Biniam Girmay makes start on measured return from Tour of Flanders concussion

Biniam Girmay has started on a gradual path to recovery after his already difficult spring Classics season came to an abrupt halt when the Intermarché-Circus-Wanty rider was concussed in a crash at the Tour of Flanders.

The rider – who is just one name on a long injury list for the team – remained in Belgium after the crash heavy race at the start of April, with his wounds and concussion closely monitored.

“After a last neurological test in the hospital of Uccle last Friday, he received our green lights to return home and continue his rehabilitation in Eritrea," said the team’s head doctor, Ortwin Schäfer. "On Monday he rode on the rollers for 15 minutes for the first time to start up his step by step comeback to sports.”

The 23 year-old Eritrean rider started the spring Classics season among the key names to watch, having broken through with victory at Gent-Wevelgem in 2022. That was a season which included a Giro d’Italia stage win and Girmay also delivered a strong start to 2023, taking out the opening stage of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. The team had an impressively strong early season as well, topping the UCI team rankings early in the year.

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However, hopes for a leap up the results table at Milan-San Remo – after his 12th on debut last year – didn’t materialise as Girmay finished 28th and next it was a DNF at E3 Saxo Classic, where he came fifth last year. Girmay then came 97th at Gent-Wevelgem before the Tour of Flanders crash ended his chances of reviving the spring Classics campaign and also making his Paris-Roubaix debut. Girmay’s plans for 2023, outlined at the start of the year, also include a Tour de France debut.

Girmay was not the only Intermarché rider injured at Tour of Flanders, with Aimé De Gendt fracturing his left elbow therefore unable to race until June, while Taco van der Hoorn suffered a concussion and cut above his right eye. The team said Van der Hoorn, the winner of a Giro d’Italia stage in 2021, is already further along in the build up process than Girmay.

“He can slowly increase the training intensity as long as we can avoid long term effects of concussion,” said Schäfer in a team injury update. “The next weeks will teach us whether a participation in the Tour of Italy is a realistic scenario.”

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty also has a number of other riders injured or ill. Adrien Petit, who fell at Dwars Door Vlaanderen and fractured a bone in his hand, will be able to return to competition in ten days. The team said Hugo Page is still struggling with glandular fever, while Rune Herregodts and Baptiste Planckaert are not back to full health yet after being unwell. Rui Costa will also not be able to participate in La Flèche Wallonne due to a knee problem.

“During the classics our team has been badly affected by crashes, injuries and illness,” said performance manager Aike Visbeek. “In the midst of all this bad luck our young talents took over and showed themselves in a brilliant way.  I’m thinking of Dries De Pooter, Madis Mihkels or Laurenz Rex. We are now focusing on finding stability, aiming to return to our level of the beginning of the season.”