Biniam Girmay will have a new bike, a new team and the backing of a Fifa World Cup winner as he attempts to recreate past glories at the Tour de France.

It has been a relatively quiet two years since the 26-year-old’s incredible performance in the 2024 race, when he made history as the first black African to win a Tour stage.

The Eritrean then went on to become the first African to finish the race with the coveted green jersey, which is handed to the best sprinter.

Last December, after five seasons with Belgium’s Intermarche-Wanty, he signed a three-year contract with NSN Cycling – a team co-owned by former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who lifted football’s biggest trophy with Spain in 2010.

“I am super happy and super motivated to start, to go for stage wins, and chase the green jersey,” Girmay told BBC Sport Africa.

“This has been our main goal since the beginning of this season.

“I have stronger team-mates and a stronger lead-out compared to last year. That is why my results are better.

“We have worked so hard for this event and we want to achieve what we have planned.”

With this year’s Grand Depart, a 20km team time trial, taking place in scorching heat in Barcelona and then stage three going up and over the Pyrenees, the specialist sprinters are going to have a tough time almost immediately.

However, having grown up in East Africa, Girmay believes the heat may play to his advantage.

“If you look at my best sprint performances, they were in the 2024 Tour de France, and we had two super hard and hot stages to start in Italy.

“That’s harder for the others – this is potentially also a benefit for me this year, as I can survive the heat better.

“We have hot and hard stages to begin right after the team time trial.”

In terms of resources, NSN is in a different league to Intermarche-Wanty, boasting a much larger budget thanks to backing from a joint venture between the Swiss investment firm Stoneweg and Never Say Never, an event promotion and sports company co-founded by Iniesta.

The switch is proving fruitful already, with Girmay registering three wins at UCI races this year, as well as winning the overall green points jersey at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana.

He finished third in the classification for the green jersey at last year’s Tour, but now feels he may be in the position to challenge seriously again.

“I’ve had enough preparation for this year’s race, especially compared to previous years,” he said.

“We also have everybody more or less in the same shape. That also makes a big difference because, as a team, we need to have everybody at the same level.”

All eyes will be on whether Girmay can get back to his best when the sprint stages arrive.

Most observers believe the fifth stage from Lannemezan into Pau in south-west France will be the first chance to show his abilities, with the tacticians on the NSN team no doubt looking at Jasper Philipsen’s Alpecin-Premier Tech team and the Soudal-QuickStep team of Tim Merlier as their main competitors.

However, a gruelling third stage – a 195.9km ride from Granollers to Les Angles featuring a 1.7km climb at 7% gradient to the finish – could also see Girmay feature, given he is the strongest climber among the sprinters.

Although Girmay is the sole African rider on this year’s Tour, he thinks the world will soon see another fast-rising talent from Eritrea tackle cycling’s premier event.

That man is 20-year-old Milkias Maekele, another powerful sprinter who won the men’s road race at the Eritrean National Road Championships last month.

The Eritrean nationals are one of Africa’s most hotly-contested road races, and the youngster from Asmara won in a dominant solo effort.

Girmay believes Maekele, who stands over six foot tall, has “huge potential”.

“He has a strong mind for racing, a truly winning mentality.

“I am super happy for him for winning the national championships. He really deserved it as he raced very well.”

Maekele, like Girmay, is a product of the As.Be.Co. team in Asmara, and his early performances saw him sign in 2025 for Germany’s Team Bike Aid, a strong UCI Continental-level team with a history of supporting African riders.

After just one strong season, he was snapped up by the development squad of the top level Netcompany Ineos team which, beginning with its predecessor Team Sky, has established itself as one of the most dominant forces in modern cycling over the past 16 years.

Eritrea is Africa’s most successful cycling nation, with four other men racing at the top level, including highly-rated Henok Mulubrhan (XDS Astana) and Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar).

But Girmay remains the undeniable poster boy of African cycling and will burnish his reputation further if he can claim the Tour de France’s green jersey for a second time.

Expect to see hundreds of Eritrean flags at each sprint finish over the coming weeks.