Biniam Girmay of Eritrea won the prestigious Gent Wevelgem classic on Sunday, becoming the first sub-Saharan cyclist to win a one-day classic.

"This changes a lot in the future, especially for all African riders," the 21-year-old winner said after his narrow and hard fought triumph. "I felt confident over the last 250m, but I just came here for a good result, this is amazing."

Girmay was part of a four-rider breakaway in the final 30km of the epic 248.8km run, and sprung an early sprint on his rivals from 250m from the line. Jumbo's Christophe Laporte of France managed to follow Girmay, but the African rider edged him to the line as a chasing pack closed in too late. Girmay was in the mix at Milan-San Remo and came fifth at the midweek classic E3 race.

This Gent-Wevelgem is seen as a warmup for what is perhaps Belgium's biggest race, the Tour of Flanders, next Sunday.