand Tour when he beat Mathieu van der Poel in a reduced sprint in Jesi, but his celebrations were cut short when he was struck in the eye by the cork from a Prosecco bottle on the podium.
The 22-year-old spent several hours at a local hospital before being able to enjoy dinner with his Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux team-mates but, as confirmed on Wednesday morning, his debut Grand Tour is now over.
“Yesterday when I arrived (at the hotel) after the hospital, the bad moment, I enjoyed it a bit with my team-mates, the staff, everybody,” Girmay said in a video posted by the team.
“I am happy now, I was a bit sad about what happened with the champagne but when I came back they were super happy.
“But today unluckily I didn’t start the race because still, my eye, I need some rest to give more power to the eye. I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season. Thank you to everybody who supported me and pushed me. I’m OK now. See you soon.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
eye-popping Giro d'Italia