WITHDutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen has woken up from an artificial coma two days after his serious fall on the first stage of the Tour of Poland. “We have good news from the Sosnowiec hospital. Fabio Jakobsen is now awake after the coma. His condition is good, ”said the tour organizers on Friday via Twitter. According to the PAP news agency, hospital representatives want to give a press conference in the afternoon on the condition of the racing cyclist.
The Katowice public prosecutor has now intervened. “So far, three witnesses have been interviewed, including an organizer,” said Beata Ksiazek-Nowicka of the PAP prosecutor’s office. The police have already collected pictures of the accident and the wheels of the injured drivers.
On Wednesday, Dylan Groenewegen (Lotto-Soudal) pushed Jakobsen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) into the gate in the sprint for victory shortly before the finish line. According to doctors, Jakobsen’s condition was “serious but stable”, but he initially remained in an artificial coma.
Patrick Lefevere, manager of Deceuninck-Quick Step, had described the accident as “criminal” and announced that he would report to the police. “We will not let this rest,” he said on Thursday, according to the Belgian news agency Belga.
Demanded severe punishment
Long-time professional cyclist Jens Voigt has demanded a hard punishment for Groenewegen after the terrible crash. “I’m thinking of three to six months. It should be something that hurts and sends the signal to all other professionals: a red line was crossed here, we no longer accept that, ”said Voigt at Sport1. You can’t play with a colleague’s life, career or health, said the 48-year-old. “If the line was left so obviously, life and limb were deliberately risked, there must also be tougher punishments.”
Voigt also blames the world association UCI. “The organizer asks the UCI for approval and classification of the race and the course, and the UCI and the technical commission are checking it. Since it has approved it, it cannot wash her hands innocently afterwards and blame the organizer” said the 17-time Tour de France contestant.
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