Martijn Berkhout is announced in the NOS cycling program as the manager of “the 2 best sprinters in the world”. But their season came to an abrupt end in early August, when Groenewegen Jakobsen crashed into the gates at a dangerous sprint finish in Poland. Jakobsen, a Deceuninck-Quick Step rider, was kept in an artificial coma for a while. He himself feared for his life for a moment. Jumbo-Visma put Groenewegen on hold for the time being.
How are his 2 sprinters doing now? Berkhout: “Fabio is in a recovery phase: at the moment we are at the point where we have to wait and see if the body can recover, so that he can become a top athlete again. And a top sprinter. That takes time. We can only wait. The time. it must learn whether he can return. We all hope for that. “
Groenewegen’s recovery is a different story, especially mentally. Groenewegen received a lot of criticism from the cycling world, but also via social media. The Dutchman expressed his regret and told his story with emotion.
Berkhout: “Dylan is in a mental trajectory that he needs to get out of. He has had an awful lot of choice, also in terms of social media. We have never seen anything that has come his way in cycling.”
The cycling manager claims that Wout van Aert’s teammate is still threatened via social media: “Certainly, and that is actually still going on. It’s not that he feels very comfortable, no. He lives with the consequences.”
“I have to say that both riders are very well supported by their team. Together we try to ensure that the 2 can sprint against each other again”, said the manager.
