Jayco AlUla will no longer count on Dylan Groenewegen next season—the Dutchman is moving to Unibet Rose Rockets—but the Australian team has meanwhile signed another fast rider. That rider is Pascal Ackermann. The experienced German is joining from Premier Tech.
The 31-year-old Ackermann, who has signed a two-year contract with his new team, was known for years as a top sprinter. The speedy German has already claimed 41 professional victories in his career. Riding for BORA-hansgrohe, where it all began for him, he enjoyed success in the Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Tour of Poland, Eschborn-Frankfurt, and the Brussels Cycling Classic.
After his initial successful professional years, wins became harder for Ackermann to come by. While riding first for UAE Emirates and then Premier Tech, he still notched some victories, but these could be counted on one hand. In 2024, he didn’t manage a single win, and last season he celebrated once, at the Classique Dunkerque / Grand Prix des Hauts de France.
🕹️👻 ACKER-MAN👾👻
Welcome to the team Pascal Ackermann! 👋
The German sprinter joins us from next season 🇩🇪
— GreenEDGE Cycling (@GreenEDGEteam) November 5, 2025
Still, Jayco AlUla sees Ackermann as an asset in the sprint department. “We’re very happy to welcome Pascal,” team manager Brent Copeland said in a press release. “We believe he will fit perfectly into our established lead-out train. He has proven throughout his career that he can win at the highest level, which is evident from his many stage wins in grand tours.”
Ackermann is naturally pleased as well. “Jayco AlUla is a team with a rich history, a squad I looked up to when I was younger. It has always been a dream of mine to join this team, so I’m excited about this opportunity! For me, this is absolutely the best team to chase my dream — winning races.”
Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco narrowly escaped disaster last week. After both teams were missing from the provisional list of full WorldTour license applicants for 2026 due to lacking a bank guarantee, significant unrest was caused by financial uncertainty. However, last Thursday, all issues were smoothed over by team manager Brent Copeland.
With no more financial worries, Copeland can continue shaping his men’s roster. “At the moment, we have contracted 26 riders (after signing Ackermann, the roster consists of 27 riders, ed.). That means four spots remain open, but we will probably stick to 29 riders.”
“I won’t say that we will copy the tactics of XDS Astana from this year. But if you look at who we’ve signed and who we wanted, these are riders who can support Michael Matthews and also score UCI points themselves in many races.”
