The Classique Dunkerque, contested between Dunkirk and Lens over a total distance of 193 km, concluded with an extremely tight sprint between Pascal Ackermann, Biniam Girmay, and Alberto Dainese. The German from Israel - Premier Tech came out on top, beating the Eritrean from Intermarché - Wanty and the 27-year-old from Tudor, thus claiming his 41st career victory, the first of this season.

Before the final sprint, the race was long dominated by a breakaway featuring 18-year-old French rider Similien Hamon (CIC - U – Nantes) and the Belgian riders Kenny Molly (Van Rysel Roubaix), Luca De Meester (Wagner Bazin WB), and Abram Stockman (Unibet Tietema Rockets). This action concluded approximately 25 kilometers from the finish line.

About 6 kilometers from the finish, a crash involved several athletes who, coming out of a curve, encountered a slippery traffic island and fell. Fortunately, there were no apparent consequences, and the sprinters' teams were able to launch their leaders to contest the victory.

ACKERMANN'S WORDS - "Today the team rode an excellent race, and I couldn't waste the precious work of my teammates: they were truly strong. They had confidence in me, kept me at the front, and guided me perfectly in the sprint." The 31-year-old German, returning to victory after two years, added: "I've had several injuries in recent seasons, and I hope to start my new cycling life from here, with the goal of winning a stage at the Tour this year."

FINAL STANDINGS

1 Pascal ACKERMANN (Israel-Premier Tech)

2 Biniam GIRMAY (Intermarché-Wanty)

3 Alberto DAINESE (Tudor Pro Cycling Team)

4 Arnaud DÉMARE (Arkéa-B&B Hôtels)

5 Bryan COQUARD (Cofidis)

6 Jake STEWART (Israel-Premier Tech)

7 Cees BOL (XDS Astana Team)

8 Tobias Lund ANDRESEN (Team Picnic PostNL)

9 Emilien JEANNIÈRE (TotalEnergies)

10 Matthew WALLS (Groupama-FDJ)

11 Jon ABERASTURI IZAGA (Euskaltel-Euskadi)

12 Mike TEUNISSEN (XDS Astana Team)

13 Erlend BLIKRA (Uno-X Mobility)

14 Patrick EDDY (Team Picnic PostNL)

15 Axel HUENS (Unibet Tietema Rockets)

16 Pierre GAUTHERAT (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team)

17 Nils EEKHOFF (Team Picnic PostNL)

18 Alex MOLENAAR (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)

19 Leander VAN HAUTEGEM (Wagner Bazin WB)

20 Arne MARIT (Intermarché-Wanty)

21 Ronan AUGÉ (CIC U Nantes)

22 Tom VAN ASBROECK (Israel-Premier Tech)

23 Sebastian NIELSEN (Unibet Tietema Rockets)

24 Paul PENHOËT (Groupama-FDJ)

25 Menno HUISING (Visma-Lease a Bike)

26 Cédric BEULLENS (Lotto)

27 Xabier BERASATEGI GARMENDIA (Euskaltel-Euskadi)

28 Clément RUSSO (Groupama-FDJ)

29 Fernando GAVIRIA RENDON (Movistar Team)

30 Alex DIAZ ALVAREZ (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)

31 Pierre THIERRY (Arkéa-B&B Hôtels)

32 Damien TOUZÉ (Cofidis)

Updated