"It's really disappointing" - More bad luck for Fabio Jakobsen as he crashes again at Baloise Belgium Tour

Things haven't been going especially well for Fabio Jakobsen of late. After a quiet Giro d'Italia before his abandonment ahead of stage 12, the Dutch sprinter was hoping to show some form ahead of the Tour de France at the Baloise Belgium Tour, although that's not quite how things have transpired so far.

After finishing 14th in the bunch sprint of stage 2, the Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL powerhouse was denied any sprint opportunity on stage 3 after a late crash. "Bummer again, of course," Jakobsen reacted to Wielerrevue post-stage. "I'm actually feeling okay when we get to that cobblestone climb. But a boy from Novo Nordisk is racing in Belgium for the first time, I think. He rode into a crack between the concrete slabs and falls. I fell over his bike and then I fell on him. And that hurts..."

The Dutchman was visibly frustrated as he sat glumly at the roadside waiting for his team car and knowing another sprint chance was passing him by. In the end though, Jakobsen did get back on his bike and finish the stage, crossing the line in 148th position, over ten minutes down on the eventual stage winner, Jasper Philipsen.

As such, Jakobsen continues on for stage 4 although there's little chance of much joy for him on this Queen Stage of the race. "I have some abrasions and I can feel my ribs a little, but the damage is manageable," the 27-year-old assesses of his current condition. "Although I would of course prefer to just sprint along. It's really disappointing."

"After the Giro d'Italia I lost three kilograms. That took a bit of adjustment. I had three or four weeks to do that and then it was doable. In the Giro d'Italia I was a bit out of shape. balance," he concludes. "There is a lot more of that balance now, but that does not mean that everything is suddenly different. Because yesterday was just a flat sprint and I was there, but I didn't have a sprint in my legs yet. However, I was already closer than in the Giro d'Italia."