One cyclist has gone a bit overboard with his celebrations after popping a bottle of champagne and copping the flying cork straight to his eye.
Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay was celebrating victory at the 10th stage of the Giro d’Italia competition in the Italian city of Jesi, becoming the first black African to win a stage at a grand tour.
The next thing he knew he was getting rushed to hospital after suffering a severe eye injury.
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It appears Girmay was unable to get out of the way when he was shaking up the champagne bottle following his historic win, with the cork rocketing straight into his left eye.
Girmay was able to continue his celebrations but was clearly in pain following the incident.
Medical tests confirmed Gimray had suffered a haemorrhage in his eye with the cyclist being forced to withdraw from the following day’s races.
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In a video posted to his team Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert’s social media, Girmay revealed he was still able to celebrate his victory with his colleagues once he arrived back from the hospital.
Girmay said: “When I arrived after the hospital, (after) the bad moment, I enjoyed a bit with my teammates, the staff, everybody.”
He added: “I’m also happy now. I was a bit sad about what happened with the champagne but when I come back to the hotel they were super happy also.
“They were a bit afraid but when I looked OK we really enjoyed. But today luckily I didn’t start the race because still my eyes, I need some rest to give more power to the eye… I’m OK now, see you soon.”
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The team’s director Valerio Piva also took to social media to praise Girmay’s historic victory.
“Yesterday we had a fantastic moment, and five minutes late Girmay had a problem at the podium," he said
“We have lost our leader, our champion and it is a pity.”
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Piva added: “But we have riders in top shape and we want to achieve more.
“We are keeping our motivation and our morale is high, and we’ll try to do our best for our team.”
In March, Girmay became the first rider from a sub-Saharan country to win a single-day classic when he claimed victory at the Gent-Wevelgem race.
Featured Image Credit: Zuma Press / Alamy.
