Biniam Girmay is confident he can return to his Tour de France sprinting success of 2024, believing his speed, lead-out, the race route and even his tyres are all in his favour this year.
Girmay moved from Intermarché-Wanty to NSN during the winter as the Belgian team merged with Lotto, and Spanish footballer Andrés Iniesta and global investment platform Stoneweg co-founded the NSN team after the acquisition and rebrand of the troubled Israel-Premier Tech team.
Girmay won three stages and the green points jersey in 2024 but didn't win all season in 2025, his best result a second place in Lille on the opening day of the Tour de France. He has not won a WorldTour race since the 2024 Tour but showed a flash of his speed and NSN's leadout ability by beating Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) at the recent Baloise Belgium Tour.
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He wasn't afraid to lay the blame on Intermarché for his lack of success on his former teams, and even their tyres.
"I have stronger teammates and a stronger leadout," he said at NSN's special team event in a central Barcelona hotel, with team owner Iniesta sitting alongside him.
"The equipment is more or less the same, but we do have better tyres. I mention this because I didn't have the best tyres last year. As a bike rider, the tyres are really important because that's how you connect to the tarmac. So we have good tyres, and so that's why my results are better this year than in 2025."
Girmay has Jake Stewart as his new leadout man, with Lewis Askey, Tom Van Asbroeck, and Matis Louvel all part of the sprint lead and protection train. The NSN Tour selection also includes Krists Neilands, George Bennett, and debutant Marco Frigo, who will have freedom to fight for stage wins in the hills and mountains.
"Everybody's in top shape; that also makes a big difference, because as a team, we need to have everybody at the same level at the same time. We saw that in the last couple of days we raced together. That's good confidence. So let's hope we continue like that for the next 21 days."
NSN sports director Sam Bewley sees five or six sprint opportunities once the Tour completes the stages in Catalunya and crosses the Pyrenees into France.
Stage 5 to Pau is expected to be the first sprint finish of the 2026 Tour de France.
"We have big dreams: to win a stage and then also try to win the green jersey. This year, we have really strong teammates compared to the past three years. I'm super happy and super motivated to start here in Barcelona," Girmay, not afraid to use his elbows against his former teams as if he was fighting in a sprint finish.
"My best performance in the sprints was in 2024, when we started in Italy. We had some really hot and super hard stages. That hurt the heavier guys more than me, and I could handle the heat, too. Maybe I'll have a similar benefit this year, with the start in Barcelona and in the heat. This year's race route design could be good for me and allow me to do my best sprints."
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