Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay was injured by an airborne cork at the Giro d'Italia podium celebrations. Credit: Astoria Wines

Eritrean professional road cyclist Biniam Girmay became the first Black African to win a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2022. However, the day after the win, he withdrew from the race due to a freak injury sustained while celebrating - a prosecco cork hit his left eye at full speed. His medical team said he had suffered a haemorrhage in the anterior chamber but that he would make a full recovery after a few days’ rest.

Girmay did get back in the saddle, winning stage one of the Spanish Volta in 2023, finishing second in the points classification at the 2024 Tour Down Under and winning the third stage of Tour de France 2024, the first Black African rider to do so.

Sparkling wine corks can cause serious ocular damage: one survey from the US National Library of Medicine found that in a quarter of cork-related eye injuries sampled, the affected eye remained legally blind. Since Girmay’s injury, Giro d'Italia uncorks the podium sparkling wine in advance.