CN reports that Van de Poel gave Girmay a hug after the finish.  Class.

This made my day!  Jackie Robinson's first home run in the major leagues.  And like Robinson, he's not just there, happening to be at the right place and right time.  He rode that stage like a pro who expected to; if not win, certainly be there and have to be dealt with.  Screwing up that late turn?  Well, that wasn't in the game plan but there's still a race to be won.  Sprinted early-ish in a "see if you can catch me" with one of the world's best on his wheel.

We're going to see the reverberations from today.  Bike racing is going to change.  10 years from now, I'll predict we see 1 in 20, maybe 1 in 10 African faces in the peloton.  It will just grow from there.  And interest in African countries will up.  Probably not on a commercial/governmental/military basis; the colony mindset in western countries is way too deep.  But interest by the sports, media, arts, etc. will increase to the point that at least the vast commercial interests will have to adjust their exploitation.

Yes, grand predictions.  The timeline will be slow.  I should live to see the 5-10% non-white peloton, maybe a small slice of the change in attitude toward Africa but probably not more.  What happened today is a very small but real start.  (And that hug?  That might be just as big.  Every rider in the peloton saw it or otherwise knows.  They may not like it, but MVP is the future.  Everyone knows it.  He is probably the single most visible rider in the world.  (Yes, Van Aert and Pogacar wear bigger crowns but they don't put themselves out there, in person or on the bike like VDP does.)