About a year ago, Fabio Jakobsen was on a hospital bed fighting for his life in an induced coma after a horrific crash at the Tour of Poland.
On Tuesday, he was a stage winner again at a Grand Tour race, taking the lead in the final stretch of the closing sprint to win the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana.
“It’s a dream come true,” said the Dutchman from team Deceuninck-Quick-Step. “After the crash, it was a long way back, but I’m happy I’m here.”
Photo: AFP
Rein Taaramae held on at the top of the overall standings despite crashing with a couple of kilometers to go.
It was Jakobsen’s biggest victory since he needed reconstructive facial surgery after being pushed into the roadside barriers by Dylan Groenewegen in the final sprint of the first stage at the Tour of Poland. Groenewegen later received a nine-month suspension from the Union Cycliste Internationale.
“It took a lot of time and a lot of efforts by a lot of people,” Jakobsen said. “This is also their victory. I’m talking about the doctors, the surgeons, the medical staff in Poland until my second family here, the team and everybody in between. It’s also my family’s victory because they are the reason why I am here.”
Jakobsen passed Arnaud Demare only a few meters from the finish line at the end of the 163.9km flat stage into Molina de Aragon.
“It was a hectic bunch sprint,” he said. “I just had a little bit more in the legs at the end. I’m happy I could pass him. I wasn’t sure I could do it, but I’m glad I did it for my teammates, because this is also their victory.”
Taaramae crashed with about 2km to go as the peloton went around a wide turn. The Estonian appeared to hurt his shoulder, but was able to get up quickly and rejoin the bunch, maintaining a 25-second overall lead over Kenny Elissonde.
“I don’t really know how I crashed. I went down but I’m alright. I don’t have many injuries. I’m a little bit burned,” Taaramae said. “If there’s no wind tomorrow, I probably can keep the jersey.”
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