Biniam Girmay said he hoped to encourage more diversity in elite cycling after the Eritrean won a third stage in this year's Tour de France on Thursday to extend his lead in the sprint points race.

Girmay became the first Black African to win a stage on the Tour on the third day of this year's edition in Turin and was first again on Stage 8.

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The 24-year-old then proved fastest in a bunch sprint finish on Stage 12, as he topped the podium ahead of Wout van Aert and Pascal Ackermann.

Asked if he was comfortable as a role model, Girmay said: "Cycling is not a global sport yet, so for African cycling, this (his stage wins) is a good thing.

"Now, maybe the European teams may take more Africans. For now, I'm the only one, and I wish there were more black riders in the peloton."

He went on to talk about his form and the response to his success.

"I'm in the best shape of my life," he said. "I get up every morning and look in the mirror and tell myself to live the day. To win three stages in one race is wonderful. After the last win, I had nearly 600 messages from home."

Girmay now has 328 points to Jasper Philipsen's 221. There are a few real sprint stages remaining, with the exception of Friday's stage.

Primoz Roglic In Costly Fall

Title pretender Primoz Roglic provided the shock of the day as he fell further behind and seemingly out of contention for the title.

He had been fourth overnight but trailed home 2 minutes, 27 seconds behind Girmay after a fall that left his shoulder bleeding.

Roglic started the day 2 minutes, 15 seconds adrift but looked haggard as he crossed the line after struggling home over the final 12.5 kilometers.

The fall happened outside the zone where late crashes are overlooked for overall times.

An Astana rider failed to see a slender traffic island and took down around a dozen riders.

Overnight leader Tadej Pogacar remains 1 minute, 6 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel in second, with Jonas Vingegaard in third, another eight seconds behind.

Pogacar's thoughts were for his compatriot Roglic.

"I heard the crash but didn't look round," Pogacar said. "I was shocked by the bad news. I'm really disappointed for him. It really sucks. I hope he can carry on. We know he's a big fighter."

When asked about his thoughts on being beaten to the line Wednesday by Vingegaard, he said he was happy in his yellow overall leader's jersey.

"I'm comfortable in the lead," said Pogacar, the TDF champion in 2020 and 2021. "It's up to him to attack if he wants the lead."

Pogacar's teammate, Joao Almeida is fourth in the overall standings, with Ineos rider Carlos Rodriguez in fifth.

Evenepoel, the wearer of the white jersey for the outstanding young rider, said he had been extra careful.

"We knew there was a lot of road furniture in the final stretch, it's tricky," said the Quick Step man. "Better to stick to the front."

The Tour lost two further participants Thursday. 

First, bulky Belgian sprinter Fabio Jakobsen found it too hard to keep up with the swift pace and fell off the back to retire.

Spanish rider Pello Bilbao was ill in the 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit) heat and pulled out halfway through the stage.

Jonas Abrahamsen is level with Pogacar in the mountains classification on 36 points. However, the Slovenian is the nominal leader due to his higher standing.

Stage 13 is one of the last obvious sprint stages on a flat run Friday from Agen to Pau, the gateway to the Pyrenees.

"Between Pau and Nice, there is hardly any flat terrain at all," said route architect Thierry Gouvenou.

