After his BORA – hansgrohe team worked to reel in a 4-man breakaway with 18km to go, Pascal Ackermannn and his sprint train ultimately bested the efforts and of the Caleb Ewan and Elia Viviani to take the sprint for his first Grand Tour victory.
With the win, Ackermann also took over the ciclamino points jersey. His teammate Rafal Majka retained his 6th place in the general classification after the stage.
“I’m incredibly happy to have won here,” said Ackermann. “Even though I meet my competitors like Caleb Ewan and Elia Viviani at other races, it is special to have taken the win here at the Giro. Of course there is more pressure to win at a Grand Tour and that is why I am so happy. It was my first chance for a win and we accomplished our goal. It is also very special to me to have won wearing the German championship jersey.”
“This is a good start to the Giro,” added BORA-hansgrohe Sports Director Jens Zemke. “Two years ago we took that memorable stage with Lukas Pöstlberger and then last year Sam Bennett won multiple stages, and now this year, we’ve notched up Pascal’s first Grand Tour victory. It is a well deserved win. The team rode in the front the whole time, controlled the breakaway well and did a great lead out. We are all super happy about this fantastic result.”
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