Changes in training and weight loss for Fabio Jakobsen after tough year - "Maybe the 2024 approach would’ve made me competitive four or five years ago"
Cycling
Fabio Jakobsen is a rider that has in the past been considered one of the very best sprinters in cycling. Perhaps that is still the case, but the overall level and pace over the last few years has improved so vastly that the Dutchman often finds himself not even being able to contest the sprints. In 2025 that changes, after a lot of reflection and big changes.
"Last year, I often didn’t manage to get into the right position and didn’t even get to sprint. That’s partly physical and partly tactical, and those often go hand-in-hand," Jakobsen said in an interview with In de Leiderstrui.
"We all need to keep up with the times, and last year I fell behind in that regard. Now, I’m trying to take at least one step forward, if not more. That’s why I’m ahead of my usual schedule—I don’t want to spend another year playing catch-up."
After losing several kilos, Jakobsen has now also begun focusing more on the non-sprinting part of his training. In 2024 he put the maximum emphasis in gaining muscle mass and raw power for the bunch finishes, but he payed in climbing ability. Over the year, where he won once (at the Tour of Turkey), he often struggled on the climbs even when the pace was not so high. In the Grand Tours it proved to be absolutely hellish for the Team Picnic PostNL rider.
"I’ve never seen myself as a pure sprinter but always viewed myself through the lens of a classics-style rider, both in training and as a racer. Otherwise, you don’t win a race like Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne," he says, one where he'd like to perform again. "I shouldn’t push that aspect aside too much. Classics riders can position themselves well, recover from deep efforts, and I need to get back to that a bit more."
With the weight of the Dutch team on his shoulders, of which he signed to be a leader and undisputed head sprinter last year, there is the responsibility to improve.
"Cycling is evolving, it’s faster and harder, especially uphill. I trained extremely hard for that. I gained a few kilos of extra muscle mass, and that’s clear in the data. That worked well, but it wasn’t functional at all for winning races. We have to be honest about that," he admits. Now, the focus has changed, and he is positive that 2025 will hold better luck.
"Maybe the 2024 approach would’ve made me competitive four or five years ago. Last year, we put too much emphasis on maximizing my sprint power, but you still need to be able to sprint at the end of a race. It’s about finding the right balance, and that’s what we’re working on. We’re getting closer, but I don’t want to be premature—it needs to show in races first."
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GC aims in the @giroditalia and stage hunting @letourdefrance with our Men’s program🥇
— Team Picnic PostNL (@picnicpostnl) January 6, 2025
With plenty of sprinting prowess in our ranks in 2025 we want to build on last year and go for even more top results in races throughout the year. Alongside that we’ll continue to grow our… pic.twitter.com/Z6arUk1sam
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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