Intermarché-Wanty

Intermarché-Wanty are relative newcomers to the men’s WorldTour, having joined cycling’s top tier as recently as 2021 when they inherited CCC’s WT licence. Not much was expected of the Belgian outfit in their first year at cycling’s top level, though after they picked up two Grand Tour stage wins with Taco van der Hoorn and Rein Taaramäe they were quickly touted as the best new team on the block.

With a history that they can trace back to 2009 and the Continental-level Willems Verandas squad, they weren’t exactly a ‘new team’ in 2021, but the way in which they rode quickly garnered them legions of new fans from across the globe. Midway through 2021, the team brought in a hot young prospect in Biniam Girmay. Despite being in his early 20s, the Eritrean has become the talisman of the team and has bagged victories in Gent-Wevelgem and the Giro d’Italia in 2022. Girmay also made history himself in these races, becoming the first Black African to win a prestigious Spring Classic 

2023 saw the team take a step back as Girmay’s progression stalled slightly and some of the new signings did not make the splash they hoped. Nevertheless, the step back still included 20 victories and a Grand Tour stage win. Thus, with Girmay likely to bounce back, the expectations for the team can be even higher in 2024.

Tech

Pro Bikes

Tour Down Under pro bike: Biniam Girmay’s Cube Litening Aero C:68X

It’s been a case of ‘so close yet so far’ over the first two stages of the Tour Down Under for 

. The Eritrean star started the race with a runners-up spot before dropping to fourth on 

 as he once again came up agonisingly short.

 rider so far, there will be plenty of opportunities to top the podium over the remaining stages. Leg power alone won’t be enough to triumph though, and Girmay will be partly relying on his Cube Litening Aero C:68X bike.

We caught a glimpse of the bike and his build ahead of stage 1, and there are some interesting features hidden within.

Tour Down Under pro bike: Sam Welsford’s stage 1-winning Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8

While some brands have strayed into superbike territory, Cube is currently sticking to dedicated aero and climbing bikes, with Girmay’s Litening Aero C:68X falling into the former category.

It’s a traditional aero bike that sticks to a tried-and-test formula consisting of deep tube profiles, aggressive geometry and chunky seat and chain stays. This chunky theme also extends to the junction between the head tube and seat tube, plus the stem which is one of the bulkiest we’ve seen. Bigger tubes result in more weight but that doesn’t matter here as the Aero, as the name suggests, is all about being as aerodynamic as possible.

These tube profiles and the overall design, Cube says, were formed using Computer Fluid Dynamics and real-world tunnel testing. The result, according to Cube, is a “30% reduction in drag”. That makes the bike sound fast and, while we can’t verify those numbers, it certainly looks fast, especially when it’s in the hands of Girmay.

Chunkier tubes don’t always make a bike more aerodynamic, though, which has spurred a trend for narrower head tubes. Cube has hopped aboard this trend too and the head tube is noticeably thin, especially compared to the rest of the tubes on the bike.

When looking at the bike, it’s hard not to be drawn to the aforementioned integrated bar and stem. Clearly sticking to the idea that bigger tubes are better, the latter is as wide as the top tube and almost as deep. It really catches the eye, that is if your attention hasn’t already been arrested by the fluorescent bar tape - the team’s bikes aren’t difficult to pick out in the pro peloton.

This bar tape adorns the handlebars which, as is expected on a WorldTour bike, benefit from full integration with no cables in sight. If we’re being honest, there would be no excuses if the cables weren’t integrated considering the size of the stem.

If you can pull your eyes away from the frontal area of the bike, there’s also a nifty piece of tech to be found on the Newmen SL R.65 wheels in the form of the valves…or lack of. On first inspection, there doesn’t appear to be any but don’t be deceived as they are there, they’re just hidden inside the wheel. The main giveaway is a small flap that covers the hole where the valves hide, except it’s a Schrader valve rather than the usual Presta version. While it’s unique to the WorldTour peloton, the tech has been around for a couple of years now and is inspired, unsurprisingly, by aerodynamics.

