From victory to panic: Girmay and Groenewegen flee overwhelming fans after podium ceremony

Biniam Girmay has had a busy period. The Eritrean representing Intermarché-Wanty rode the Tour de France for three weeks, winning three stages and the green jersey, and then participated in many post-Tour criteriums. In between, he also competed in the Olympic time trial in Paris.

The day after the Tour, Girmay started the post-Tour criterium in Aalst, Belgium. On Tuesday, he raced in Roeselare, and on Wednesday evening, Girmay made his first appearance in the Netherlands, in Chaam, located in the province of Brabant. In Herentals, the African rider crossed the finish line first for the first time that week, allowing him to take it easy on Friday. The reason: Saturday he was set to start the Olympic time trial in Paris.

In the time trial, the 24-year-old rider clocked the 29th time, more than four minutes behind winner Remco Evenepoel. The fast man would undoubtedly want to improve that result in the road race of the Games. In fact, the sprinter with classic qualities is one of the top favorites. His last race appearance was the Monday after the time trial in Roosendaal, where he competed in the Dutch post-Tour criterium called 'Draai van de Kaai'.

Girmay fans go all out to cheer him on

Whenever Girmay is at the start of a race, his many loyal fans are present as well. In Roosendaal, the street where the finish was located was full of large groups of Eritrean fans who came solely to cheer on their idol Biniam. With large flags, scarves and umbrellas, they created a vibrant atmosphere at the location where the start and finish took place.

Busting out many dance moves, singing and cheering, the Bini fans attracted a lot of attention, not only from the other spectators but also from the riders at the start, who rarely experience such an atmosphere at the beginning of a race. The start, around 8:00 PM, was not much later than planned this time. That was different in Chaam, where Girmay also participated and finished second.

There, the popular rider was somewhat forced to stand amidst dozens of fans around him just before the start, all wanting a photo with their idol. The jury had to intervene. Otherwise, even more supporters would have stormed the course. "This is the last photo, and then we really have to go," said announcer Laurens van de Klundert one minute before the start in Chaam.

Text continues below the video of festivities in Roosendaal.

Announcer in Roosendaal dares not mention Girmay's name: "Then the place goes wild"

The madness we saw in Chaam continued in Roosendaal. Every time Girmay's name was mentioned, the African fans went wild. Girmay at the front of the peloton? Girmay in the breakaway? Girmay wins a supersprint? The announcers mentioned all of these events, of course. The result: cheers and screams that could be heard on the other side of the course.

The jury members at the jury bus visibly enjoyed it. With broad smiles, they looked around because the Eritrean fans were everywhere. At one point, the sound was everywhere too. "He’s at the front of the peloton. We won’t mention his name, because then the place goes wild here," we heard over the sound system when they were talking about Girmay.

The enthusiasm among the (African) audience was clear on their faces. With many phones in hand, everyone hoped to capture a good picture of their hero Bini. The organization had a difficult time at the finish. Girmay sprinted for the victory, which he settled in favor of Dylan Groenewegen and Olav Kooij, causing the Eritrean fans to go wild. Volunteers at the crossroads had to prevent the supporters from jumping onto the course in joy, searching for their winner. After all, other riders still had to finish.

Text continues below the video of the finish of the Draai van de Kaai.

Groenewegen and Girmay end up in "frightening" chase after ceremony

The riders who wanted to do a victory lap after the finish were out of luck. It was no longer possible: the course was already full of people dressed in green, red and blue (the colors of the Eritrean flag). After the podium ceremony, Girmay was supposed to go to the changing facilities in the stadium of the Dutch soccer club RBC Roosendaa.

When they entered the locker room, usually intended for the referees, Groenewegen and Girmay were relieved. "That was frightening," panted Groenewegen, who then recounted his story to some other riders. "When hundreds of fans with large flags are running after you... I got scared. And then the gates were closed," said the Amsterdam rider, who found the situation he was in quite remarkable.

"So we quickly lifted the bikes over the fence and rode on," he continued. "I think they're all outside here." Girmay himself came out of the toilet after the second-place finisher's story, as if it didn't bother him much. "This was scary, huh?" asked Groenewegen. "Yeah, yeah, always," was the response from the man whom all the fuss was about.

Text continues below the video.

Bini fans come from all over the country for a photo and a glimpse of their idol

If anything resembles Biniam Girmay, his fans jump on it. In Chaam, teammate Huub Artz was also participating in the race. The young rider was swarmed by Bini fans after the finish, who from a distance mistook Artz for their idol Girmay. To their great disappointment, they realized it wasn't their big hero and so they continued their search. The same happened in Roosendaal.

Some supporters arrived late at night at the stadium, where the riders gathered before and after the race to shower and change. Unfortunately, the organization had to disappoint them: Girmay had left ten minutes earlier in his green Skoda, which he now owns after winning the green jersey.

The Draai van de Kaai organization was delighted with Girmay's presence. Not only because of the many African fans who created a great atmosphere from all over the Netherlands and Belgium (currently, over 25,000 people from Eritrea live in the Netherlands), but also because of the filming of a documentary about the cyclist's family, for which the organizing committee hoped to get beautiful footage of their race. The Eritrean audience certainly provided some great scenes from the race.

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