The Palatinate rider finished ninth on the third stage of 193.2 kilometres around Breda after sprinting to fifth place the day before in Utrecht. As on Saturday, Irishman Sam Bennett from the German team Bora-hansgrohe took the stage win at the end of the Vuelta in the Netherlands. Denmark's Mads Pedersen finished second ahead of Britain's Daniel McLay.
Affini leads the overall standings
Before the transfer to Spain, where the tour continues on Tuesday after the first rest day, the Italian Edoardo Affini leads the overall standings. The 26-year-old won the team time trial on Friday with the Jumbo-Visma team. This also put defending champion Primoz Roglic (Slovenia) in a good position, who is currently third in the classification.
At the mountainous Vuelta, the sprinters only have five or six chances of a mass finish. Ackermann recently crashed heavily at the European Championships in Munich when he hit his head with full force into a barrier. The 28-year-old received a few stitches on his finger, which he says no longer causes him any problems. Ackermann had won two stages at the Vuelta in 2020.
Copyright 2022, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
