Friday, May 7th, 2021
Arguing instead of apologizing
Dispute over horror fall flares up again
These are terrible images that will be remembered from August 5, 2020 from Katowice. Professional cyclist Fabio Jakobsen crashes into the barriers in the final sprint and suffers terrible injuries. Dylan Groenewegen is to blame for pushing him off. The argument between them is not over yet.
Bad boy Dylan Groenewegen is very humble before his first bike race after a nine-month ban. “The question is how the other drivers react to me. I will accept any emotion,” said the Dutchman before his comeback at the Giro d’Italia on Saturday. The sprinter is aware that he will be the focus of the second most important tour in the world. “I think my presence will be closely examined in the near future.”
Groenewegen pushed his compatriot Fabio Jakobsen into a barrier on August 5th last year on the first stage of the Tour of Poland in a downhill sprint to the finish in Katowice at more than 80 kilometers per hour. Jakobsen was in the meantime in an artificial coma, fought for his life for days and had to be operated on several times. After the fall, he only had one tooth of his own and had to be sewn with 130 stitches on his face.
Gronewegen was then blocked for nine months. Such a severe sanction had never existed for such an offense. The ban expires one day before the start of the Giro. But the aftermath could last longer, because Jakobsen is considering legal action against his compatriot. “Dylan has not offered a personal apology and has shown no will to take responsibility for his actions. I would like to reach an understanding with Dylan, but it takes two,” wrote the 24-year-old on Twitter: “The next steps will be determined now my lawyers take care, I will not make any further comments. “
“I’m disappointed”
Groenewegen, on the other hand, had spoken publicly about meeting Jakobsen and was pleased with the pleasant affair. “We sat across from each other in a small room in Amsterdam and relieved our hearts. It was a very nice conversation,” said the 27-year-old. Jakobsen was quite irritated by this point of view. “I was surprised to read his comments about the meeting. It was arranged to understand the accident in Poland together,” wrote Jakobsen on Thursday evening on Twitter: “The meeting should remain confidential between us and our lawyers. I am disappointed for Dylan to speak about it publicly. “
Could it be his way of preparing for the race? Because Groenewegen explains in a message on the homepage of his Jumbo Visma racing team before the start of the Giro: “The training is going well. I reach a high level every time. But the question is how I get along mentally in Italy.” Before his suspension, he was one of the best sprinters in the world, he won four stages in the Tour de France, and the 27-year-old has a total of 53 professional victories.
Will there be victory number 54 in the Giro? “It helped that Fabio is back on the bike and that he did well in Turkey,” emphasized Groenewegen. Jakobsen celebrated his comeback in April and is currently doing the Algarve Tour in Portugal. He is not yet competitive again.
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