Is Visma's Jakobsen experiment working? - "This fourth place almost feels like a small victory when you consider where Fabio has come from"
Cycling
Visma | Lease a Bike's Fabio Jakobsen experiment will see its first chapter close this weekend. After taking on four bunch sprints since his move to the Dutch team, there are early signs that the former Grand Tour stage winner can improve ahead of 2027.
The 30-year-old former European champion has won 46 times throughout his career, but hasn't won since at the Tour of Turkey in April 2024. After a poor two seasons at Picnic PostNL, he left the team by mutual agreement before joining Visma until the end of 2027.
In the surprising move, Visma have expressed their confidence in guiding Jakobsen back to his highest level, and with the Dutch rider returning to the professional peloton at Sparkassen Munsterland Giro and the ongoing Tour of Guangxi, all four of his race days have ended in bunch sprints.
With a program aimed at helping him gradually improve, four bunch sprints have shown him take his best results of 2026 - including two 16th places in Guangxi and a 15th in the one-day classic Sparkassen Munsterland Giro.
Fabio Jakobsen signs for Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Visma's Jakobsen experiment
But it was Thursday's Guangxi sprint that provided an unexpected leap forward as he took 4th place in the stage that featured over 210 kilometres and some difficult hills for sprinters - terrain that Jakobsen has struggled on with illnesses and injuries over the past two seasons.
The result is his highest finish in a WorldTour race in over two and a half years as he searches for his first WorldTour win since the 2023 Tirreno Adriatico. For Visma, the fourth place feels like a win in itself as they expressed their optimism at his improvement.
"This fourth place almost feels like a small victory when you consider where Fabio has come from. In his last four races with the team, he has achieved his four best results of the season," Sports director Gaëtan Pons said after the stage.
"Physically, he's not back to his previous level yet, but we're clearly seeing progress. He wants to fight again, enjoys racing, and is showing a lot of confidence. That's an important step toward next season."
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Unexpected result thrills team
The result gains added weight given the unexpected nature, with the terrain more difficult than the previous two bunch sprints. The team hope that it can be a platform for next season.
"Initially, we hadn't identified this stage as an opportunity for Fabio because the course might have been too demanding. However, he managed to survive the climbs thanks to the support of his teammates.
"In the finale, the guys did an excellent job. Fabio himself mentioned that it had been a long time since he'd had such a good lead-out. Owen, in particular, did a fantastic job in the final meters."
Jakobsen may well get one more opportunity to wind up the legs in Guangxi on stage 5. Despite some earlier climbs, a largely flat finale could offer the sprinters one last opportunity of the season.
Fabio Jakobsen in four bunch sprints at Visma
| Race | Position |
| Sparkassen Munsterland Giro | 15th |
| Tour of Guangxi Stage 1 | 16th |
| Tour of Guangxi Stage 2 | 16th |
| Tour of Guangxi Stage 3 | 4th |
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- They’ll retire anyway sooner or later, so get over it!Lozza15-10-2026
- Hope it’s not gone for good!Lozza15-10-2026
- I can no longer take you seriously here. I suppose you don't want to be a part of our community.awp15-10-2026
- Keep it coming Fabio!Cyclingsbestfan15-10-2026
- I was sorry to hear of the death of your Mother. My condolencies Valentina. The article started talking about doping and said "Thanks to their hard work, the community can live in an "illusion" that the current cycling is a clean sport." Has there been a translation error, or is the author of the piece making a comment on the state of doping within the peleton? The former surely?Cyclingsbestfan15-10-2026
- It does not take a genius to understand the situation.abstractengineer15-10-2026
- No, but if they're working for him, they cant work for a rival team/GC guy either. Cycling is more complex than "this one guy by himself cant beat Pogi ergo he's unbeatable" - Pog has a team capable of strangling the peloton before he makes his attacks. If he didn't have that, and another team/multiple other teams had that depth.. then things would get interesting.wrsty15-10-2026
- Great to see him finish strongmij15-10-2026
- I guess not since it is happening all of the timemij15-10-2026
- Like any of them could beat Pogi! As if!Lozza15-10-2026
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