After a hard start to the Giro d’Italia, Fabio Jakobsen was building into the race and set to take on the sprint opportunities in the second week with Team dsm-firmenich PostNL. However, on Wednesday’s stage 11 those chances were cut short with Jakobsen involved in a heavy crash in the high speed finale. Initial assessments revealed skin abrasions and cuts but no fractures, however discomfort from the impact of such a crash has worsened overnight making it too difficult to continue.
Jakobsen expressed: “It’s a shame to leave race like this. I was starting to feel better, my legs were improving, and I was looking forward to being in the fight for results with the team. I’m pretty sore after the crash so will rest up and recover before building for the next goals with the team. I wish the guys the best for the remainder of the race and I’ll be cheering them on from home.”
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL physician Laurens Kappelle added: “As we expressed yesterday, Fabio suffered some scrapes and abrasions in the crash but with no fractures. However, it was a hard fall and his pain has worsened overnight so in the interest of his health, he won’t start today’s stage and head home to rest and recover.”
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL coach Matt Winston concluded: “Fabio had a tough patch at the beginning of the race but he was coming into it well. We saw him do some really nice teamwork in the previous days to keep Romain safe and help for the break formations, so we were hopeful of our chances in the upcoming sprints. It’s a shame to see him leave the race and we all wish him a speedy recovery.
“It hasn’t been the most ideal start to the race here in Italy with some sickness in the team in the first week impacting the majority of the guys and causing us to lose Bram in the first days. We are still super motivated to really get something from this race and the rest of guys here will keep fighting to show ourselves at the front.”
