Fabio Jakobsen successfully woken up from induced coma

Doctors have successfully brought Fabio Jakobsen out of his induced coma this afternoon, in an important step in the Dutchman's recovery.

Medical staff had initially thought to try and bring him around yesterday but decided to delay it a day when nearly 48 hours would have passed since his crash at the Tour of Poland. The hospital confirmed the Dutch champion was still in a “serious but stable” condition since waking up.

“The patient is conscious, he reacts to solicitations, he is breathing on its own, the [heart function] is normal. We are now very happy," deputy director of Sosnowiec hospital Pawel Gruenpeter said to Polish media.

Thankfully, Gruenpeter says Jakobsen suffered no brain damage and his spine wasn't broken. However, medical staff are yet to find out how much nervous system damage the Deceuninck - Quick-Step rider's face suffered.

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"There was no brain damage and his spine is intact, but it is not clear how much the nervous system in his face was damaged," Gruenpeter said.

All of the bones in Jakobsen's face were broken and he lost all his teeth, but fortunately no vital organs were hit.

Team boss Patrick Lefevere arranged a private flight from Rotterdam to Poland for Jakobsen's girlfriend and parents, who were accompanied by a psychologist who will help the riders and staff present in Poland. Lefevere has also said the team will file a formal complaint to Polish police over the crash. The team boss added that Polish hospital spoke to the press before speaking to the team about Jakobsen's condition.

"Polish doctors do an excellent job, but none of them speak English and our medical staff cannot reach them because of the anti-covid rules," Lefevere told Tuttobiciweb. "And then the hospital speaks first with the press and then with us. However, we will pay for a translator and if we have to take him to the most expensive or most famous surgeon in the world, we will do it ."

Fabio Jakobsen was severely injured when hitting and then flying over a barrier after being forced into one by Jumbo-Visma’s Dylan Groenewegen in the closing metres of the sprint in Katowice.

In the immediate aftermath, Lefevere took to Twitter to claim that Groenewegen’s actions were criminal and that "they have to put this guy in jail."

The UCI has already announced that it will investigate the sprint, with Groenewegen potentially in line for repercussions.

Jakobsen's team-mate Julian Alaphilippe has also said there are "a lot of things to change" in cycling.

"For sure, there are a lot of things that can be changed, everybody has to be involved in that decision because it’s too much," the Frenchman said when asked if the UCI and the Professional Cyclists Association (CPA) need to join forces in order to make conditions better.

"It’s not the first time unfortunately, it’s really bad. I will not talk too much about it but it’s not only the finish line, it’s the other rider. It has to change – the organiser, the CPA, there is for sure a lot of things to do."