That’s the unique tech out of the way, but the rest of the build follows modern trends, starting with the Shimano Dura-Ace groupset. Take a walk around the WorldTour peloton and you’ll struggle to find many bikes that aren’t adorned with Shimano drivetrains. That’s because the Japanese brand provides groupsets for 14 of the 18 WorldTour teams and Intermarché-Wanty is one of them.

Girmay’s specific set-up also conformed to current norms, with his 54/40t chainset by far the most popular option in the pro peloton, as is the 11-34t cassette he paired it with.

Sporting a 28mm width, the bike’s Continental Grand Prix 5000 tyres were also on-trend while Girmay’s saddle of choice was the Prologo Dimension Tri.

Gerben Thijssen

Biniam Girmay

Georg Zimmermann

Lorenzo Rota

Mike Teunissen

Arne Marit

Madis Mihkels

Laurenz Rex

Francesco Busatto

Hugo Page

Vito Braet

Louis Meintjes

Rune Herregodts

Lilian Calmejane

Kobe Goossens

Alexy Faure-Prost

Simone Petilli

Boy van Poppel

Dion Smith

Rein Taaramäe

Dries De Pooter

Taco van der Hoorn

Gijs Van Hoecke

Kevin Colleoni

Gerben Kuypers

Roel van Sintmaartensdijk

Tom Paquot

Baptiste Planckaert

Adrien Petit

Racing

News

Race News

Tour Down Under: Even the sprinters couldn’t follow Isaac del Toro, says Girmay

) stage-winning acceleration on stage 2 of the 

, saying even the sprinters in the bunch couldn’t match his move.

 and ostensibly a GC climber, has been showing off his impressive accelerations and sprints in Australia, finishing third in the Down Under Classic before stage 2’s exploits.

Tour Down Under Stage 2: Isaac del Toro stuns the sprinters with a last-minute solo victory

On Wednesday, the small Mexican rider launched in the final kilometre with a move that saw him hold off fast men like Girmay, 

“He did a really good job, at the last moment and at the right time. I think he also had the legs to do that, because no one could follow him, even the sprinters couldn’t catch him,” Girmay said at the finish.

“I think he showed us how strong he is today.”

Isaac del Toro: Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana inspired me to follow my dream

The sheer speed and power of Del Toro’s acceleration was the talk of the bunch at the finish, with several teams and riders expressing their surprise about where the 20-year-old came from and how he managed to hold on to the line.

The only riders who perhaps weren’t surprised, then, were his own teammates, who have witnessed first-hand just what Del Toro can do. As well as winning stage 2, he had been working throughout the race, skilfully leading Finn Fisher-Black out to claim bonus seconds on stage 1, before sprinting for the bonuses himself on stage 2.

“I knew from the last few days that he has a pretty crazy kick on him,” Fisher-Black said after stage 2, praising his new teammate. “You could hear him coming round the side of me on that last little kick, at twice the speed. He could have freewheeled to the line and he still could have won.”

Despite being outdone by Del Toro on stage 2, Girmay’s third- and fourth-placed finishes on stages 1 and 2 saw him move into the points jersey on Wednesday evening, which he took as a positive but had been hoping for more.

“I always like to wear the points jersey, because this is what I work for, so I’m happy today to switch [jerseys],” Girmay said.

“I’m a little bit disappointed [about the sprint], because I tried to survive all the way to the finish line, but unfortunately in the last 500 metres I hit [Julian] Alaphilippe’s foot, and then my wheel was not steady anymore so I lost a bit of speed because of that. Then I couldn’t do my sprint because of that, but to be honest today [Del Toro] was the strongest I think.”

Now in the leader’s jersey, the sprinters will be hoping Isaac del Toro turns his attention to Willunga Hill, Mount Lofty and the chance to show off his climbing on the weekend, rather than causing them any more upsets.

Giro d'Italia: Biniam Girmay crashes twice before abandoning in the wet conditions

 (Intermarché-Wanty) crashed twice in the space of just a few kilometres of 

 before abandoning the race and leaving in an ambulance. 

