Pascal Ackermann (BORA – hansgrohe) took his first win of the season as he sprinted to victory in Roquetas de Mar after 192.5 kilometres at the Clásica de Almeria (1.HC).
Right after the start, a group of seven riders formed the breakaway of the day. However, the escapees were brought back relatively early in the race, after just 90 kilometres on the second climb of the day. On the long descent afterwards, the bunch did split into several groups, with BORA – hansgrohe managing to have four riders at the head of the race.
Inside the last 30 kilometres, Mitchelton – Scott controlled this main group, while BORA – hansgrohe was protecting their sprinter Ackermann. When the race entered the final laps in Almeria, the German squad took control, with Patrick Konrad starting the team’s lead-out, while Maciej Bodnar and Jempy Drucker delivered the German Champion perfectly in the last kilometer.
When Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) eased off a little, Ackermann took his chance to open the sprint. Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) came really close inside the last 50 metres, but Ackermann got his timing right and took the win, beating Kittel to the line just by centimetres.
Pascal Ackermann – “It was a hard race, 200km and a very fast finish. Huge thanks to my teammates, they did an amazing job today. The whole team protected me from the beginning. In the mountains as well as on the flat sections and they finished it off with a great lead-out. It is a nice feeling to win that early in the season, that boosts my confidence for the upcoming goals like Algarve and some Belgium one-day races.”
