Knee bloodied and ego perhaps a little bruised, Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe) ambled onto the Giro d`Italia podium after his late crash during stage 10 at the Giro d`Italia to accept the maglia ciclamino as race`s best sprinter, despite hitting the deck hard under the 1km to go banner as rival Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) went on to take the stage win. To add insult to injury for the German sprinter who won stages 2 and 5 on his way to claiming the jersey, Demare used his post-race press conference to criticise Ackermann for what the Frenchman described as `excessive confidence and a bit of arrogance` for words they exchanged after one of the stage`s intermediate sprints. It was a losing day in the saddle that ended abruptly for Ackermann, who crossed the finish line in a small group, his jersey and shorts shredded from the melee that ensued as teams set up to launch their fastmen.ADVERTISEMENT `I recovered on the first rest day and had good legs again,` Ackermann said in a statement released by his team. `We wanted to play a bit of poker on the stage, so that more pressure would be on the other sprinter teams. `During the last 5km, we came to the front,` he said. `At the 1,000 metres to go mark, everything went by so fast, so I donŽt really know what happened, and I could not react in time. The crash was heavy, and I sustained a few abrasions and contusions, but thankfully I can continue to ride. WeŽll see how it goes tomorrow, but these are the demands of a Grand Tour, and you just have to take such setbacks as they come.` A group of about 20 riders, including Bora-Hansgrohe lead-out man Rudi Selig, continued to sprint toward the line after the crash, with Demare winning ahead of Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Selig.
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