Fabio Jakobsen, a triumphant name in Dutch sprinting, experienced a dramatic change on August 5, 2020.
The Tour of Poland's first stage ended in a false flat descent. His older brother, who was much heavier than him, squeezed his friend into the barriers at a very high speed.
These fell apart under the force of the impact, and Fabio Jakobsen was especially affected in his face. He was in a stable but serious condition and had to be placed in an artificial coma.
Eight months later, he did not return to competitive cycling. Dylan Groenewegen was then saved by his team and suspended by the International Cycling Union for nine months. The most difficult was the fall
Paradoxically, Dylan Groenewegen was the one who suffered the most from the fall of Fabio Jakobsen.
Fabio Jakobsen won in all three stages of Paris-Nice's Vuelta competitions, but the "Lion of Amsterdam", has not roared much. His Sunday victory is his 62nd personal win, but only the 9th since Katowice's drama. It is also the most prestigious.
Groenewegen did not win the World Tour after Sunday's race, and only resumed competition in May 2021 in the Giro. This is a rare occurrence for the regular victorious sprinters in the Great Loop (on Chartres and Amiens 2018; in Chalon-sur-Saone 2019).
The relief of the ex-jumbo rider was evident in his tears as Sonderborg looked on. After the line, he said: "It means so much after all that happened and the disappearance my grandfather."
In April 2021, Ko Zieleman, the grandfather who died, owned a bicycle shop in Amsterdam and who, along with assembling racing frames began to make custom frames using the Zieleman logo.
It is a family business in the first definition, and has enjoyed its fame in the Netherlands. These machines have been used by many famous names, including Hennie Kuiper (winner of all monuments, except the Tour of Lombardy) and Michael Boogerd (winner of Paris-Nice 1999).
"At the close of 1987, all my savings went to Amsterdam to get the frame of my dreams by Ko! Dark blue frame with chrome rear and front forks. Michael Boogerd, who paid tribute to him via Twitter at the time of Michael's passing, said that the frame details are a testimony to the man's passion for the bike.
