Ackermann wins second-straight stage at Tirreno-Adriatico

Pascal Ackermann won again at the Tirreno-Adriatico on Tuesday by sprinting to victory in the second stage

The Bora-hansgrohe rider edged Fernando Gaviria by less than half a wheel in the first stage and he did the same at the finish line in Follonica with another perfectly timed sprint.

”Also today we were really strong, the leadout was perfect,” Ackermann said. ”It was a long sprint and probably I launched the sprint at the perfect distance to the finish.”

Rick Zabel was third at the end of the 201-kilometer route from Camaiore.

The second stage, at 198 km in length, featured an undulating parcours for the first half of the race, while the final 60 km took place on almost flat terrain. Just as yesterday, the race was a matter to be settled by the fast men, and in the end, the victory was yet again contested in a mass sprint in Follinica. After the start in Camaiore, four riders were able to break away, and following the first hour of racing, they had already gained a lead of approximately 5 minutes. However, the peloton was not willing to let them get much further and was quick to increase the pace. In the final phase of racing, BORA – hansgrohe, with the current GC leader Pascal Ackermann in their ranks, took full control of the race until the remaining escapee was reeled back in with 15 km to go. In the final 10 km, the teams of the top sprinters came to the fore. On the finishing straight, Pascal took F. Gaviria's wheel, swung out from behind and pipped the Colombian on the line. With this win, he not only took his second stage victory at this year's Tirreno – Adriatico, but also retained his lead in the general classification. 

Pascal Ackermann  sais afterwards "The team did so well today, and the finale was a very exciting one. I was able to completely trust my lead-out, and it was a really close sprint. In fact, it couldn't have been any closer, otherwise I would have missed out on the win. I found myself in the wind a bit too early, but I couldn't go back and at that point I had no choice and just went for it. I had good legs and so managed to cross the line first. Now I’m looking forward to Saturday, because I might have another chance there. Tomorrow's stage will be more difficult, and perhaps I’ll take it a bit slower and easier to recover from the two sprint stages."

Wednesday’s third stage is an undulating 217-kilometer route from Follonica to Saturnia.

There are then two stages through the mountains before another mainly flat route on the sixth leg which is suited to the sprinters and where the 26-year-old Ackermann will be looking to make it a hat trick of wins.

The race ends on Monday with an individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto.

VIDEO: 2020 Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 2 Highlights

2020 Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 2 Top 10

1 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 5:01:53
2 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates
3 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation
4 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-Quickstep
5 Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
6 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation
7 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
8 Luca Pacioni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
9 Florian Vermeersch (Bel) Lotto Soudal
10 Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma

2020 Tirreno-Adriatico GC after Stage 2 Top 10

1 Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 7:59:28
2 Fernando Gaviria Rendon (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:08
3 Magnus Cort Nielsen (Den) EF Pro Cycling 0:00:16
4 Rick Zabel (Ger) Israel Start-Up Nation
5 Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:00:17
6 Paul Martens (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
7 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:00:18
8 Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:00:19
9 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:00:20
10 Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) Total Direct Energie