"Leading-out, positioning, or collecting water bottles..." - Small steps of Fabio Jakobsen to reach his former level
Cycling
Fabio Jakobsen had to overcome many obstacles in his career, most recently pinched illiac arteries. The former European champion underwent a surgery in April to get rid of the ailment. Four months later, Jakobsen was back in action at the Tour of Denmark and from Wednesday, also back at the WorldTour level at Renewi Tour.
"It's going well. At least, well enough to race again," Jakobsen told
In de Leiderstrui. "In Denmark, it actually went okay. We rode hard, but of course, everyone trained all summer. I've only been back in full swing for four or five weeks, so I did notice I was a bit lacking. But it was enough to ride in between."
Jakobsen dropped out of the race after two stages, something that might have been rather intentional: "We had a dropout in the Renewi Tour, so it was a risk to finish Denmark and then perhaps start the Renewi Tour a bit tired. That made it a wise decision not to continue there and now have five good days. Of course, you prefer to finish a race, but we also need to keep building momentum."
"It was a 50-50 decision to stay there. I would have been willing to take the risk, but the team preferred me to spend five days here at Renewi. And I ultimately agreed to that," explains the Picnic PostNL sprinter, who has to put his own ambitions aside for a while.
Ultimately, the Dutchman likes racing in front of his home, or almost home, crowds as pretty much anyone. "I enjoy riding in the Netherlands and Belgium, and the Renewi Tour is a great race. I'm going to try to help the team. Whether that's leading-out the sprint, positioning myself, or collecting water bottles, it doesn't matter to me. I just want to have a good race and get better again."
Fabio Jakobsen has all the reasons to smile again
Bright future ahead
The sensations are regardless great, as far as the 28-year-old can judge. There'll be a lot of work to do in the off-season but for the first time in a while, Jakobsen can see a clear pathway towards his best self.
"The problem is solved, I can tell. Now I'm just lacking fitness. My legs aren't getting as acidic as quickly, and I'm doing well, but I've been out of action for too long. And I just need to get that back."
"Normally, when I crested a climb, my legs would struggle to turn," he explains the difference. "And then I'd think I'd dug too deep. From the moment I reached the top, my legs started turning better again. Then, on the flat or the descent, I can immediately make up positions where I'd previously been struggling."
Jakobsen still lacks something to compete at the highest level, but that's a margin that can be overcome with time, which is a positive. "It's quite confronting that you still have to drop off when the pace is high for a long time. But that's training, not something related to what I had. You want to compete right away. I'm used to riding in finals, so that's a bit of an adjustment."
All in all, he can't help but draw a positive final assessment. "I already felt things were improving in training, but the racing itself was good," Jakobsen says. "In Denmark, I even tried to jump into the first breakaway, something I haven't been able to do for a year and a half."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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