Tsgabu Gebremaryam Grmay ( ti, ጽጋቡ ገብረማርያም ግርማይ; born 25 August 1991) is an Ethiopian professional

road cyclist Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws as ...

from Tigray, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is a three time national road race champion, six time national time trial champion, and one time African time trial champion. Tsgabu became the first Ethiopian professional cyclist when he joined in 2012. In 2013 Tsgabu became the first Ethiopian to win an international cycling event when he won the fifth stage of the

Tour de Taiwan The Tour de Taiwan is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Taiwan since 1978, and has been part of the UCI Asia Tour since 2005. It has been classed a 2.1 category race for the first time in 2012. History The Tour de Taiw ...

. He made his UCI World Tour debut at the

2013 Giro di Lombardia The 2013 Giro di Lombardia or 2013 Il Lombardia was the 107th edition of the Giro di Lombardia single-day cycling race, often known as the ''Race of the Falling Leaves''. It was held on 6 October 2013. Joaquim Rodríguez () won the race for a con ...

Biography

Tsgabu grew up near the city of Mek'ele, Tigray at an altitude of 2400 metres. He comes from a sporting family, with a father and a brother who competed in local bike races in Ethiopia. As an amateur rider he received training at the African UCI Continental Center in

Potchefstroom Potchefstroom (, colloquially known as Potch) is an academic city in the North West Province of South Africa. It hosts the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. Potchefstroom is on the Mooi Rivier (Afrikaans for "pretty river" ...

, South Africa and the

World Cycling Centre The World Cycling Centre (WCC, french: Centre Mondial du Cyclisme) is a coaching and training centre in Aigle, Switzerland. It contains a indoor velodrome, a BMX racing track and other non-cycling facilities. It was built in 2002 to celebrate the ...

Aigle , neighboring_municipalities= Vaud: Yvorne, Leysin, Ormont-Dessous, Ollon; Valais: Vouvry, Collombey-Muraz , twintowns = L'Aigle (France), Tübingen (Germany), Bassersdorf (Switzerland) } Aigle (French language, French for "eagle", ; frp, ...

, Switzerland.

2010 season

In November 2010 Tsgabu came sixth at the African Continental Cycling Championships individual time trial in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

, Rwanda. He then stayed in Kigali to race the

Tour of Rwanda The Tour du Rwanda is a cycling event created in 1988 and based in Rwanda. The event is a cycling stage race that is organized by the Rwanda Cycling Federation (FERWACY). The event has been part of the UCI Africa Tour as a category 2.1 The U ...

which began five days later. He finished fifth overall.

2011 season

Tsgabu began his season in January 2011 at

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is a road cycling race held in Gabon and is part of the UCI Africa Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale ( ...

, which he finished in 13th place overall. In February he finished 21st in the Tour of South Africa. In April he came 51st in

La Côte Picarde La Côte Picarde was a professional cycling race held between 1986 and 2015 in Picardy, France. It was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour from 2005 onwards, in category 1.ncup, meaning it was part of the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Under ...

in France and 16th at the Ster ZLM Toer in the Netherlands. He then travelled to Quebec in June to race the

Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay The Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay was a bicycle stage race held annually in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada. It was part of the UCI America Tour and the race was reserved to riders between 19 and 22 of age and was rated 2.Ncup by the UCI. It was the o ...

which he finished in 18th place overall. In July Tsgabu returned to France for more stage racing. He finished 31st in the Tour Alsace, 42nd in the Mi-Août Bretonne, and 19th in the

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir ( en, Tour of the Future) is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents ...

. Tsgabu ended the season in Denmark in September representing Ethiopia at the

2011 UCI Road World Championships The 2011 UCI Road World Championships took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, over 19–25 September 2011. The event consisted of a cycling road race and a time trial for men, women, men under 23, and for the first time since 2004 the junior men and j ...

by participating in the men's under-23 road race which he abandoned.

2012 season

Tsgabu began the 2012 season in April with a 71st place at the

Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften Ronde Van Vlaanderen Beloften ( en, Tour of Flanders U23) is a Flanders Classics road bicycle race. It is the version of the Tour of Flanders for under-23 riders and is usually contested a week after the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Ludovic Capelle is t ...

. He raced two races in the Netherlands and then headed back to Africa for

in Gabon, which he finished in 11th place. He also came fourth in the

young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for ride ...

, 19 seconds behind winner

Nikita Stalnov Nikita Serikovich Stalnov (russian: Никита Серикович Стальнов, born 14 September 1991) is a Kazakhstani former cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He was named in the startlist for the 2017 and 2018 Vuelta a España. ...

of the . In May Tsgabu finished 19th in the Flèche du Sud, coming fifth in the young rider classification. He was 43rd in the

Tour de Gironde The Tour de Gironde is a road bicycle race held annually in France. It was organised as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cy ...

