Biniam
Girmay

Debrief

The final-week mountains, where the green jersey settled for good. The hoped-for Stage 17 sprint never delivered the miracle, Pedersen answered as he had all Tour, and across the high Alps and the twin ascents of Alpe d'Huez there was nothing for a sprinter to score. Girmay rode the grupetto, banked his 3rd place, and pointed his last hopes at Paris. AssessmentBy the final rest of the Tour the podium of the points classification was fixed: Pedersen champion, Philipsen 2nd, Girmay 3rd.

Preview

A savage summit finish, 11.3 km at over 9%, capping the first Alpine block. Pure GC terrain, nothing for a sprinter but the time cut.

Debrief

Evenepoel won atop Solaison ahead of Pogačar and Del Toro, in a day that reshaped the GC podium. For green it was a non-event: Girmay rode the grupetto home and scored nothing, as did Philipsen. AssessmentNo change between the two, but the gap to Pedersen sits at 56 and the days to claw it back are running out.

Preview

Seven climbs through the Vosges. The intermediate sits deep in the hills, exactly the profile Pedersen can reach and Girmay cannot. A quiet day to lose a little.

Debrief

The mountains did their usual work. Girmay was distanced early and out of the points; Pedersen and Philipsen, both able to climb, picked up what was on offer in the hills. AssessmentNo drama, just the slow bleed that has defined this Tour: on days that suit a climber, the sprinter loses ground he cannot make back. And the biggest news of the block came off the road, Tim Merlier abandoned, leaving the fight for 2nd a straight duel between Philipsen and Girmay.

Preview · the tell

We flagged this one yesterday: the Mélisey sprint at km 137.8 sits before the Ballon d'Alsace, so it was reachable. The whole question was whether Girmay would chase it or sit in the bunch saving his legs. His answer would tell us if NSN was still hunting green.

Debrief

He chased. After Lidl-Trek's early chase failed, Girmay and Pedersen bridged into a 57-rider front group and turned Mélisey into a three-man green-jersey duel. That is the answer we were watching for: NSN is still in the fight. But the sting is in the result, Philipsen was led out perfectly and won the sprint for 25, and Pedersen edged Girmay for 2nd by the width of a tyre, 20 to 16 (photo finish below). Mauro Schmid took the stage from the break once the Ballon d'Alsace shed the fast men. AssessmentBini did everything right and still lost ground: minus 4 to Pedersen, so the gap grew from 40 to 44, and Philipsen leapfrogged him into 2nd. The hard lesson: chasing is not enough while Pedersen keeps answering, and it is now a three-way scrap. Standings: Pedersen 377, Philipsen 336, Girmay 333.

Preview

Bastille Day in the Massif Central: seven categorised climbs, 3,800 m of climbing, and an uphill finish at Le Lioran. No stage win here for a sprinter. The only green business is the early intermediate sprint, then survival before the two-day sprinter block at Nevers and Chalon.

Debrief

Pogačar soloed to victory ahead of Evenepoel and Seixas, tightening his grip on yellow. But the green story was Lidl-Trek's: the team controlled the early breakaway attempts all the way to the intermediate sprint, and Pedersen took it for another 25 points, turning a climbers' day into a points raid. AssessmentBini scored a little (up to 239) but the gap stretched again, from 45 to 54. The consolation is that Merlier scored nothing at all, so Girmay's 2nd place is secure and the threat behind has faded. Pedersen enters the sprinter block with a firm lead, though not an unloseable one. Standings: Pedersen 293, Girmay 239, Merlier 213.

Preview

A breakaway day through the Massif Central, cut by 30 km because of a red heat alert, with four categorised climbs and no flat to speak of. Nothing here for a sprinter but damage limitation: contest the intermediate at Beynat, then get to the rest day intact.

Debrief

A day that showed exactly why Pedersen leads. Mathieu van der Poel won from the break ahead of Johannessen and Pidcock, in road-melting heat. Girmay was delivered perfectly to Pedersen's wheel at Beynat but the sprint was up a drag, which suited the Dane, who took 25 to Bini's 20. Pedersen then held on with the GC group and came home 6th for 15 more, while Girmay finished well down. AssessmentThis is the pattern: Pedersen banked 40 on a day Bini could take only 20, and the gap ballooned from 25 to 45. The one consolation is that Merlier cracked in the heat and was dropped, so Girmay reclaimed 2nd. Standings: Pedersen 268, Girmay 223, Merlier 213.

Preview

The Tourmalet and a summit finish. Nothing here for a sprinter but a fight against the clock. The job was simple: get over the mountains safely and arrive in one piece for Bordeaux.

Debrief

Job done. Pogačar dominated the Tourmalet day up front, shattering the climb's record, while Girmay rode through in the gruppetto and reached the finish inside the time limit, fresh enough to sprint the next day. No green points, but exactly the outcome he needed.

Preview

A breakaway day, too lumpy for the pure sprinters and not hard enough for the GC men to want it. The one detail that matters: the lone intermediate sprint at Quillan (km 93.4) falls before the two category-2 climbs, Coudons and Montségur, so there's a clean points window while the fast men are still together. Montségur crests about 34 km out, then a long descent to Foix, historically a breakaway haven. AssessmentMore his kind of hard than the summit finish, and a threat if he survives, though a break may still take the 50 finish points. Watch Pedersen raid the sprint, and watch the heat stacking on a crash and two Pyrenean days.

Debrief

A mixed day, and ultimately Pedersen's. Girmay did exactly what we hoped in the first half, winning the Quillan intermediate sprint outright for 25 points ahead of Philipsen and Pedersen. But he and Philipsen were dropped on the Col de Coudons and swept back into the peloton, so he added nothing at the finish. Up front, Lidl-Trek ran the day and launched Mads Pedersen to the stage win, with Quinn Simmons completing a one-two, while Torstein Traeen took the yellow jersey. AssessmentBini bounced back into the picture, but Pedersen played the perfect card: intermediate points plus the 50-point win, opening a commanding green lead. The five flat days are now Girmay's road back.

Preview

The first summit finish, in fierce heat. A day that sheds the sprinters, with nothing to win, just survive and grab intermediate points if the legs allow.

Debrief

Played out as feared. Tadej Pogačar powered clear on the final rise to take the stage, the yellow jersey and, in a quirk of the new rules, the green jersey too. Girmay was well down with the other fast men at the intermediate sprint and never in the finale, so he scored next to nothing and slid out of the top ten. AssessmentThe real story was Mads Pedersen infiltrating the break to raid the intermediate sprint, exactly the patient game that banks green points on days the pure sprinters get zero. He is the rival to watch.

Preview

A lumpy finish above Barcelona, not a bunch sprint, but a chance to open his account against a mixed group of fast men and puncheurs.

Debrief

A strong start. Girmay won a hotly contested sprint from the fast men to take 14 points and slot into fourth on the points table early on. He was also caught up in a crash during the stage, with no reported injury. Breakaway rider Alex Molenaar led green after scooping the intermediate sprint.

Preview

A team time trial to open the Tour. No points classification stakes, purely a team exercise and a chance to stay upright and out of trouble.

Debrief

Visma–Lease a Bike won the stage and Jonas Vingegaard took the first yellow jersey. The TTT does not count toward the green jersey, so there was no effect on Bini's campaign. Job done by simply arriving safely.