After being forced to retire injured from the Giro d'Italia, Biniam Girmay returned to racing with a victory in the national time trial championships in Eritrea.

Girmay, leader of the Intermarché Wantigover, became the first black African to win a stage in a Grand Tour when he overtook Mathieu Van der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) at the Giro d'Italia in May, winning stage 10 in Jessi

This year, he won the stage at the end of the first stage.

This year, in a major step up in one-day racing for the 22-year-old, he had already won in Ghent-Wevelgem and finished fifth in E3-Harelbeke two days earlier.

However, he was forced to abandon the Giro d'Italia shortly after his stage win after an accident in which he opened a bottle of Prosecco during the victory ceremony and injured one eye with the cork.

A week after the accident, he was diagnosed with an anterior chamber hemorrhage in his left eye, but after reexamination, there was no residual damage to the eye.

Known as a sprinter and a classic racer, Gilmey's victory in the time trial was a testament to his versatility as a racer.

His victory in the TT event in the capital Asmara came ahead of defending champion Melhawy Kudus (EF Education-Easy Post) and 2019 winner Amanuel Gebrexavier (Trek-Segafredo).

Gilmey, who won his fourth race of the season, will compete in Sunday's road race. The Tour de France was not on his program, but he will return to racing in Europe at the Tour de Pollogne, which he already took part in last year, before heading to the World Tour race in Canada.