. Following the

Ronde van Zeeland Seaports Ronde van Zeeland Seaports is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Zeeland, Netherlands. The race was created in 2012, as a 1.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour, after financial issues curtailed the Delta Tour Zeeland stage-race, which had ...

, which he did not finish but was won by his future teammate

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (born 3 February 1989) is a South African professional road bicycle racer, who rides for the Denver Disruptors. He previously rode for Dutch UCI ProTeam . He is not related to fellow professional cyclist and former tea ...

, Tsgabu joined the South African

UCI Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

team for the remainder of their 2012 season. In August Tsgabu entered the

2012 Volta a Portugal The 2012 Volta a Portugal is a men's road bicycle race held from 15 to 26 August 2012. It is the 74th edition of the men's stage race to be held, which was established in 1927. A part of the 2012 UCI Europe Tour, it is rated as a 2.1 event. Sch ...

. He was 17th in the prologue, but finished 82nd overall and 25th in the young rider classification. Tsgabu raced the Kernen Omloop Echt-Susteren as a warm-up for the

2012 UCI Road World Championships The 2012 UCI Road World Championships took place in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, also known as South Limburg, between September 15 and 23. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23 ...

in Valkenburg, Netherlands where he was the only Ethiopian competitor. He finished 25th in the men's under-23 time trial and 87th in the men's under-23 road race. Tsgabu ended his season in November by winning silver at the African Continental Championships individual time trial and gold in the men's under-23 individual time trial in

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...

, Burkina Faso. He finished 38th in the road race. In October 2012 it was announced that Tsgabu's contract had been extended for the 2013 season, and he became the first Ethiopian professional cyclist when MTN-Qhubeka became a

UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

team.

2013 season

Tsgabu's second season at saw the team rise to the second highest level in cycling, becoming the first ever African UCI Professional Continental team. Tsgabu began the 2013 season in January at

in Gabon, finishing fifth overall and third in the young rider classification as well as coming second in the team classification. He narrowly missed out of a stage victory on the final day, crossing the finishing line in

Libreville Libreville is the capital and largest city of Gabon. Occupying in the northwestern province of Estuaire, Libreville is a port on the Komo River, near the Gulf of Guinea. As of the 2013 census, its population was 703,904. The area has been inh ...

two seconds behind stage winner Gert Dockx of . In February Tsgabu participated in the 2013 Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia finishing ninth overall, 2' 58" behind winner

Julián Arredondo Julián David Arredondo Moreno (born 30 July 1988) is a Colombian former professional road cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2017 for the and teams. Arredondo is best known for winning the mountains classification at the 2014 Gi ...

. MTN-Qhubeka won the team classification by nine minutes before the second placed . In March 2013 Tsgabu became the first Ethiopian ever to win an international cycling event when he won the fifth stage of the

in Taoyuan County ten seconds ahead of

Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan Mohammad Saufi Mat Senan (born 10 October 1990) is a Malaysian professional cyclist, who last rode for UCI Continental team . Major results ;2009 :3rd Overall Tengku Mahkota Pahang Trophy ;2012 :1st Stage 5 Tour of Thailand :1st Stage 2 Tour ...

. The stage victory propelled him to second place overall, a position he managed to keep for the remaining stages. It also netted him 10 mountain points, which helped him to fourth position overall in the mountains classification. At the

2013 Giro del Trentino The 2013 Giro del Trentino was the 37th edition of the Giro del Trentino cycling stage race. It started on 16 April in Lienz (Austria) and ended on 19 April in Sega di Ala. The race, that was officially presented on 8 April in Trento, consisted o ...

in April Tsgabu finished 21st in the youth classification and 94th overall. In May he finished 73rd in the

2013 Tour of Norway The 2013 Glava Tour of Norway was the third edition of the Glava Tour of Norway road cycling race. It was held over a period of five days between 15 and 19 May 2013. The race was a part of the 2013 UCI Europe Tour with a race classification of ...

. In July Tsgabu won both the national road race championship and the national time trial championship of Ethiopia in

Bahir Dar Bahir Dar ( amh, ባሕር ዳር, 3=sea shore) is the capital city of Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Bahir Dar is one of the leading tourist destinations in Ethiopia, with a variety of attractions in the nearby Lake Tana and Blue Nile river. The ci ...

for the first time. He headed to the United States of America in August, to race the

Tour of Elk Grove The Tour of Elk Grove was an annual bicycle race held in Elk Grove Village, IL in the United States. First staged in 2006, the race covered more than 277 kilometers (172 Miles) and took place over three days. The event featured 16 professional a ...

and the

2013 Tour of Utah The 2013 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah is the tenth edition of the Tour of Utah. Once again, the race was included on the UCI America Tour, with a UCI classification of UCI race classifications, 2.1. As such, the race is only open to teams on the UC ...

