Jakobsen will no longer start in the twelfth Tour stage after difficult days | Tour de France

Jul 13, 2023 at 10:21Update: 7 minutes ago

Fabio Jakobsen will no longer start on Thursday in the twelfth stage of the Tour de France. The Soudal Quick-Step sprinter is suffering too much from the injuries from last week’s heavy crash.

“Because of my crash in the fourth stage and after consultation with the team, we have decided that it is better for me to leave the Tour,” Jakobsen said on his team’s website. “At the moment it seems impossible for me to make it to Paris because I am not recovering from the injuries from my crash.”

The 26-year-old Jakobsen crashed hard last Tuesday in the fourth stage of the Tour. He continued the French cycling tour, but had a particularly difficult time in recent days.

On Tuesday, Jakobsen had a very tough day. He rode far behind the peloton for almost the entire stage and crossed the finish line 34 minutes after stage winner Pello Bilbao. “On days like this I doubt whether I am worthy of the Tour,” he even said. A day later he tried it in the bunch sprint, but he did not get further than sixteenth place.

Fabio Jakobsen crashed hard in the Tour last Tuesday. Photo: Getty Images

Jakobsen’s best result in this Tour was fourth place

“I am very sorry to have to leave the Tour, because I had big goals for this race and wanted to be at my best with the team,” said Jakobsen. “I will now take the time to recover and clear my head so that hopefully I will be back to my best later this season.”

His best result in this Tour was fourth place in the third stage. After that, the European road champion was only among the best fifteen in the seventh stage.

For Jakobsen it was his last Tour for Soudal Quick-Step. On Sunday, the Gelderlander announced that he will leave the Belgian team after this season.

The twelfth Tour stage takes the peloton over 168.8 kilometers from Roanne to Belleville-en-Beaujolais on Thursday. Along the way, the riders will have five climbs to choose from: two of the second category and three of the third category.

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