02 October 2020

Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen opens up about horror crash and upcoming reconstructive face surgery

Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen has spoken in depth for the first time about the rehabilitation from his shocking crash at the Tour of Poland in August.

During a sprint finish at the Tour of Poland, the 24-year-old was edged into the barriers at extremely high speed and ended up in a coma.

Jakobsen (far left) was edged into the barriers during a sprint finish in August (Imago/PA Images)

Now, having recovered sufficiently from his most serious injuries, Jakobsen has taken to Twitter to give people an update on his current condition.

He said: "The past 2 months have been dominated by my recovery after my crash in the Tour of Poland. First of all, I had to recover from my brain contusion and other bruises/injuries for a long time. The wounds/scars on my face are healing up well.

"I would like to thank all the staff of the LUMC and in particular Dr. H. Locher and M. Hendriksma for the good care these past months. On October 8, I will undergo a second surgery to reconstruct my face/mouth. The surgery takes place at Radboud UMC Nijmegen and I am in the hands of Prof. Dr. S. Bergé and Prof. Dr. G. Meijer.

"The surgery involves placing bone, taken from my pelvic crest, in my upper and lower jaw, because a lot of bone is missing there. This bone will have to heal for several months.

"After that, another surgery will take place to put implants in my jaw so that I can get new teeth, as I lost them during my crash."

Jakobsen, who rides for Deceuninck-Quick-Step, is a promising young rider and has major wins on his record such as two stage victories at the Vuelta Espana and last year’s Dutch National Road Race Championships.

Fellow dutch rider Dylan Groenewegen was suspended by his Jumbo-Visma team following the crash as he was the rider who forced Jakobsen into the barriers.

And on Wednesday, Jumbo-Visma confirmed Groenewegen will not race for the rest of the 2020 season as he awaits the outcome of a disciplinary hearing being carried out by cycling’s governing body, the UCI.

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox