TURIN, Italy (AP) — Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay became the first Black African rider to win a Tour de France stage Monday when he sprinted to victory in the third stage.
Meanwhile, Mark Cavendish’s pursuit of a record-breaking 35th stage win was postponed, and Olympic champion Richard Carapaz took the yellow jersey from Tadej Pogacar.
Girmay also made history in Italy two years ago when he won a stage at the Giro d’Italia to become the first Black African to take a victory in a Grand Tour, the term that encompasses the three major three-week races: the Giro, the Tour and the Spanish Vuelta.
But Girmay’s Giro victory was marred when he was rushed to a hospital after getting hit in the left eye by a prosecco cork he popped open during the podium celebration — forcing him to abandon the race.
The 39-year-old Cavendish has been tied with Eddy Merckx on 34 wins for three years and put off retirement to try again this year to break the record. But Cavendish appeared to get slowed by a crash in the finale, although it didn’t appear that the British rider went down.
The mostly flat 231-kilometer (144-mile) leg from Piacenza to Turin — the longest stage of this year’s Tour — provided the first chance for a mass sprint. But there will be at least a handful of other opportunities for sprinters after the race crosses back into France following the first four stages in Italy.
Girmay finished just ahead of Fernando Gaviria and Arnaud De Lie.
Cavendish crossed 113th but was given the same finishing time as Girmay as per rules that neutralize the times in case of crashes in the final five kilometers.
Pogacar dropped to second overall, with the same time as Carapaz, who is the first Ecuadorian rider to wear the yellow jersey.