Fabio Jakobsen has had a tough 2025. He was forced into taking a five-month break from racing between March and August due to an iliac artery flow limitation. Now, in his WorldTour comeback at the Renewi Tour, he is out again after breaking his collarbone in a crash on stage 3.
The Dutchman had surgery on both of his legs in April after tests revealed that he had restricted flow in his iliac arteries which reduced the power in his legs, a fairly common ailment for endurance athletes. The operation requires several months of recovery in order to return to full fitness.
Jakobsen had made his racing return at the Tour of Denmark on the 12th of August, but was pulled-out by his team after the second stage, who said that they didn’t want to “rush things,” according to IDL Procycling.
It’s been more than a year since Jakobsen’s last victory, and more than two since he raised his arms in a WorldTour race. Now, for the sprinter and his team, focus returns once again to recovery, as the one-time Tour de France stage-winner looks to get his career back on track.
“Fabio’s return to racing was going well and he was making the steps that we expected,” Team Picnic PostNL doctor Camiel Aldershof said in a team press release.
“However, he crashed pretty hard during yesterday’s Renewi Tour stage and unfortunately broke his collarbone. He underwent surgery last night, which went well, and will now focus on his recovery in the next few days, before we then look to a plan for him to get back to full training.”
Jakobsen won his sole Tour de France stage in 2022. He has also been victorious in five stages of the Vuelta a España between 2019 and 2021, a period in which he was considered among the very best fast-men in the world.
After racing the first six years of his professional career with Soudal-QuickStep, Jakobsen made the switch over to Picnic-PostNL in 2024 in what was viewed at the time as a marquee signing for the Dutch squad. However, the 28-year-old has taken just one victory since signing for the team: a stage of the 2024 Presidential Tour of Türkiye.
With one more year left on his contract with Picnic-PostNL, Jakobsen will be hoping that he can put this latest set-back behind him.
“I was really enjoying being back with the team on the road and doing what I enjoy the most – racing my bike,” Jakobsen said.
“This is of course a set-back, but hopefully I can be back training soon and from there we will make a plan for any upcoming races.”
