Meet the African Tour de France cyclist racking up historic wins

To his fans, he’s the “African king” - an international star and the first black African to win a Tour de France stage.

Biniam Girmay did that not only once but three times this year at road cycling's premier event. Barring an accident, the 24-year-old looks set to win the green jersey on Sunday - a prize awarded to the best sprinter over the gruelling three-week competition.

But Girmay's journey to the top has been riddled with obstacles - he has battled culture shocks, Europe's visa procedures and the loneliness of being thousands of miles away from his wife and young daughter.

Now, he is embracing his role as a hero in his home country - Eritrea - and an inspiration for cyclists across Africa as a whole.

Many believe Girmay's success will spark change in an overwhelmingly white sport - in this year's Tour de France he is the only black rider in the whole peloton of 176 riders.

Girmay - or Bini to his loved ones and fans - was born and raised in Eritrea, a small East African country with a population of around 3.7 million.

Unusually, Girmay was never a champion of Asmara - the capital city he grew up in - or Eritrea. Instead, he appeared quite suddenly on the international stage after being scouted by cycling's global governing body, the UCI.

Girmay told Eritrean media earlier this year that it is easier to win at the Tour de France than to be an Eritrean champion. This is because despite its tiny population, the country has a wealth of talented cyclists, many of whom have won medals in global and continental races.

Cycling is one of Eritrea's most popular sports, a pastime picked up during decades of Italian colonial rule.

It is a source of pride for many Eritreans, whose country usually only makes global headlines for its border conflicts and a human rights record considered to be poor by rights organisations, but fiercely defended by the government.