Biniam Girmay's record-breaking performances at Tour de France bring financial windfall

Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay has been the biggest revelation of the 2024 Tour de France. The 24-year-old has won this year’s Green Jersey with one stage to spare after collecting an unassailable 387 points.

Girmay, who represents Team Intermarche-Wanty, had his Green Jersey victory confirmed on Saturday after his closest competitor, Belgian cyclist Jasper Philipsen of Team Alpecin-Deceuninck, failed to secure enough points during Stage 20 of the 2024 Tour de France to push the race for the Green Jersey to the wire.

With 354 points, which is 33 fewer than Girmay, who makes history as the first cyclist from Africa to win the Green Jersey, Philipsen, 26, who won the Green Jersey last year after scoring 377 points, is certain to finish in second place.

Frenchman Bryan Coquard, 33, of Team Cofidis, will settle for third with 208 points.

As a result of Girmay’s success, Eritrea became the 15^th country to produce a Green Jersey winner at the Tour de France. They join Belgium (21 wins), France (nine wins), Germany (eight wins), Slovakia (seven wins), Australia and Ireland (five wins each), the Netherlands (four wins), Italy, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan (two wins each), and the Soviet Union and Spain (one win each).

What a day for @GrmayeBiniam , for his @IntermarcheW team, for #Eritrea and for cycling in Africa #TDF2024 🇪🇷 https://t.co/bFOQQRq508

— Nishat Ladha (@NishatL) July 20, 2024

The cyclist who leads the points classification each day at the Tour de France wins the Green Jersey. Girmay has led the Green Jersey classification since July 3, when he dethroned 28-year-old Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen of Team Uno-x Mobility after Stage Five. Abrahamsen had kept the green jersey for just three days before Girmay snatched it from him. The Eritrean has worn the coveted jersey for 18 days.

Finishing in the top 15 at the end of a stage or in the intermediate sprints, which are a feature of every stage except Stage Seven and Stage 21, the final stage, awards points for the Green Jersey classification. Stage Seven and Stage 21 are the competition’s shortest races, measuring 25.3 kilometres and 33.7 kilometres, respectively.

During those two stages, riders race against the clock, with each aiming to reach the finish line before the set time lapses. The top 15 riders to cross the finish line earn points that reflect their ranking in the Green Jersey points classification.

The number of points for winning a stage varies from 20 to 50, depending on the type of stage. Winners of the Intermediate Sprints earn 20 points, as do those who finish first in Stage Seven and Stage 21.

Girmay made history on July 1, 2024, when he became the first black African cyclist to win a stage at the Tour de France. His win made Eritrea the 34^th nation to win a stage at the Tour de France and the second from Africa to do so, following victories registered by South African riders in 2007 (Robert Hunter) and 2019 (Daryl Impey).

On that day, Girmay powered to the finish line to claim victory in Stage Three of the 2024 Tour de France, a flat-stage race that saw riders compete over 230.8 kilometres from Piacenza, Italy, to Turin, Italy.

The Eritrean followed that success with further wins in Stage Eight and Stage 12. Those three stage victories earned him 150 points.

He also registered five top 15 stage finishes after ranking 9^th in Stage Five, 2^nd in Stage Six, 9^th in Stage Nine, 2^nd in Stage 10, and 4^th in Stage 13. The five top-15 finishes contributed 94 points to his Green Jersey points classification tally.

Girmay also earned 148 points by placing in the top 15 in 13 intermediate sprints. His victories in Intermediate Sprints in Stages Three, Eight, and 12 really propelled him up the rankings for the Green Jersey points classification, as he amassed 60, 67, and 61 points, respectively.

His next best performances after those three came in Stage 6 and Stage 10, when he earned 47 and 43 points, respectively.

There is a high chance that Stage 16 would have contributed similar figures to his points tally had he not crashed in the final one kilometre of that stage. Despite ending up ranking 141^st, Girmay had already earned 13 points from finishing 4^thin the Intermediate Sprint for Stage 16.

Overall, Girmay hit double digits in points collected in eleven stages. He did not earn any points in Stages Seven, 11, 18, 19, and 20, a fact that proves that he is more adept at competing on flat stages of the competition than on hilly and mountain stages.

Girmay's total points dropped from 392 to 387 in Stage 15 due to a five-point penalty for deviating from his line.

Girmay also received a fine of 517 euros (roughly SH 74 000) for that infringement, but that amount pales in comparison to the prize money he earned from his performances in the 2024 Tour de France.

Including the prize money for winning the Green Jersey, Girmay has made 80 000 euros (approximately SH 11.4 million) from competing in this year’s Tour de France.

Girmay will pocket 25 000 euros (approximately SH 3.5 million) for winning the green jersey.

This adds to the prize money from his three stage victories: 33 000 euros (approximately SH 4.7 million). In addition to that, the Eritrean also made a total of 13,800 euros (approximately SH 2 million) from his five top-15 stage finishes.

A rider who wins a stage at the Tour de France earns 11 000 euros (approximately SH 1.56 million). Those who finish between 2^nd and 14^th in a stage receive winnings ranging from 5,500 euros (approximately SH 780 000) to 340 euros (approximately SH 48 000). Those who place between 15th and 20th in a stage earn 300 euros, or roughly SH 43 000.

He will also get an extra 5 700 euros (approximately SH 812 000) as a reward for wearing the green jersey for 19 days. Each day he spent wearing the jersey earned him 300 euros (approximately SH 43 000).

In addition to this, Girmay received 2 500 euros, or approximately SH 360 000, for placing in the top three of three intermediate sprints. Intermediate winners earn 1 500 euros (approximately SH 214 000). First runners-up pocket $1 000 euros (approximately SH 143 000), while a third-place finish in an intermediate sprint earns a rider $500 euros (approximately SH 71 000).

Girmay will receive an additional 1 000 euros (roughly SH 143 000) if he completes Stage 21 and secures a position 20 or lower in the competition's overall classification. Any cyclist who beats the clock to finish Stage 21 while ranking 20^th or lower in the overall classification earns 1 000 euros. Girmay currently holds the 113th position in the overall rankings.

The overall winner of the Tour de France takes home 500 000 euros (approximately SH 71 million). Those who finish between second and 19^th place earn prizes ranging from 200 000 euros (approximately SH 28.5 million) to 1 100 euros (approximately SH 156 000).