Fabio Jakobsen: "I know my place, but of course I sometimes secretly dream of winning a cycling monument"

Fabio Jakobsen started out as a versatile rider as an under-23. With the level in recent years rising in the classics Jakobsen couldn't take the leap, but currently he chooses to dedicate himself to the sprints where he's achieved significant success in recent years.

“I notice that I am being maneuvered towards that a bit. But I still have a lot to show in the Grand Tour sprints," Jakobsen admitted in an interview with Algemeen Dagblad. "My strength lies in winning sprints and going for stages. There are many competitions for that throughout the year.”

Click here to create your own team for the Fantasy Spring Classics Men. 1st prize is $1,600/€1,500/£1,330!!

Part of Soudal - Quick-Step, Jakobsen had been guided towards a possible role in the classics. Races such as Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne (where he is the defending champion) and Gent-Wevelgem could be within reach. However, he's manifested himself as a pure sprinter, and is the sitting European champion due to that capacity.

“I think I belong to the fastest sprinters in the world and I can beat anyone. So there is still a lot to achieve, apart from the great cycling monuments. Sprinting, that's what I'm really good at. A lot of guys are better than me in the tougher competitions. I especially want to keep sprinting very well, to remain one of the best at it," he adds.

For a while Milano-Sanremo - termed the sprinters' monument - looked to be a big goal for Jakobsen, but he's not racing the Italian event this year as he has realized that puncheurs and classics specialists are the big contenders, alongside the sprinters who thrive on uphill efforts.

“But there is absolutely no plan that I am mapping out now. If you want to win Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders, you have to be among the top five riders in the world at the time," he states. "I absolutely don't. Moreover, there are guys in my team who are better at it.”

“I used to say that in Milan-San Remo I would have the greatest chances in a monument, but that course has really changed in recent years with good climbers and fast riders. At the top of the Poggio there are often only ten or fifteen men left. I am no longer there. I know my place, but of course I sometimes secretly dream of winning a cycling monument," Jakobsen concluded.

The Dutchman has taken his first win of the year at the Vuelta a San Juan this January, and although he'll skip the main classics he will still follow a meaningful calendar in Belgium: Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, Le Samyn, Brugge-De Panne, Gent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs are all in his schedule, as well as a possible Paris-Roubaix debut.