"I had to really overcome that fear" - Fabio Jakobsen opens up on mental struggles following horror crash that nearly ended his career

With two wins to his name already this season, Fabio Jakobsen has plenty to smile about. A few years ago however, things looked much bleaker for the Dutch sprinter following a horror crash that threatened to bring his career to a premature end, an incident that left more than just physical scars.

Almost three years since the life changing crash at the Tour de Pologne, Jakobson sat down with Eurosport to discuss the challenges he has faced on his way back to being considered one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton. “I just took it one day at a time and one race at a time, one training at a time," he says. "If you would have seen me on August 6, 2020, then thought where I would be now, it would be impossible to imagine."

The physical injuries sustained by Jakobsen were numerous and so serious he had to placed in an induced coma. “I was missing 10 teeth, some bone in the facial area," the Soudal - Quick-Step man reveals. “I lost 10kg of body. So you could say fat, muscle and some teeth. So first the goal was to just become a normal man again."

Arguably more challenging for Jakobsen to overcome was the mental trauma he suffered after the incident which saw sprint rival Dylan Groenewegen given a 9 month suspension. "Because with what happened to me I can easily be scared and think, 'it's not for me anymore, I almost lost my life'," he explains. "I had to really overcome that fear to re-enter the final and be there, where the danger can happen, and where you can be scared or fearful."