Biniam produced his best sprint of the race so far to finish second behind Tim Merlier (SOQ) on Saturday afternoon, one day after finishing third in Bordeaux.
He says: “I think today I need to be happy with my result. If you see Merlier and me, we came from far back. He was fast – I followed him, but I could not pass him.
“If you see the last two sprints we did, I’ve been getting closer. I’m proud to launch my sprint today – I just started from far behind, which cost me the opportunity to go for victory.
“What Merlier did was super strong, so congratulations to him, but my shape and speed are there. I’m happy with my form.”
However, there appeared to be a real possibility that the sprinters would be denied the opportunity to fight for the win, as breakaway rider Liam Slock (LOI) produced a huge ride having been part of the day’s original three-man escape group.
After George Bennett, Krists Neilands, Matîs Louvel, and Marco Frigo had helped keep the trio in check, our riders had to dig deep to ensure Slock’s bid for glory proved unsuccessful.
Second at the finish – which was worth 50 points – and eighth at the intermediate sprint saw Biniam close the gap to green jersey leader Mads Pedersen to just 25 points, down from 77 two stages ago.
The lone leader was caught with 1.7 kilometers remaining, and despite having ground to make up on the likes of Olav Kooij (DCT) and Jasper Philipsen (APT), Biniam showed his form with an eye-catching sprint.
“We were a bit annoyed about coming close yesterday, and we feel the same again today,” says Head DS Sam Bewley. “The guys were great and Bini showed again he’s capable of winning. Obviously, Merlier is fast, but the guys are really confident that we can pull it off.