TDF Results For Stage 12

1. Biniam GIRMAY (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 17' 15'' - B : 10''
2. Wout VAN AERT (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 17' 15'' - B : 6''
3. Pascal ACKERMANN (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 17' 15'' - B : 4''
4. Jasper PHILIPSEN (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) - 04h 17' 15''
5. Arne DE LIE (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 17' 15''
6. Alexander KRISTOFF (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 17' 15''
7. Phil BAUHAUS (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) - 04h 17' 15''
8. Bryan COQUARD (COFIDIS) - 04h 17' 15''
9. Dylan GROENEWEGEN (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 17' 15''
10. Ryan GIBBONS (LIDL-TREK) - 04h 17' 15''
11. Milan VAN DEN BERG (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 17' 15''
12. Sam BENNETT (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
13. Cédric RUSSO (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 17' 15''
14. Bas WELTEN (TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL) - 04h 17' 15''
15. Jasper STUYVEN (LIDL-TREK) - 04h 17' 15''
16. Fernando GAVIRIA (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
17. Anthony TURGIS (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 17' 15''
18. Dan MCLAY (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 17' 15''
19. Mike TEUNISSEN (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 17' 15''
20. Magnus JORGENSON (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 17' 15''
21. John DEGENKOLB (TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL) - 04h 17' 15''
22. Carlos RODRIGUEZ (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 17' 15''
23. Tadej POGACAR (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 17' 15''
24. J. BERNARD (LIDL-TREK) - 04h 17' 15''
25. Tiesj BENOOT (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 17' 15''
26. Giulio CICCONE (LIDL-TREK) - 04h 17' 15''
27. Remco EVENEPOEL (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 04h 17' 15''
28. Jonas VINGEGAARD (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 17' 15''
29. Derek GEE (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 17' 15''
30. Sergio BUITRAGO (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) - 04h 17' 15''
31. Egan BERNAL (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 17' 15''
32. Tobias WAERENSKJOLD (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 17' 15''
33. Floris VAN DEN BROEK (TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL) - 04h 17' 15''
34. Adam YATES (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 17' 15''
35. Oliver NAESEN (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
36. Lars REX (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 17' 15''
37. Joao ALMEIDA (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 17' 15''
38. Mikel LANDA (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 04h 17' 15''
39. Louis MEINTJES (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 17' 15''
40. Guillaume MARTIN (COFIDIS) - 04h 17' 15''
41. Jack HAIG (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) - 04h 17' 15''
42. Stan DE CRAS (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 17' 15''
43. Pierre LAPEIRA (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
44. Juan AYUSO (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 17' 15''
45. Filippo GALL (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
46. Ben HEALY (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 17' 15''
47. Juan Jose ROMO (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
48. Laurens DE PLUS (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 17' 15''
49. Ilan VAN WILDER (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 04h 17' 15''
50. Rudy GREGOIRE (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 17' 15''
51. Odd CHRISTIAN EIKING (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 17' 15''
52. Yves LAMPAERT (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 04h 17' 15''
53. Brent VAN MOER (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 17' 15''
54. Jacob STEWART (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 17' 15''
55. Victor CAMPENAERTS (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 17' 15''
56. Alexander LAURANCE (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) - 04h 17' 15''
57. Michal KWIATKOWSKI (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 17' 15''
58. Cees BOL (ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
59. Christophe LAPORTE (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 17' 15''
60. Luka MEZGEC (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 17' 15''
61. Nikias ARNDT (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) - 04h 17' 15''
62. Carlos VERONA (LIDL-TREK) - 04h 17' 15''
63. Elmar REINDERS (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 17' 15''
64. Damien GODON (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
65. Nelson OLIVEIRA (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
66. Nicolas PRODHOMME (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
67. Arnaud DEMARE (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 17' 15''
68. Mark CAVENDISH (ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM) - 04h 17' 15''
69. Stefan BISSEGGER (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 17' 51''
70. Piet ALLEGAERT (COFIDIS) - 04h 17' 59''
71. Rasmus TILLER (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 17' 59''
72. Krists NEILANDS (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 17' 59''
73. Hugo HOULE (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 17' 59''
74. Jonathan JEGAT (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 17' 59''
75. Kobe GOOSSENS (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 17' 59''
76. Gianni VERMEERSCH (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) - 04h 17' 59''
77. Guillaume BOIVIN (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 17' 59''
78. Benoit ARMIRAIL (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 18' 13''
79. Valentin MADOUAS (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 18' 13''
80. Wilco KELDERMAN (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 18' 13''
81. Wout POELS (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) - 04h 18' 21''
82. Amaury CAPIOT (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 18' 21''
83. Michael MATTHEWS (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 18' 21''
84. Nils POLITT (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 18' 21''
85. Jonas ABRAHAMSEN (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 18' 21''
86. Alexis ZINGLE (COFIDIS) - 04h 18' 28''
87. Clément CHAMPOUSSIN (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 18' 39''
88. Tim WELLENS (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 18' 44''
89. Stefan KÜNG (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 18' 44''
90. Nils EEKHOFF (TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL) - 04h 18' 49''
91. Carlos RODRIGUEZ (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 18' 49''
92. Matej MOHORIC (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) - 04h 18' 54''
93. Robin GHYS (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) - 04h 19' 08''
94. Toms SKUJINS (LIDL-TREK) - 04h 19' 08''
95. Neilson POWLESS (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 19' 17''
96. Quentin PACHER (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 19' 17''
97. Fabien GRELLIER (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 19' 17''
98. Sylvain DUJARDIN (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 19' 17''
99. Simon GESCHKE (COFIDIS) - 04h 19' 17''
100. Jakob FUGLSANG (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 19' 17''
101. Matis VERCHER (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 19' 17''
102. Théo GACHIGNARD (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 19' 17''
103. Nicolas PETERS (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 04h 19' 17''
104. Pavel SIVAKOV (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 19' 17''
105. Kilian GENIETS (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 19' 17''
106. Davide FORMOLO (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 19' 17''
107. Jonathan CASTROVIEJO (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 19' 17''
108. Sébastien GRIGNARD (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 19' 17''
109. Luke DURBRIDGE (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 19' 17''
110. Christopher JUUL-JENSEN (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 19' 17''
111. Gerben THIJSSEN (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 19' 17''
112. Geraint THOMAS (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 19' 17''
113. Mathieu BURGAUDEAU (TOTALENERGIES) - 04h 19' 17''
114. Jai HINDLEY (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 04h 19' 17''
115. Romain BARDET (TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL) - 04h 19' 17''
116. Enric MAS (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 19' 17''
117. Davide BALLERINI (ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM) - 04h 19' 37''
118. Bob JUNGELS (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 04h 19' 42''
119. Marco HALLER (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 04h 19' 42''
120. Primoz ROGLIC (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 04h 19' 42''
121. Mattia SOBRERO (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 04h 19' 42''
122. Danny VAN POPPEL (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 04h 19' 42''
123. Nico DENZ (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 04h 19' 42''
124. Bas LEMMEN (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 19' 42''
125. Stephen WILLIAMS (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 04h 19' 42''
126. Oskar ONLEY (TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL) - 04h 19' 42''
127. Alberto BETTIOL (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 19' 42''
128. Simon YATES (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 19' 55''
129. Gianni MOSCON (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 04h 19' 55''
130. Jan TRATNIK (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 04h 20' 12''
131. Hugo PAGE (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 20' 40''
132. Matteo CORT (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 20' 40''
133. Silvan DILLIER (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) - 04h 22' 07''
134. Gregor MÜHLBERGER (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 22' 07''
135. Tom PIDCOCK (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 22' 07''
136. Tobias Foss JOHANNESSEN (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 22' 07''
137. Ben TURNER (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 04h 22' 07''
138. Jonas KULSET (UNO-X MOBILITY) - 04h 22' 07''
139. Marc SOLER (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 04h 22' 07''
140. Alex ARANBURU (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 22' 07''
141. David GAUDU (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 22' 07''
142. Warren BARGUIL (TEAM DSM-FIRMENICH POSTNL) - 04h 22' 07''
143. Oier LAZKANO (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 04h 22' 07''
144. Louis MEINTJES (GROUPAMA-FDJ) - 04h 22' 07''
145. Cédric BEULLENS (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 22' 07''
146. Louis VERVAEKE (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 04h 22' 07''
147. Mathieu VAN DER POEL (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) - 04h 22' 07''
148. Jan HIRT (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 04h 22' 07''
149. Samuele QUINN (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 22' 07''
150. José HERRADA (COFIDIS) - 04h 22' 07''
151. Rui COSTA (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 22' 07''
152. Richard CARAPAZ (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 04h 22' 07''
153. Lorenzo MOZZATO (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 25' 09''
154. Kévin VAUQUELIN (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 25' 09''
155. Georg ZIMMERMANN (INTERMARCHÉ - WANTY) - 04h 25' 09''
156. Harold TEJADA (ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM) - 04h 25' 09''
157. Chris HARPER (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) - 04h 25' 09''
158. Harm VANHOUCKE (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 29' 34''
159. Milan VAN GILS (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 29' 34''
160. Jarrad DRIZNERS (LOTTO DSTNY) - 04h 29' 34''
161. Ruben GARCIA PIERNA (ARKEA-B&B HOTELS) - 04h 30' 00''
162. Alexey LUTSENKO (ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM) - 04h 32' 57''

