The wait for Pascal Ackermann is finally over: nearly two years on from his last victory, the German sprinter raised his hands in celebration once again after winning the first-ever Classique Dunkerque in Lens on Tuesday.
Ackermann beat the likes of Biniam Girmay and Alberto Dainese to the line following a technical final kilometer in the Northern French city to capitalize on a strong IPT team performance and leadout to finally convert his sprinting consistency into a victory.
He has recorded 11 top-5 finishes since joining IPT for the 2024 season, four of which came at last year’s Tour de France. However, luck repeatedly has not been on his side during that time, either: crashes at Classic Brugge-De Panne (2024) and the Tour de la Provence (2025) have impacted his spring campaigns in both seasons with the team.
“It was an amazing team performance today,” Ackermann says. “Yesterday I saw the startlist and I thought that I should be able to win today. Today the team rode so strongly from the front and I was like: ‘if the team is riding like this, I should be the strongest rider!’
“I felt super good on the climbs and the team gave me all their trust, especially after my injuries in the last few weeks and months. I’m super happy to finish it off.
“I didn’t win any races in the last two years. I had a lot of injuries, also in the last weeks, and some bad times. But this week started super nice – my brother and his wife have had two twins, so congratulations to them – and I think that was good motivation for me to restart my cycling life.”
Sports Director René Andrle hopes Ackermann’s victory will be the start of a successful period for the German rider. He says: “We are so happy for him, we are happy for his confidence. We hope that we can continue this at the 4 Jours de Dunkerque and build this spirit as he prepares for the Tour de France.
“Our plan all along was to sprint with Ackie because we brought a strong leadout team here: Jake, G, Schwarzi, Tom, Pier-André, and Matîs. We were ready to follow the moves on the loop outside of the city – Pier-André was following the moves – and we managed to stay out of trouble between there and the finish.
“Coming into the finish, we wanted to move to the front in the last two kilometres. Our leadout was super good for Ackie – Tom and Jake were really strong at the end. It was great, everything went as we planned.”
Ackermann will continue racing in France, as he forms part of the IPT squad that competes in the 4 Jours de Dunkerque, which starts on Wednesday.
He has already set his sights on making this week even more successful, adding: “Yeah, we are here to win races. We are here to try and work out which guys go to the Tour de France this year, so it is important to try something with the leadout.”
