Tour of Turkey continues to be Fabio Jakobsen's special race; Dutchman wins for the first time in new team ahead of Giro d'Italia: "The sprint is also starting to go better"

A few years ago, the Tour of Turkey was the race where Fabio Jakobsen returned to competition after the life-threatening crash at the Tour of Poland. This year, the Dutch sprinter has won for the first time in the jersey of Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL, making this race extra special for himself.

“It's always special to win. As a rider you naturally want to win straight away. We've been close a few times. Today we managed to stay together in the chaotic final. Bram [Welten] and Tobias [Lund Andresen] were able to help me very well in the final phase. Here is a happy rider," Jakobsen said in a post-race interview. "The Tour of Turkey is a special race for me. The first victory I managed to achieve in Turkey was against Sam Bennett and Mark Cavendish. They were the best sprinters in the world at the time.”

It was a regular sprint stage. Despite not having the leadout specialists of Astana and BORA, Jakobsen placed himself in the wheel of the perfectly organized Alpecin-Deceuninck leadout and managed to sprint out of the wheel to take a very comfortable victory ahead of a few outsiders. His first win of the season. “The Tour of Turkey was also my first race after my heavy fall in the Tour of Poland. There are always a lot of people along the side of the road here and the weather is always nice. It's a fun race to ride I'm happy to be here again and win.”

The Dutchman put high hopes into this race as he had not taken a triumph over the opening months of the season. He will still have other opportunities to succeed, but it a much needed shot of motivation only weeks ahead of the Giro d'Italia where he will seek victories. “But of course you never know for sure. We always give 100%. I have had a good training camp with a view to this race and the Giro d'Italia. I also feel better now than at the start of the season. The sprint is also starting to go better," he concluded.