NOS Cycling•
Fabio Jakobsen escaped a potentially serious crash in the final stage of the Argentine Tour of San Juan.
While the Dutchman sprinted at full speed for the stage victory, he came past the crush barriers with his head against the outstretched arm of a spectator. He had a phone in his hand, which knocked the racing glasses off Jakobsen’s face.
Miraculously, Jakobsen survived and crossed the finish line second behind winner Sam Welsford (DSM).
That was different two years ago along the crush barriers at the Tour of Poland when Jakobsen crashed at the finish, ended up in an artificial coma with serious injuries and was out for a long time.
‘Weird Finale’
“Not the denouement we had hoped for, but luckily Jakobsen remained intact in that bizarre final,” Quick-Step, Jakobsen’s team, said on Twitter after the finish.
The overall victory in the Tour of San Juan was for Miguel Angel López.
The final stage was not the most difficult stage. With 112 kilometers of laps, but no real curves in San Juan, the scenario was already set in advance: a sprint. That did not prevent a number of riders from looking for their luck. The peloton caught the breakaway with 10 kilometers to go.
Remco Evenepoel, the world champion, then squeaked away with Quin Simmons. The move surprised the sprinter teams, who eventually closed the gap with difficulty.
