Fabio Jakobsen: "This is of course a big boost"

Fabio Jakobsen has won the final stage of the Baloise Belgium Tour, a tough finale where Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl focused on the overall classification, but the 25-year old managed to nevertheless capitalize on the sprint.

With Quick-Step on full force - and controversy - in the Golden Kilometer inside the final ten kilometers, Jakobsen didn't have his traditional team support. “I didn't really get what happened during the Golden Kilometers. I was locked in the peloton, out of the wind. I was the only one of the team who didn't have to work, because I was still allowed to do my own sprint," he described.

"I can do it without Michael Mørkøv, it just gets a lot more difficult," Jakobsen addmited. Nevertheless he got through the final chaotic kilometers without much support and well positioned into the final meters as BORA - hansgrohe launched the sprint.

He detailed his final sprint: “I just surfed a bit from train to train. First I was with Cofidis, then with Alpecin. All I had to do was follow Philipsen, so I did. It sounds very easy, of course, but this involves an awful lot of training hours.”

This win will cement the Dutchman's confidence heading into the Tour de France where he will be fighting for stage wins and the green jersey: “I can beat the best sprinters. With a view to the Tour de France, this is of course a big boost. I am very happy, I cannot do more than this," he concluded.