Biniam Girmay sprinted to his third victory at this year’s Tour de France, while overall contender Primoz Roglic lost significant time after a late crash on stage 12.
Eritrean rider Girmay, 24, who made history as the first Black African to win a Tour de France stage with his victory on stage three, also triumphed on stage eight. Riding for Intermarche-Wanty, he beat Wout van Aert in a bunch sprint in Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Mark Cavendish initially finished fifth but was relegated.
Tadej Pogacar retained the leader’s yellow jersey, maintaining a one-minute six-second lead over Remco Evenepoel, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard eight seconds further behind.
Podium contender Roglic, who finished with a ripped jersey and a bloodied shoulder, dropped from fourth to sixth in the general classification after losing two minutes 27 seconds following a late crash.
Pogacar, of UAE Team Emirates, was also delayed by an early crash in the peloton, necessitating a bike change but re-joining the main group without further issues.
The 203.6km route from Aurillac to Villeneuve-sur-Lot presented one of the last opportunities for a bunch sprint, assuming the sprinter’s teams could control any potential breakaway.
A four-man group including Groupama-FDJ riders Valentin Madouas and Quentin Pacher, Jonas Abrahamsen of Uno-X Mobility, and Total Energies’ Anthony Turgis opened a three-and-a-half-minute gap over the peloton. This move was neutralized with more than 40km remaining, setting up a sprint finish where Girmay asserted his position as the fastest sprinter in this year’s race.
Girmay extended his lead in the green jersey points classification, establishing a 111-point advantage over Jasper Philipsen. “The green jersey gives me wings – I feel super fast. It’s in the head. I’ve had my ups and downs in recent seasons but I changed things this year and it’s working,” Girmay said.
With 12km remaining, Alexey Lutsenko crashed, taking down Slovenian Roglic. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider was one minute 31 seconds behind the podium but now trails by three minutes 28 seconds. Reacting to Roglic’s incident, race leader Pogacar said, “It is really devastating. He was in very good shape already and I could feel he was getting better with every stage. I’m pretty sure he would have been fighting for the GC in the next few days.”
Both Astana Qazaqstan rider Cavendish and Arnaud Demare of Arkea-B&B Hotels were relegated for illegal moves in the sprint.
Stage 13 on Friday is a relatively flat 165.3km route from Agen to Pau. As the race enters the Pyrenees, the hilly terrain near the finish could challenge the sprinters. This stage and stage 16 in Nimes are the last two expected opportunities for sprinters to secure victories in this year’s race.
