77th Tour of Spain
Vuelta: Ire Bennett unbeatable – Ackermann ninth
Sam Bennett (M) clinched his second victory of the day on the third stage of the Vuelta. photo
© Peter Dejong/AP/dpa
The German bike sprinter Pascal Ackermann failed to win the stage he had hoped for at the opening weekend of the 77th Tour of Spain.
The German bike sprinter Pascal Ackermann failed to win the stage he had hoped for at the opening weekend of the 77th Tour of Spain.
The man from the Palatinate finished ninth on the third stage over 193.2 kilometers around Breda, after sprinting to fifth place in Utrecht the day before. Like on Saturday, Irishman Sam Bennett from the German team Bora-hansgrohe secured the victory of the day at the end of the Vuelta guest appearance in the Netherlands. Dane Mads Pedersen finished second ahead of Brit Daniel McLay.
Before the transfer to Spain, where the tour continues after the first rest day on Tuesday, the Italian Edoardo Affini leads the general classification. The 26-year-old won the team time trial with the Jumbo Visma team on Friday. This also put defending champion Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) in a good position, who is third in the classification at the same time.
In the hilly Vuelta, the sprinters only have five or six chances of a mass finish. Ackermann had recently fallen violently at the European Championships in Munich when his head hit a barrier with full force. The 28-year-old was sewn with a few stitches on his finger, which he says does not cause any problems anymore. Ackermann had two stage wins at the Vuelta in 2020.