The Dutch sprinter, stage winner in Nyborg, came close to elimination. He climbed the last ascent to Peyragudes with courage. To applause.
Carried by the crowd, encouraged on the line by his teammates, Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen fought like crazy on the final ramp of the 17th stage on Wednesday in Peyragudes to save his place in the Tour de France. He succeeded in doing so in extremis. For 16 seconds. Right in front of the broom wagon.
After cutting the line 36 min 48 sec behind winner Tadej Pogacar this Wednesday in Peyragudes (17e stage), the Quick-Step rider collapsed directly into the barriers, completely knocked out after an effort of incredible intensity that his team mates celebrated as a victory.
The winner of the second stage of the Grande Boucle, in Denmark, lived an ordeal all day, marked by four ascents which do not suit his size at all, clinging to the idea of arriving in Paris to compete in the sprint on the Champs-Élysées on Sunday. “I told him in the headset: the Champs-Élysées is for you. He’s tough on evil, hats off to him after all he’s been through“, commented his teammate, the champion of France Florian Sénéchal.
Read alsoBehind the scenes of the broom wagon, Saint-Bernard of the Tour de France
On August 5, 2020, Jakobsen came close to losing his life in the Tour of Poland when, in a sprint finish in Katowice, he was crushed into the barriers by his compatriot Dylan Groenewegen. Disfigured after crashing into the barriers at very high speed, placed in an artificial coma, Jakobsen was able to resume racing eight months later while Groenewegen was given a nine-month suspension. The two Dutch sprinters won at the start of the Tour (Jakobsen at Nyborg, Groenewegen at Sonderborg).
Read alsoTour de France : Jakobsen-Groenewegen, retours d’enfer
