"It was now or never" - Fabio Jakobsen has no doubts about returning to his former level thanks to a surgery

Fabio Jakobsen's transfer to Picnic PostNL was not what either of the parties had hoped for as the Dutchman was miles away from his best competitive level. But after a long struggle, the diagnosis of pinched pelvic artery in both legs came with a notable relief and Jakobsen could finally get treated.

In the Speed ​​on Wheels podcast, Jakobsen retells the story of difficult past year when he was unable to perform. "You search as a rider. You start looking for it in the logical things. What had changed? Training, nutrition and equipment had all changed somewhat."

"But the doctor said that it has been going on for two to three years, and that it is largely due to overload from top-level sport. I am a sprinter and in my case you could see the difference between being able to win and not participating at all very clearly."

It was complicated to pinpoint the exact cause especially due to nature of this health problem. "It only happened at a heart rate higher than 170. Endurance training and also tempo duration I actually felt great. That first race in the AlUla Tour was also fine, but when it went really hard, I suddenly became very bad."

The team and rider could not explain it. "I thought: I have to work more on the upper zone. I thought I was getting a bit older at 28. But I had done everything I could for three months and knew I was competitive."

And so Jakobsen lined up to AlUla Tour, full of hope to finally contribute all the hard work into a victory on the opening sprint stage. "In the first race I had a perfect lead-out, but I didn't even get second or third. I got eleventh..."

There were some ups and downs, but the cup of patience overflew at the end of March when Jakobsen was no longer able to even hang onto the peloton. It was time to get a thorough check.

"The doctor said: 'If you don't do this now, you'll be done with cycling in two or three years.' He advised that it was now or never," Jakobsen reveals the harsh diagnosis, which brought about a sense of relief.

For the Dutchman who was put through many tests in his career, there was no reason to hesitate about going under the knife. "I didn't like it this way anymore. I did everything for it and was used to competing for the win, but that didn't work. It was also a bit like: if this doesn't work, then that it's it for my cycling career."

Jakobsen hopes to be able to race again this season, even if he has a lot of catching up to do. "I'm starting to become more and more myself again. Secretly I hope that I can still contribute my part at the end of this season if the recovery continues. I think it should be possible to be competitive in September and October. But I have agreed with the doctors to follow the rehabilitation every week."