Sunday, September 19, 2021
Ackermann favorite in Frankfurt
The Zoff is followed by the performance explosion
Germany’s top cyclist Pascal Ackermann and his team fell out this season. In the coming year he will start for another racing team. There he hopes to be nominated for the Tour de France for the first time. But first he wants to win a German bike classic.
For Germany’s top sprinter Pascal Ackermann it was clear early this year: The big dream, that is the first ticket to the Tour de France, where he wanted to fight for daily victories and fame. If the 27-year-old man from Palatinate today (from 1:15 p.m. / Hessischer Rundfunk) as a top favorite at the classic Eschborn-Frankfurt bike race, this dream has once again not come true. On the contrary: Ackermann has had a painful disembarkation, then complained publicly about team boss Ralph Denk and is now moving to the UAE Emirates racing team in 2022.
But the fast-paced Ackermann knew how to turn anger and frustration into performance. Since his non-nomination for the tour, he has won a total of six daily victories, including one on the Germany tour, where he came second overall. And now the home game at Eschborn-Frankfurt, where he won two years ago and fulfilled another great childhood dream. “I’m in good shape and the race suits me, so I definitely think I’ll be one of the favorites,” said Ackermann.
The 187.4-kilometer course around the Main metropolis has a lot of vertical meters, but was a sprinter domain in the past few years before the corona-related cancellation in 2020. The Bora-hansgrohe man is now hoping for that this Sunday too. “The trend is clearly upwards. I am very motivated and I want to win something,” said Ackermann, who has already proven his class at the Vuelta and Giro. As a reward for the past few weeks, the sprinter is then allowed to go to the World Cup in Flanders, where he is planned as a helper on the classic course.
Degenkolb also wants victory
“The missed tour is tough for such an athlete. You have to deal with that. I always tell my athletes: Don’t cry for what you don’t have,” said Sport Director Jens Zemke. The former professional cyclist looks after Ackermann both in Frankfurt and at the World Cup torture, which leads over 267.7 kilometers through Flanders and ends in the Belgian town of Löwen with the coronation of the next world champion. “Pascal did a great job. He is very motivated for the World Cup. The requirement profile is what suits him,” said Zemke.
In 2019, Ackermann had already celebrated his home win at the Alte Oper, and is aiming for a repeat in 2021. “In general, home races are always something special. To race in Germany and then for a German team, that was already very special on the Germany Tour,” said the professional cyclist. With Frankfurt, there is also “that the course suits me. It’s one of my favorite races. If friends and family are there because of the proximity to my home, that’s all the better.”
The Norwegian Alexander Kristoff and Germany’s veteran John Degenkolb are also there again. It’s also a home game for Degenkolb. “The winner’s trophy from the 50th anniversary is at home. That’s why the incentive is all the greater to be at the forefront of the 60th edition,” he said. On May 1, 2019 – this year the race was postponed to September due to corona – Degenkolb was only just beaten by compatriot Ackermann.