Tour de Suisse: Girmay grabs stage 2 win ahead of Démare and Van Aert

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) burst from the pack to take a well-deserved win on stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse.

The Intermarché sprinter, who has only raced a handful of days since a serious crash at the Tour of Flanders in April, came over the top of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) with around 150m to go before holding off a late charge from second placed rider Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ).

Van Aert was forced to settle for third. Overnight leader Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) finished safely in the pack to keep his yellow jersey. 

With two time trials and a cluster of mountain stages in the Tour de Suisse, stage 2 represented a rare chance for the pure sprinters. Girmay, who last tasted victory in February on stage 1 of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, held his nerve in a messy and congested sprint into Nottwil. Without a single team able or willing to truly take charge of the final few kilometres the momentum at the front of the race swung between a number of squads before Team DSM hit the front with exactly 1,000m to go.

Van Aert, who had contested several bonus sprints during the stage, opened his final dart to the line with well over 300m to go, and although the Belgian looked comfortable as he surged clear of the pack it was Girmay who timed his sprint perfectly. The Intermarché rider was expertly brought up to Van Aert’s wheel in the closing 800m by Mike Teunissen before drifting onto Ivan Cortina Garcia’s (Movistar) rear wheel. An initial acceleration from Girmay drew him up to Van Aert, who by now was running on fumes. Then with the line finally in view Girmay kicked for a second time, pushing clear of his rivals and holding off a late surge from Démare.

“When I crossed the line I was surprised. Still with the hard crash that I had two months ago I didn’t have enough time to train to be in shape but I’m just surprised with myself,” Girmay said.

Girmay’s win ensured that he became the first Eritrean to win a stage at the Tour de Suisse. At the finish he was mobbed by supporters who draped him in his national flag.

“It means a lot to win in front of my people. I’m so happy. We still have six days to go so I just need to focus on the upcoming days.”

Retiring home rider Michael Schär (AG2R Citroën) and Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) had provided the early entertainment, solidifying an early break as the stage left Beromünster for a 173.7km stretch to Nottwil.

With 65km to go the gap held at a steady 2:35 before a number of sprinters’ teams began to organise a cohesive chase. The peloton slowly brought the two-man move into submission, even after a major crash with 30km to go threatened the main group’s progress.

On the final climb before the finish Jumbo-Visma lifted the pace, first with Sam Oomen and then Wilco Kelderman hitting the front. The Dutch team’s impetus ended the break’s final resistance with 24km remaining, and while a number of attacks came from the peloton the race was always destined to be decided in a bunch sprint. 

At the line Girmay proved to be both the fastest and the most patient, allowing the likes of Van Aert to surge clear before showing his rivals a clean pair of heels.