"That Estonian from EF was completely crazy" - Pascal Ackermann on the danger of opening Giro d'Italia sprints

Pascal Ackermann has not yet won in the jersey of Team Jayco AlUla, however at the 2026 Giro d'Italia he has not been absent from the opening bunch sprints. The German sprinter has now finished seventh on both opportunities during the Bulgarian Grande Partenza, but he is not happy with how one of his rivals has sprinted.

On stage 1 the 32-year old was one of the few riders who managed to escape the mass crash in the arrival to Burgas, and then sprinted to seventh place. Whilst on the second day the sprinters did not have much of a chance, the third stage saw them on the spotlight once again. Ackermann finished in the same position, although this time around none of the sprinters were hampered by a fall.

"I was super nervous because nothing happened today. It was a really wide road, but after a while I was in a great slipstream, Magnier's," Ackermann said in a post-race interview. The finale had a slight left-hand bend mid-sprint, which was not ideal for the riders' safety, however Ackermann had complaints over a rival.

That is Madis Mihkels, who ultimately rode to fourth on the day. "That Estonian from EF was completely crazy. He came into the corner and squeezed me into a corner; I'm glad I stayed on the bike," he described. Despite this, there was no mention of Mihkels on the race's jury report for the stage.

Ackermann has shown good form, but will need more opportunities to try and capitalize on it. In the past, he has won three times at the Corsa Rosa and even won the maglia ciclamino back in 2019. This time around however, that is a more difficult task.

"The sensations are getting better and better, but I don't like races where nothing happens and it's super easy, so I'm really looking forward to next week," he admits. "I hope to have some quiet days but also some big racing days, and I think I'll be there".

Stage 4 may already be a much different affair, with a 14-kilometer climb at 6% coming within the closing hours of the race, which may put a few sprinters into difficulty. Potentially, this could come to the benefit of Ackermann.

"I think everyone knows what's coming next week, and everyone knows the race will be controlled because there are a lot of sprinters. But I didn't expect anyone to get in the breakaway. I think next week the real racing and the Giro d'Italia will begin."