Top 20 Overall Through Tour de France 2024 Stage 12

1. Tadej POGAČAR (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 49h 17' 49''
2. Remco EVENEPOEL (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 49h 18' 55''
3. Jonas VINGEGAARD (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 49h 19' 03''
4. João ALMEIDA (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 49h 22' 09''
5. Carlos RODRIGUEZ (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 49h 22' 29''
6. Primož ROGLIČ (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 49h 22' 31''
7. Mikel LANDA (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) - 49h 23' 27''
8. Adam YATES (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 49h 24' 48''
9. Juan AYUSO (UAE TEAM EMIRATES) - 49h 24' 58''
10. Giulio CICCONE (LIDL-TREK) - 49h 25' 25''
11. Derek GEE (ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH) - 49h 25' 43''
12. Mattias JORGENSON (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) - 49h 26' 45''
13. François GALL (DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM) - 49h 27' 07''
14. Sergio BUITRAGO (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) - 49h 27' 30''
15. Egan BERNAL (INEOS GRENADIERS) - 49h 28' 07''
16. Ben HEALY (EF EDUCATION - EASYPOST) - 49h 29' 57''
17. Stan DE CRAS (TOTALENERGIES) - 49h 30' 05''
18. José ROMO (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 49h 33' 30''
19. Jai HINDLEY (RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE) - 49h 37' 14''
20. Enric MAS (MOVISTAR TEAM) - 49h 37' 17''

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