On Saturday 4 May, Intermarché-Wanty will line up at the start of the fourth Giro d’Italia: on the road to the capital, the Walloon World Team aims to return to winning ways, as it did on three memorable occasions in the three previous editions.
THE TEAM
Two years after his sensational debut at the Giro d’Italia, Biniam Girmay makes his return to the Giro. In 2022 the Eritrean cyclist wrote a page of history by becoming the first Black African rider to win a stage of a Grand Tour by winning in Jesi, as well as having obtained five other placings in the top 5 in the first week and several days in the jersey white and cyclamen shirt.
To support him in the sprint stages, he can count on the experience of Adrien Petit and Dion Smith, with whom he completed the Tour de France last year. The Frenchman will discover the Giro, his seventh Grand Tour, just like Smith, who recently took his first World Team podium at the Tour de Romandie.
For Lilian Calmejaneanother expert element of the selection led by Aike Visbeek, Steven De Neef and Pieter Vanspeybrouck, this second participation in the Giro d’Italia is the opportunity to complete the trilogy and become part of the small group of stage winners in the three Grand Tours .
Four young talents will make their debut in this Giro, including the climber from Lombardy Kevin Colleoni, who will race close to home in week two. Dries De Pooter and Madis Mihkels, who joined the Walloon structure together in 2022, take a new step in their development at the ages of 21 and 20 respectively. In the end, Roel van Sintmaartensdijkwho will turn 23 during the first week, is the first rider from the Wanty-ReUz-Technord development project to be selected for a Grand Tour.
Aike Visbeek, rperformance manager, explains: «We are approaching the start of the Giro d’Italia with the ambition to win a stage. With Biniam Girmay we focus on all sprint opportunities, particularly those at the start of the Giro with a hilly profile, which suit him more. He also has chances on the flat stages tailor-made for pure sprinters, as he demonstrated again this year in Australia and at Tirreno-Adriatico. Many teams present themselves at the Giro with the same ambition as us, the list of sprinters in this edition is exceptionally qualitative and long. This will no doubt have an impact on the way the race is run, with numerous sprint trains and chaotic finishes. So it’s a plus that Biniam is surrounded by experienced riders to guide him. Pcan count on the support of Adrien Petit and Dion Smith, who bring their common experience from last summer’s Tour de France, as well as the advice of our sprint coach Pieter Vanspeybrouck. With his third place in the Tour de Romandie on Sunday, Smith confirmed that he is in good shape. Just like them, our young talent Madis Mihkels has already done a great job this season, for Biniam in the Surf Coast Classic.”
And again: «We will also look for opportunities in the transition phases, with other profiles such as Lilian Calmejane, who won the Tour and the Vuelta thanks to a breakaway. The absence of Simone Petilli due to a fall a few weeks ago It is obviously regrettable. Last year he came close to winning the stage on Gran Sasso. But the absences of Simone e Gerben Thijssen they have created opportunities for our young talents, who will be able to take advantage of their first Grand Tour. Like Laurenz Rex and Arne Marit in the previous edition, our young riders like Mihkels, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, Dries De Pooter and Kevin Colleoni will be able to discover a three-week race without any pressureand they will emerge from this Giro richer and with much more confidence, since it represents an important stage in their development.”
