“Congratulations to Biniam Girmay and Saliem for the birth of their second child,” the team announced on social media. “The team and Biniam decided together that he will skip the Belgian opening weekend and return home to be with his family,” Intermarché confirmed.

Girmay himself shared his joy, expressing his gratitude. “I’m so happy to become a father for the second time. I’m grateful to my team for giving me the opportunity to return to Eritrea and be close to my wife and daughters for this important moment in my life.”

Earlier, we spoke with team manager Aike Visbeek about his team leader. The Belgian squad is determined to secure victories in the classics this year. “Right now, it's all about working on the areas where he still needs improvement. In 2022, he made significant progress by combining racing with solid training,” the Dutchman explained.

“For us, his development mainly comes down to gaining resilience through racing. The second point is his cadence and fluidity, which is partly influenced by his training in Eritrea,” Visbeek added. “Milan-San Remo is 300 kilometers long, with about sixty kilometers of real racing after spending 240 kilometers in the wheels at fifty kilometers per hour. Where Mathieu (Van der Poel, ed.) now has the smoothness to pedal for 250 kilometers, Bini wasn’t quite there yet. These are the details we’re working on.”