Strong Van Sintmaartensdijk fires back at Girmay's critics: "Easy to talk from your couch"

On Sunday, in the ninth stage of the Giro d'Italia, the peloton heads to Naples. The stage towards the Italian city is almost an annual event and has often provided plenty of spectacle. In 2022, Mathieu van der Poel and Biniam Girmay were still in the breakaway until the end. However, Girmay is now at home, having dropped out after two consecutive crashes in the fourth stage. This was a major setback for Intermarché-Wanty, which had been built entirely around Girmay and now had to reorganize. IDLProCycling.com spoke with teammate Roel van Sintmaartensdijk about that switch, his own Giro, and the criticism of Girmay after his DNF.

When it became clear that Girmay had not suffered any fractures or other serious damage from his two falls, there was quite a bit of criticism in the Eurosport studio. "Then again, I wonder why he didn't ride through to the finish. I genuinely think his morale is not good. He wanted to stop after that first crash. Intermarche-Wanty was completely geared towards Girmay. It's really bitter when there's nothing seriously wrong. That sounds very negative, but it is the truth," said analyst Bobbie Traksel.

"The team manager had already indicated that he hoped Girmay would be involved in the bunch sprints, but yes, hope… there was already a lack of conviction," the Dutchman also said about team boss Aike Visbeek. Former racer Jip van den Bos eventually agreed. "If your morale is shattered after two crashes, then I really question how strong your morale is. You still want to perform. Then you should be able to continue after two setbacks."

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Van Sintmaartensdijk, who at 23 is making his debut in the Giro, smiled after Friday's time trial when IDLProCycling.com asked him about the criticism aimed at Girmay. "It's very easy for people to talk from their couch. If you crash at seventy kilometers per hour and you see that he had a twenty-centimeter protrusion on his hip... It was also very difficult for him to get back on the bike, so all that speculation is cheap. It's great that he essentially has no big injuries, because he was in pretty bad shape."

Still, it was (and is) a bit of an adjustment for the tall Dutchman and his six remaining teammates. Intermarché-Wanty had brought a strong sprint train for Girmay, and now they find themselves without work. "When the leader of a team drops out, you feel a huge disappointment and need to regroup. Fortunately, we have Madis Mihkels, another sprinter, who we were able to leverage for two top-ten finishes on days four and five. We haven’t let it get us down, although it's unfortunate that Bini is gone. Also in the peloton, because having him around does bring more prestige to the team."

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Alongside Mihkels, the other men on the Belgian team are also finding more opportunities. For instance, Van Sintmaartensdijk went all out in the time trial toward Perugia on Friday, where he placed 32nd. "I try to train regularly on the time trial because it's hard to stand out in cycling. Time trialing allows you to develop yourself and you have control over your own performance. So, I did plan to ride a good time trial, also with an eye toward the future. There aren’t many in a year, so every chance you get to go for it with proper nutrition and warm-up... It was one of my first long time trials, but I powered through well."

We haven't seen the last of the neo-pro, who last year was still riding for the Intermarché-Wanty development team. "I wanted to be in an early breakaway because there's room for that now. That's not a given in this peloton, though, as many riders want to join. The level is very high, so you need a bit of luck to break away. My legs are strong and I know that I don't deteriorate much over time. I also put out good power in the time trial."