Norway's Alexander Kristoff wins stage two of Tour of Germany as Pascal Ackermann retains lead of race

ByAlexander Netherton

Updated 27/08/2021 at 16:33 GMT

UAE Team Emirates' Norwegian rider Alexander Kristoff won a sprint finish on Friday at stage two of the Tour of Germany. He was the only non-German rider on the podium as Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) finished second and Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) finished third to retain the overall lead.

Alexander Kristoff of UAE Team Emirates secured a win on Friday’s stage two of the Tour of Germany.

The stage kicked off at Sangerhausen and concluded at Ilmenau with the Norwegian beating two Germans out in the top three to deny them stage wins in their home country, in a dramatic and tight bunch sprint at the conclusion.

Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) had taken victory on Thursday’s opening stage at Stralsund-Schwerin, and the German was able to secure another podium finish as he took third place on Friday.

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Second place went to Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), and there was another German in fourth with Jannik Steimle (Deceuninck-QuickStep) two seconds behind the top three. Bauhaus had momentarily looked set to be the victor only for Kristoff to exploit his slipstream and shoot past.

Ackermann retains the overall lead ahead of Saturday’s stage 3.

'To get the win is a nice feeling' - Kristoff

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