"To be honest, every time when I hear behind me crashes, my heart rate goes to 300, so I felt super sorry for the guys who crashed, including Philipsen."
Fast forward two more years, and with wins in Gent-Wevelgem, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France already in his palmares, Girmay will be gunning to be in the running on Saturday, team COO Maxime Segers told Nieuwsblad, even despite a previous month out from racing.