ERITREAN BINIAM GIRMAY sprinted to victory in stage three of the Tour de France as Richard Carapaz took the overall race lead in Turin.
Ecuador’s Carapaz took the yellow jersey from overnight leader Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia. The pair are level on time. Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard are third and fourth.
Ireland’s Sam Bennett placed ninth after a tight finish, looking visibly frustrated after failing to find a gap approaching the finish line. Ben Healy was 37th.
Intermarche rider Girmay, 24, who gave the Belgian team its first success on the Tour, is the third African to win on the Grande Boucle after South Africans Daryl Impey and Rob Hunter.
Multiple tour winner Chris Froome was born in Kenya but competed for Britain.
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒆 💥
— Eurosport (@eurosport) July 1, 2024
Biniam Girmay wins Stage 3 of the Tour de France with a fantastic sprint finish ⚡️ @GrmayeBiniam | @IntermarcheW | #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/OqDgcdhcFG
Girmay won ahead of the Colombian Fernando Gaviria and Belgian Arnaud De Lie in a chaotic finale marked by a late fall as the riders hit speeds of around 65kph in the dash to the line.
The crash, in which the big favourite for the sprint Jasper Philipsen was involved, created a break in the peloton.
Two-time race winner Pogacar, gunning for a historic Giro-Tour double, did not fall but was delayed.
After two sweltering stages, the skies were shrouded grey entering the northern Italian industrial city.
Girmay is more than just a sprinter, and was aided in his victory by the absence of stage favourite Philipsen.
He signalled his coming of age in 2022 when he became the first African to win a one-day classic at Gent-Wevelgem, aged 21.
It was his second Grand Tour stage win after the Giro d’Italia in 2022 where he injured an eye opening a bottle of prosecco on the podium.
R.I.P. gone to that Grandstand in the sky.
The voice of many moments of sports history.
To be honest A question of Sport was never the same without him when he left .
Class Commentator with a strong Irish connection – called some great and famous events – set such a high standard for his craft !
A fantastic voice to listen to,one of those unique ones that you would pick out in an instant without seeing a face. may he RIP.Ya kinda know you’re getting old yourself when you remember all these fantastic commentators from the pre SKY Sports era,the likes of Dickie Davis,John Motson,Jimmy Hill,Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves. Used to love the Saint and Greavsie show,ah happy memories come flooding back to simpler times. I’ll finish with one of his legendary gaffes,made me smile,hope it does the same for you. “And here’s Moses Kiptanui – the 19-year-old Kenyan who turned 20 a few weeks ago”.
Don’t forget oul harry carpenter. .another with a remarkably distinctive voice.
And Bill Mc Laren, and Peter O Sullivan. The BBC produced sone great commentators.
RIP shur we all grew up with him.
He was a great commentator, he could make a boring match exciting.
My dad says he remembers watching a program in 1964 called sportsnight on BBC and the TV picture was very fuzzy the host was David Coleman.
A word way over used these days but he is a true legend
Class act. R.I.P.
RIP another ledgendary BBC commentator….
His name lives on in Colmanballs at the Private Eye
Very distinctive commentator. Reminded me of Brian Moore, another class act.
The BBC/ITV have been blessed with some great commentators down through the years, Dan Maskell, David Coleman, Brian Moore, Ted Lowe, John Motson, Barry Davies, David Vine, Tony Gubba, and Murray Walker to name a few. David Coleman was one of the greats, and is yet another one of the great commentators now no longer with us, may he rest in peace. Finally for those who know their commentators, this is a list of the top ten commentators of all time as voted by readers of the Daily Mail in 2009.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1131862/THE-LIST-10-1-favourite-sports-commentators-time.html.
Grandstand on Saturday was brilliant,a great commentator,rest In peace.
“Don’t tell those coming in on the final result of that fantastic match, but let’s just have another look at Italy’s winning goal.”
R.I.P David, many great commentaries over the years.