German fastman Pascal Ackermann, a sprinter for UAE Team Emirates, won his second career Tour de Pollogne on Tuesday, defying the 3,000-meter climb in stage four to take his second career victory on such difficult terrain.

"The last time I was there was the 2018 Dauphiné stage," recalled the German, who took his 38th career win in the hilltop town of Sanok. I remembered that stage this morning and thought, "Okay, let's do it again!" I thought, "I'm going to do it again.

In 2018, Ackermann, then in his second year as a professional, won his second career race, fending off the likes of Edvald Boasson Hagen and Daryl Impey.

Four years later, Ackermann timed his uphill run to the finish perfectly on an unpredictable, twisty course in the last kilometer.

"For the first time in the Vuelta I tried a sprint leadout with (Juan) Sebastian Morano, and he is a really good sprinter with a very big engine, and today I just followed him," Ackermann said.

"He went through the curves perfectly and was able to finish in a perfect position. All that was left was to accelerate towards the line."

Pollogne has brought Ackermann great success in the past. He has won twice at the finish in Krakow, where he will bring down the curtain on Pollogne this Friday, and Tuesday's victory will be his fifth in four years.

"It's always a good race for me, I always train well beforehand and this result is a great motivation for the Vuelta again this year. I want to keep going like this. I'm still waiting for the selection [for Germany], but I would like to participate in the European Championships. But the Vuelta is my main goal for the rest of the season.

Since Ackermann's second career win at the Criterium du Dauphiné four years ago, there has been a lot of water under the bridge, including two stages and the points jersey at the Giro d'Italia and two Vuelta wins.

"I got hurt really bad, I broke my tailbone," he said. I had to take six weeks off the bike, so it took me a while to get back on it."

"But with all the training I've been doing the last few weeks, and with this win, hopefully my condition will stay that way.