Cancellara's Classics Column: Surprised but not surprised by Girmay

KOKSIJDE, BELGIUM - MARCH 18: Pascal Ackermann of Germany and UAE Team Emirates celebrates winning during the 20th Bredene Koksijde Classic 2022 a 200,9km one day race from Bredene to Koksijde / #bredenekoksijde / on March 18, 2022 in Koksijde, Belgium. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Fabian Cancellara)

When Biniam Girmay crossed the line first on Sunday after winning Gent-Wevelgem, I was surprised, but also not surprised.

On the one hand, he stunned not only the cycling world, but the whole history of the sport. This is a huge moment for African cycling and a huge moment in our sport.

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Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara is an ex-professional cyclist who raced from 2001 to 2016 for Mapei, Fassa Bortolo, CSC and Trek. One of a select trio of riders to have won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders three times, alongside arch rival Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw, he is the only racer who can add the Strade Bianche triple to that glittering statistic – first across the line in Siena at four year intervals between 2008 and 2016."Spartacus" was also a formidable time trialist: four times world champion, twice Olympic champion,  his final race as a professional cyclist came in the TT at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he triumphed over second-placed Tom Dumoulin by a staggering 47 seconds. Alongside various business interests – and being a Cyclingnews columnist, of course – Cancellara is a founder of the Tudor Pro Cycling team, currently racing at UCI Pro Team level.