. He finished 42nd overall in the first and 27th overall in the second of the two stage races, as well as third in the young rider classification in Utah (15' 32" behind youth classification winner

Lachlan Morton Lachlan David Morton (born 2 January 1992) is an Australian professional road racing cyclist and mountain biker, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born and raised in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, Morton spent the 2011 ...

). After this he flew to Norway to ride the

Tour des Fjords Tour des Fjords (known as the Rogaland Grand Prix until 2012) was a road bicycle race held annually between 2008 and 2018 in the region of western Norway. The race merged with the Tour of Norway The Tour of Norway is a road bicycle race held an ...

, but was forced to abandon after the fourth stage. Towards the end of August Tsgabu entered four single day races in Italy, receiving modest results in two races and abandoning the two others. At the Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda in September Tsgabu was 24th overall and seventh in the young rider classification. Tsgabu was the sole representative of Ethiopia at the

2013 UCI Road World Championships The 2013 UCI Road World Championships took place in Tuscany, Italy, between 22 and 29 September 2013. The Championships consisted of 12 events for elite, under-23 and junior cyclists. It was the 86th Road World Championships, the 13th in Italy a ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

. He participated in the men's under-23 time trial, which he finished in 50th place, as well as the men's under-23 road race which he was forced to abandon. Tsgabu was in the last group to cross the finish line in the

2013 Milano–Torino The 2013 Milano–Torino was the 94th edition of the Milano–Torino single-day cycling race. It was held on 2 October 2013, over a distance of 193 km, starting near Milan in Settimo Milanese and ending near Turin on the '' Colle di Superga ...

. He made his UCI World Tour debut at the 2013 Il Lombardia, but did not finish the race. Tsgabu ended his season in Europe with three one-day races in Italy during October, abandoning two of them and finishing 78th in the

Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli The Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli (also known as GP Beghelli) is a late season men's road bicycle race held annually in Monteveglio, near the city of Bologna, Italy. From 2005 to 2013, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe T ...

. He then rounded off his season in December at the African Continental Championships, where he finished seventh in the time trial and 28th in the road race.

2014 season

The 2014 season was Tsgabu's third season with and began in February at the

2014 Tour de Langkawi The 2014 Tour de Langkawi was the 19th edition of an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Malaysia since 1996. The race was run at the highest category (apart from those races which make up the UCI World Tour, and was rated by ...

. He aimed for a podium finish but could not repeat the success he had the previous year, and finished 52nd overall. However, did manage to win the team classification for a second consecutive year. Tsgabu did little racing during the spring, and abandoned the

Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie The Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Arona (NO), Arona, Italy between 1997 and 2015. It was held primarily as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2010 the GP was split ...

, the

Tour de Picardie The Tour de Picardie was a professional multi-stage cycle road race that was held between 1936 and 2016 in Picardy, France. In its last twelve editions, it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a se ...

, and the

2014 Tour of Norway The 2014 Tour of Norway was the fourth edition of the Tour of Norway cycle race. It was a part of the 2014 UCI Europe Tour. Schedule There were 5 stages in the race. Teams There were 18 teams that competed in the race. With the exception of ( ...

. At the end of May he participated in the

, finishing 70th overall and coming in second in the mountains classification only seven points behind winner

Amets Txurruka Amets Txurruka Ansola (born 10 November 1982) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Career Born in Etxebarria in the Basque Country, Txurruka made his To ...

of . At the

Tour de Korea The Tour de Korea is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in South Korea since 2000 as part of the UCI Asia Tour. It was rated by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.2 category race between 2005 and 2013, then promot ...

in June he finished 10th overall. Tsgabu abandoned on the second stage of the Route du Sud, and came 58th in the Giro dell'Appennino. At the end of June he won both the road race and the

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...

at the Ethiopian 2014 national road cycling championships for a second time. In August Tsgabu finished 51st in the

2014 Vuelta a Burgos The 2014 Vuelta a Burgos ( en, 2014 Tour of Burgos) was the 36th edition of the Vuelta a Burgos, an annual bicycle stage race which toured the province of Burgos; it was held as part of the 2014 UCI Europe Tour, as a 2.HC classification event. Tea ...

and 56th at the

Tour du Limousin Tour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2011 it was upgraded to an 2.HC The UCI 1.HC and UCI 2.HC ar ...

. He was 11th in the young rider classification in Limousin, 11 seconds behind Otto Vergaerde of who came in 10th. Tsgabu finished 65th in the final edition of the

Châteauroux Classic The Châteauroux Classic de l'Indre Trophée Fenioux was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in August in the region of Indre, France, starting and finishing in Châteauroux. It was created in 2004 and since 2005 the race had been organi ...

