Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) won the first event in the Challenge of Stars virtual race series on Saturday, beating Filippo Ganna (Team Ineos) in the final.
Saturday's race was billed as a battle of the sprinters, pitting eight fast finishers against each other in a head-to-head format.
Jakobsen dispatched world champion Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) with ease in his opening heat and was convincing again in his semi-final, despite coming up against a stronger sprinter in the form of Pascal Ackermann. While Jakobsen went all-out and fought with the bike, Ackermann didn’t appear to go so deep and was left well behind.
"I noticed I got a little nervous before the race," Jakobsen admitted. "You have to look at the screen and your opponent. I just tried to stay as close to them as possible, then with around 400-500 metres to go I gave everything I had and I tried to destroy the bike and just sprint until the line."
Ganna’s route to the final had seen him beat CCC Team’s Matteo Trentin in the first round before getting the better of Jasper De Buyst, a late replacement for Lotto Soudal teammate Caleb Ewan, who was suffering with a knee problem.
"I was a little bit unlucky in the finish – I crashed my gears, and that's it," Ganna said.
Ganna wasn't the only rider to suffer mechanical problems, with Nacer Bouhanni (Arkea-Samsic) unable to start, thus handing Ackermann a first-round bye.
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep | |
| 2 | Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
| 2 | Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) Team Ineos | |
| 2 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) CCC Team |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
| 2 | Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Arkea-Samsic |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep | |
| 2 | Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) Team Ineos | |
| 2 | Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto Soudal |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep | |
| 2 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) Team Ineos |
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