Fabio Jakobsen will be able to race again after an awful crash at the Tour of Poland, according to his team’s doctor.
The Dutch sprinter was forced into the barrier at high speed on the opening day of the WorldTour stage race and suffered serious injuries when the railings gave way.
Jakobsen (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) was put into an induced coma in hospital due to the severity of his injuries, but has since been woken up by doctors.
The 23-year-old is able to move his arms and legs and communicate with doctors and fortunately major neurological problems have been ruled out, but due to undergoing extensive facial surgery Jakobsen is unable to speak or eat.
But in an interview with Dutch broadcaster Sporza, Deceuninck – Quick-Step doctor Yvan Vanmol is optimistic about the rider’s recovery.
Vanmol said: “Given the seriousness of the accident, Fabio Jakobsen is doing very well"
“I do not dare to put a time on it, but we assume that Fabio will be a rider again.”
Vanmol said there are concerns about the aesthetic damage to Jakobsen’s face and about whether the muscles around his mouth are affected.
Jakobsen is currently communicating via text message and will be transferred back to the Netherlands soon.
Fabio Jakobsen was severely injured after hitting and then flying over a barrier when he was forced into one by Jumbo-Visma’s Dylan Groenewegen in the closing metres of the sprint in Katowice.
Groenwegen, who suffered a broken collarbone in the crash, was disqualified from the race and the UCI has already announced that it will investigate the sprint, with Groenewegen potentially in line for repercussions.
The race was eventually won overall by Quick-Step’s Remco Evenepoel, who dedicated his win to Jakobsen.
Evenepoel said: "It’s an amazing way to end what started as a very hard week for us. Three stage wins and the general classification is incredible, but the best result is that Fabio is recovering. From the moment the news came from the hospital about his condition, we received a big boost and gave absolutely everything for him. Knowing how he fought there gave us a lot of strength."
