WARSAW—Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen endured a five-hour surgery and remained in a serious but stable condition on Thursday after a controversial crash with countryman Dylan Groenewegen near the finish line of the Tour of Poland.
Jakobsen was fighting for victory with Groenewegen on Wednesday in the first stage when the latter deviated from his line in the final meters and sent Jakobsen crashing through roadside barriers.
Groenewegen crossed the line in first place then hit the tarmac in a mass crash.
Jakobsen, who was awarded the stage win after Groenewegen was disqualified, was taken to St. Barbara’s Specialized Hospital in Sosnowiec, southern Poland, where he underwent surgery on his skull and face.
“There is no direct threat to his life now,” hospital Deputy Director and Doctor Pawel Gruenpeter said on Thursday.
Gruenpeter added surgery was “very complicated due to the nature of the injuries but went with no complications.”
Jakobsen’s Deceuninck Quick-Step team said no brain or spinal injury was revealed, and doctors would try to bring him out of coma later Thursday.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) condemned Groenewegen’s attitude and determined he was responsible for the crash. Groenewegen was disqualified by the race jury and faces further disciplinary sanctions.
“The UCI, which considers the behavior unacceptable, immediately referred the matter to the disciplinary commission to request the imposition of sanctions commensurate with the seriousness of the facts,” the federation said in a statement.
Police and prosecutors in Katowice are investigating the crash.
Groenewegen’s Jumbo-Visma team offered “sincere apologies” following the crash.
Many riders or former professionals also criticized the poor quality of the security barriers set up in the final section of the race, which did not seem to offer an appropriate protection.
“Situation like yesterday must make the UCI reflect on the current conditions of the race, they are no longer the 80s when the mattress was sufficient for protection,” Italian rider Alessandro de Marchi wrote on Twitter. “Today the speeds are absurd, we need an evolution in safety measures, and also how certain race actions are judged: we need tolerance zero!”
The crash took place exactly a year after Belgian Bjorg Lambrecht died in the hospital from injuries he sustained when he crashed into a concrete barrier during the third stage of the 76th edition of the Tour de Pologne.
The 77th edition runs through August 9.
The Jumbo-Visma team offered an apology an hour after the stage, acknowledging that “crashes like these should not happen.”
A number of other riders came down in the crash, including Groenewegen himself and Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ), who tore tendons in his shoulder and has been forced to abandon the race.
A course-side official was also impacted by the crash and was transported to hospital. Race Director Czeslaw Lang confirmed that the official suffered a head injury and is now in stable condition.
“Every year the same silly downhill sprint in the @Tour_de_Pologne Every year I ask myself why the organization thinks it‘s a good idea. Bunch sprints are dangerous enough, you don’t need a downhill finish with 80kph!” wrote Simon Geschke (CCC Team) on Twitter.”
Groenewegen was judged to have deviated from his line in the sprint, and his Jumbo-Visma team wrote on Twitter on Wednesday evening that “crashes like this should not happen,” offering their apologies, and saying that they “will discuss internally what has happened before we may make any further statement.”
Understandably, there was a strong reaction from Jakobsen’s own Deceuninck-QuickStep squad, with Manager Patrick Lefevere going as far as suggesting that Groenewegen should be jailed for his manoeuvre.
One of Lefevere’s riders—overall pre-race favorite Remco Evenepoel—called for a life suspension, although the tweet appeared to have later been taken down. AP and Cyclingnews
Image credits: AP