Biniyam Girmay capped off his excellent start to the season with a runaway victory. The Eritrean from Belgian WorldTour team Intermarché-Wanty set off at convincing speed in a slim race to victory in the Surf Coast Classic, an Australian 1.1 race.
The Surf Coast Classic fills the gap between two WorldTour races: the six-day Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race next Sunday.
At the Tour Down Under, Girmay finished second in the points classification thanks to a group of close honours. Today, after 158 kilometers between Lorne and Torquay, it was a complete success: Jermay was clearly the best of the 25 riders.
He won against Italian Elia Viviani and New Zealander Corbin Strong. Milan Fretin of Cofidis was the best Belgian in fourth place.
Piet Allegart, Friten's teammate, was the second Belgian in the top ten in eighth.
This was the first victory of the early cycling season for both Girmay and Intermarché-Wanty.
The 23-year-old Eritrean made a name for himself in 2022 with wins in Ghent-Wevelgem and a stage in the Tour of Italy, but endured a difficult season last year in which he was unable to live up to high expectations. A hard fall at the Tour of Flanders didn't help either.
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