TURIN, Italy -- Eritrean rider Biniam Girmay sprinted to victory in the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday while Mark Cavendish's pursuit of a record-breaking 35th stage win was postponed.
Cavendish, 39, has been tied with Eddy Merckx on 34 wins for three years and put off retirement to try again this year to break the record. But Cavendish appeared to get slowed by a crash in the finale, although it didn't appear that the British rider went down.
The mostly flat 231-kilometer (144-mile) leg from Piacenza to Turin - the longest stage of this year's Tour - provided the first chance for a mass sprint. But there will be at least a handful of other opportunities for sprinters after the race crosses back into France following the first four stages in Italy.
Girmay became the first Black African rider to win a stage on the Tour de France. He was already the first Black African to win a grand tour stage at the 2022 Giro d'Italia. On Monday, he timed his effort to perfection to beat Colombian Fernando Gaviria and Belgian Arnaud de Lie, second and third respectively.
"We must be proud now. We are really part of the big races," Girmay said. "Now it's our moment. It's our time."
"There is a whole continent that has been waiting for this," said Aike Visbeek, the performance director for Girmay's Intermarche-Wanty team. "It's been done now, and I hope it will open the floodgates for more riders from Africa. He's an ambassador in every way."
Ecuador's Richard Carapaz took the overall leader's yellow jersey.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.