Vive le Vélo panel on Jakobsen and Groenewegen: “Let’s hope they can put it behind them one day” | Vive le Velo

On August 5, 2020, things went completely wrong in the opening stage of the Tour of Poland. Fabio Jakobsen had a horrific crash after a sprint duel with his compatriot Dylan Groenewegen. Jakobsen waited months of rehabilitation, but Groenewegen also disappeared for a long time.

“With the history of two years ago, this has been a special two-day,” Roxane Knetemann opened the conversation in Vive le Vélo. “Now they both win a Tour stage, but then we might have thought that we would never see the best sprinters in the world again.”

Sven Nys responded: “It is difficult to say whether certain riders will not grant Groenewegen this victory. At a certain moment the storm must also pass. Let us still assume that Groenewegen never intended to endangering it.”

“I still hope that at some point they shake hands and put this behind them. That would really be the best.”

Jan Bakelants especially sees that little has changed in cycling since then: “There are still many similar maneuvers, only fortunately they do not always have the same consequences. In those two years after the incident with Jakobsen, little actually changed. Groenewegen has now been dealt with extra because the consequences for Jakobsen were so enormous and visible.”

“We have taken steps in Flanders with security partner Boplan”, Nys nuances. “I think things definitely improved in that area.” Nys and Bakelants do find each other when it comes to arbitration: “We are still waiting too often for serious incidents.”

“In the case of Sagan yesterday, a point could certainly be made.” Knetemann also sees an important role for the UCI in this: “Today’s arrival was fine, but yesterday’s was quite hectic. We just need to monitor that more closely in the future.”

Afterwards, Fabio Jakobsen also came back to the sprint that he rode himself, but also that of Groenewegen: “I was in a good position at Mørkøv’s wheel, but then we would have been better off going from the outside to the inside. Then the rider from Intermarché-Wanty Gobert don’t come outside.”

“That rider makes an error of judgment and I lose Mørkøv’s wheel and with that 5 or 6 positions. Then the perfect lead-out is gone and I have to be patient, but the place didn’t come anymore. A small thing went wrong and then I am sitting too far and the sprint is over.”

“I think I had the legs to win and I also want to reward my team, but I don’t get to sprint. That’s just frustrating, but there are worse things in the world. For the moment, the frustration prevails.”

Jakobsen eventually saw Groenewegen clenched his fists: “Groenewegen is a top sprinter, we all know that. I had a lot of respect for him before the crash and that has disappeared since the crash.”

“In my eyes he made a serious mistake and my admiration for him is a lot less, but he shows here that he can do it. He will be happy with that, but frankly I don’t care.”