"I know of myself that I will not give up" - Fabio Jakobsen struggles through but survives first mountain block

Fabio Jakobsen is traditionally a rider who struggles through the mountains, but having crashed hard at the end of stage 4, the task was made even harder. However with the support of Soudal - Quick-Step he's made it through the first mountain range and will have the opportunity to sprint today.

“I have heard people with a lot of experience say that the second day after a fall is the most difficult, I can confirm that. In the beginning I was still hanging in there, but from the Aspin it was a déjà vu," Jakobsen shared with AD at the end of the day. "Last year I also had to let the peloton go early. I couldn't go any faster. The legs are stiff, the butt sore and then I have to ride my own pace without exploding. Fortunately I had three very strong teammates with me, Dries Devenyns, Tim Declercq and Michael Morkov. Later on, Yves Lampaert also dropped down and then we were five.”

The Belgian team knew it had to fully support the European champion here. With the exception of Kasper Asgreen and Julian Alaphilippe who both worked relentlessly in the day's breakaway - and later cracked - the team circles around Jakobsen as soon as the roads went up. A day of survival was ahead, but with good management they arrived within the time limit, 37 minutes down on stage winner Tadej Pogacar.

“Then you ride a super descent and you go hard through the valley. On the last climb I had the best legs of the day. That's not normal, but that's because of the crash. In the morning everything is stuck and then it just takes a few hours before the engine is running again," he says. "I thought: if I can finish this stage with this, I just have to keep eating and drinking and who knows, maybe I will go far in this Tour.”

Jakobsen may begin to improve after his injuries today, and on stage 7 into Bordeaux the roads are flat and favourable to him. He will certainly attempt to make a bid for the stage win, even if the fatigue could very well be felt in the final kilometers, but in the meantime he stays in the race.

“I know of myself that I will not give up, I made that agreement with myself years ago. So I keep going as hard as I can. I tell those guys what I can and can't do. We do take risks in the descent, but not too much to fall. My wife said if you survive today you will make it to Monday. I was only concerned with today. I'm going to have the wounds taken care of again, new patches on it and then I hope to recover well and sleep well. I won't know until tomorrow if I can sprint, but I'm not going to say no yet," he concluded.