. At the

Memorial Marco Pantani The Memorial Marco Pantani is a professional road bicycle race held annually in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The race has been organized since 2004 and serves as a memory of Marco Pantani. The race starts in Cesenatico, Pantani's hometown, and ...

Tsgabu was part of the initial five man breakaway. They gained four minutes on the peloton but were caught, and he didn't finish the race. Of the six other Italian one day races Tsgabu entered in September and October he only finished the final one, ending his time at MTN-Qhubeka with a second-to-last place in the

2015 season

Tsgabu left at the end of 2014 and joined the highest level of professional cycling at the Italian UCI ProTeam , becoming the first Ethiopian to ride for them. Joining Lampre meant he would be guaranteed to race at UCI World Tour races during the 2015 season. Tsgabu began the season in January as the team's candidate for the general classification at the

2015 Tour Down Under The 2015 Santos Tour Down Under was the 17th edition of the Tour Down Under stage race. It took place from 20 to 25 January in and around Adelaide, South Australia, and was the first race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The overall winner was Rohan D ...

. He finished 11th overall and fifth in the young rider classification. In February Tsgabu competed at the African Continental Championships in

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...

, South Africa. He finished third in the team time trial, and two days later won the individual time trial. Tsgabu was the first Ethiopian to ever win an African Continental Championship. In the road race three days later Tsgabu finished fifth, 2' 35" behind winner and former team mate

Louis Meintjes Louis Meintjes (born 21 February 1992) is a South African cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the South African National Road Race Championships in 2014, and has finished 8th overall in the Tour de France, on 3 occasions in 2016, 2017 ...

of . Tsgabu rode the

2015 Tirreno–Adriatico The 2015 Tirreno–Adriatico was the 50th edition of the Tirreno–Adriatico stage race. It took place from 11 to 17 March and was the third race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The race was one of the most important races in the early part of the c ...

in March. He finished 51st overall, and came eighth in the young rider classification only 16 seconds behind Peter Sagan of . He started the

2015 Giro d'Italia The 2015 Giro d'Italia () was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race that took place in May 2015. It was the 98th running of the Giro d'Italia and took place principally in Italy, although some stages visited France and Switzerland. The ...

in San Lorenzo al Mare, becoming the first Ethiopian rider to compete in a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

. For the third time in his career, he won the Ethiopian national championship in both road and time trial events. He was named in the start list for the

2015 Vuelta a España The 2015 Vuelta a España was a three-week Grand Tour cycling race. The race was the 70th edition of the Vuelta a España and took place principally in Spain, although two stages took place partly or wholly in Andorra, and was the 22nd race in ...

2016 season

In July 2016 Tsgabu participated in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

for the team.

Major results

Source: ;2010 : 5th Overall

Tour du Rwanda The Tour du Rwanda is a cycling event created in 1988 and based in Rwanda. The event is a cycling stage race that is organized by the Rwanda Cycling Federation (FERWACY). The event has been part of the UCI Africa Tour as a category 2.1 The Uni ...

: 6th Time trial,

African Road Championships The African Continental Cycling Championships are a series of cycling races held annually in Africa where the African cyclists decide who will be the champion for the year to come. They have been held since 2001. Editions Men Road Race ...

;2011 : 5th Overall

Toscana-Terra di Ciclismo Toscana-Terra di Ciclismo is a cycling race held annually in Italy. It was part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UC ...

;2012 :

::1st

Under-23 time trial ::2nd Silver medal africa

Time trial ;2013 : National Road Championships ::1st Maillot ethiopia

Time trial ::1st Maillot ethiopia

Road race : 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 5 : 5th Overall

: 9th Overall Tour de Langkawi ;2014 : National Road Championships ::1st Maillot ethiopia

Time trial ::1st Maillot ethiopia

Road race : 10th Overall

;2015 :

::1st

Time trial ::3rd Bronze medal africa

Team time trial ::5th Road race : National Road Championships ::1st Maillot ethiopia

Time trial ::1st Maillot ethiopia

Road race : 10th Overall

Tour of Qinghai Lake The Tour of Qinghai Lake is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in the Qinghai province of China since 2002, named after Qinghai Lake. The race is sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.HC race as part of ...

;2016 :

::2nd

Time trial ::9th Road race ;2017 : 1st Maillot ethiopia

Time trial, National Road Championships : 5th Overall Tour of Oman ;2018 : 1st Maillot ethiopia

Time trial, National Road Championships ;2019 : 1st Maillot ethiopia

Time trial, National Road Championships ;2021 :

::3rd

Mixed team relay ::5th Time trial ::5th Road race

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

Tsgabu Grmay profile at Lampre-Merida
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsgabu Grmay Ethiopian male cyclists Living people 1991 births Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Ethiopia Sportspeople from Tigray Region