The former Giro stage winner hit the deck in a mass crash with around 60km to go with 

 (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) among the other riders who hit the deck on the wet roads between Acqui Terme and Andora. 

Girmay was one of the slowest riders to start again after the crash and could be seen taking medical attention at the side of the road with bandages applied to his right thigh. He eventually remounted a new bike but crashed again as he descended alone. 

The second crash showed Girmay hitting the other side of his body before turning onto his right side for a second time. He was quickly back to his feet but after a long discussion with his team director, news came through that the 24-year-old had abandoned the race.

Girmay came into the Giro d'Italia chasing his second career stage win having won a stage in 2022. He finished third on stage 3 behind winner Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).

For everything you need to know about the 2024 Giro d'Italia, from the

Mihkels and Thijssen fined time and money for Guangxi racist gesture

Almost four months on from the incident which left a dark cloud over 

, the UCI has closed the case on the racist gesture performed by the former at the 

, whilst Intermarché-Wanty have completed their own disciplinary measures.

Initially withdrawn from the race after Thijssen had uploaded a photo to social media showing his teammate performing a ‘slanted eyes’ gesture whilst in China, the pair subsequently avoided a ban from racing but were instead imposed a fine by the UCI and instructed to attend an anti-racism educational course.

Mihkels and Thijssen escape bans after racist gestures at Tour of Guangxi

As of the end of last year, it was not yet known what steps Intermarché-Wanty would take to discipline the two riders, but it has come to light that the pair have been fined for both their time and money. As reported by 

, the Belgian WorldTour team asked Mihkels and Thijssen to spend a day with the Ardent Group Cycling Academy and make a financial contribution to the running costs of the Intermarché-linked junior racing programme.

The pair have since made good on both instructions and will now continue their Intermarché-Wanty careers. Financial and time contributions to the Ardent Group Cycling Academy were seen as satisfactory, “in order to position themselves as an example for the youth,” a team spokesperson told Cyclingnews.

The team’s chief operating officer was keen to reiterate the team’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, with Maxime Segers pointing to the squad’s international roster of talent.

“With more than 15 nationalities from different continents in our staff and riders, our team insist on the diversity and wants to include all communities," he said.

At the time of the incident in October, Intermarché initially only withdrew Mihkels from the Tour of Guangxi, but were quick to include Thijssen once public sentiment became clear. The team also offered a sincere apology to the Chinese fans, racers and organisers.

Mihkels and Thijssen pulled from Tour of Guangxi over racist photo

With the UCI’s verdict coming down a month later, neither the extent of the fine nor details of the education course in question were revealed, but cycling’s governing body has since confirmed to Cyclingnews that both Mihkels and Thijssen have complied with the requests.

“Both riders cooperated fully by each organising and completing an anti-discrimination course and paying the respective fine. The UCI has received relevant documentation related to the completion of the anti-discrimination course and has therefore been able to close the cases,” said a UCI representative.

The case is now closed for the UCI and Intermarché-Wanty.

Mihkels, soon to turn 21 years of age, made his season debut in the recent races in Australia and Thijssen won 

 as part of the Challenge Mallorca series last week. The 25-year-old is set to ride the 

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Name	Age	UCI Career Wins	UCI Points
Gerben Thijssen	25	15	1108
Biniam Girmay	24	12	972
Georg Zimmermann	26	5	961
Lorenzo Rota	28	2	766
Mike Teunissen	31	12	741

Intermarché-Wanty

Intermarché-Wanty

The Team

Team Bikes

Tour Down Under pro bike: Biniam Girmay’s Cube Litening Aero C:68X

Top Intermarché-Wanty Stories

Tour Down Under: Even the sprinters couldn’t follow Isaac del Toro, says Girmay

Giro d'Italia: Biniam Girmay crashes twice before abandoning in the wet conditions

Mihkels and Thijssen fined time and money for Guangxi racist gesture

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