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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- Pure fantasy!Lozza15-10-2026
- yeah and the headline of the next article for me to read on this site is: "Picnic PostNL release statement after explosive investigation - Allegations of fear culture and 'dictatorship' emerge" I wouldn't hold anything against a rider that does not excel and/or quits that team. everything written about them is that of a cancer for years. I hope he gets some results. seems like an easy decision to give him a chance. he is a likable guy. I hope his first win is against Dylan G.mij15-10-2026
- what race was he watching? Tadej looking less brilliant than usual? he was able to win stages for himself, others, and basically control the entire peloton with his strength. this is a crazy comment.mij15-10-2026
- I don't have a beef with Tadej, I think he's great. But had he not crashed and had he continued to race the Vuelta and won it, I don't know if he would have been fresh enough to win Il Lombardia. Maybe and maybe not. I hope you're not as dumb as the other guy who questioned me, we can dive into data if you'd like.awp15-10-2026
- They’re ‘aving a laugh, surely! 😂Lozza15-10-2026
- Especially on a 212 km stage with 1794 m of climbing and 4 climbs in the final 60 km
Rafionain-Glas15-10-2026 - considering he went from not finishing stages to top 10, its pretty goodabstractengineer15-10-2026
- Nah , he lost, he could not make that upabstractengineer15-10-2026
- Its more of a teardown rather than a rebuild.abstractengineer15-10-2026
- Have you considered the impacts of his crash?Rafionain-Glas15-10-2026
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