"In the end, it’s always the best that goes" - Fabio Jakobsen on Tour de France selection

As the cycling world got more aware of a potential dispute within Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team, questions have been put to both Mark Cavendish and Fabio Jakobsen on their thoughts on a possible Tour de France selection. Jakobsen has dissolved the existence of any rivalry.

"I think we all said the same thing, but I guess you want to end up with a rivalry. I’ve been in this team for four, five years, I started at the bottom so I’m kind of used to this. My planning goes towards there. But as Patrick said, if I’m not in shape Cav can go and Cav also has a plan," Jakobsen said in an interview prior to Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, where he is set to race this Sunday in search of his fifth win of the season.

"In the end, it’s always the best that goes. We don’t hand out selections in December, it’s just the plan. We are winning races, and that’s what we are bike riders for. The best will go… as everybody in the team will say. I guess we will see who that is," he added.

Having to prove his worth and collect quality wins in order to have a safe place in the Tour de France lineup, it has taken no time for Jakobsen to start off his winning ways in 2022, racking up four of the five sprint stages he's raced so far this season at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana and Volta ao Algarve.

"It's always easy to see the winners and be willing to measure yourself against them as an athlete. I saw a summary of the sprinters going to Tirreno and Paris-Nice, and he's going to be there so I look forward to it," he says regarding Jasper Philipsen's presence at Paris-Nice, where Jakobsen is scheduled to be at next month.

He concluded: "Right now, I haven’t been better than I am now. If I don’t win now, I don’t think I could have won before also. The power data, but also my feeling on the bike, my feeling in the race… it’s just a bit better than in previous years. It has to do with age and experience."