Date: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Earlier this year we spoke to Aike Visbeek, sports manager of Intermarché-Wanty. The Dutchman already indicated that Milan-Sanremo would be the absolute main goal of the year for Girmay. Visbeek also knew how the almost 25-year-old sprinter had to prepare for La Primavera . 'For us, the development is mainly about gaining that toughness in the races. Point two is his flexibility and cadence, which also partly comes from his training in Eritrea', the Dutchman explained. 'Milan-Sanremo is 300 kilometers, of which sixty kilometers are raced and you are in the wheels for 240 at fifty per hour. Where Mathieu now also has the flexibility to paddle 250 kilometers, Bini did not have that yet. Those are the details we are working on.'
Preparations for Milan-Sanremo may not have gone entirely as planned for the former green jersey winner. Girmay became a father for the second time earlier this year, which resulted in a trip to his home country of Eritrea. This meant he missed the Opening Weekend, although the Eritrean was certainly not sad about it. 'I am so happy to have become a father for the second time. I am grateful to my team for giving me the opportunity to return to Eritrea, to be close to my wife and daughters for this important moment in my life', Girmay said in late February.
As a result, Girmay will not have raced for exactly one month at the start of Milan-Sanremo next Saturday. Despite this, his motivation remains extremely high. 'It is without a doubt the Monument that he dreams of the most this year', says Maxime Segers, COO of Intermarché-Wanty, to Het Nieuwsblad . He already explained his passion for La Primavera to In de Leiderstrui at the beginning of this year . 'I rode my best wattages on the Poggio and therefore never rode up there so fast, but the others proved to be better again. UAE is there and they make the race harder, but I have the feeling that Milan-Sanremo is the Monument that should suit me best. That is why I continue to aim for a better result', he said at the time.
That desired result will have to be achieved with an unplanned preparation, although according to Seegers there is no question of a lesser preparation. 'During his absence from the peloton he was able to do his thing at home. You can consider it as an extra altitude training camp. He trained well, did everything the trainers asked and his values are also fine. On Monday he returned to Europe and flew directly to Milan. That way he can still explore the course a bit in the coming days.'
On the Via Roma in Sanremo on Saturday, Girmay will have to deal with stalwarts such as Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Tom Pidcock and many more world stars. Despite the incredibly strong competition, Seegers has confidence in his leader. ' Bini is not Pogacar, but he already achieved nice places of honour at the beginning of this season and has already shown several times that he can perform well immediately after a training period in his own country. On the Poggio he came up just short in recent years, but on the descent he always ended up in a nice group. We hope to see him go with the very best this time.'
