


Fabio Jakobsen hopes to finally approach his old level again in his final contract year at Picnic PostNL after two years of hardship. In 2025, he faced a difficult choice: either quit due to a narrowed pelvic artery or undergo surgery and hope for a longer career. he chose the latter, but following a collarbone fracture in the Renewi Tour, no one yet knows exactly how Jakobsen is doing. He shares his story with WielerFlits.
“Do I see this as a new start? Another new beginning,” Jakobsen immediately throws the question back—he has just recovered from a short bout of flu and some muscle pain. Training sessions have been going well the past few weeks, and the sprinter is looking forward to the new season, he adds. Giving up is not in the vocabulary of the Picnic PostNL leader. “I consider myself a born optimist. I love positivity. That comes from having been so close to the end. I spent two days in intensive care after that crash in Poland, where I feared for my life. Everything I experience now feels less bad than that.”
“I can’t deny it’s been a tough time with a lot of uncertainty and questions,” he sums up the past two years. “Especially on a day when the news about Eli Iserbyt coming out, that he was forced to stop. That hurts. I really feel for him, because I know there’s nothing he’d rather do than race cyclocross. But if your health doesn’t allow it, you have to accept that. For me, there’s still a small chance it ends that way too. About nine months ago, the options were stop now, keep racing and be forced to stop a few years later—with only things getting worse—or have surgery and rehabilitate.”

Jakobsen during the Picnic PostNL media day, Friday - photo: fotopersburo Cor Vos
Jakobsen chose the latter. “With the message to try to make something of it. Let’s hope it works. In 2024, you can still make the excuse that you switched teams and need to get used to that and adjust. But after a year and a half, if you still can’t ride a decent sprint, you have to look further when you know you’re giving 100% and following everything through. In that respect, I’m happy something was found and I don’t have to doubt myself or think I should retire already. Without that diagnosis and surgery, it would have ended like that.”
The (way) back up
Then it would have been the end of the career, Jakobsen emphasizes. Although the results and performances were, in his own words, “terrible,” he is grateful to have found the problem. In that sense, it really is a new beginning. “And the advantage is that everything is progress, getting better, feeling better, faster and harder,” the born optimist immediately adds. “I’m right in the middle of that process. So I don’t believe I’ve reached my peak yet. Three months after the procedure, training was already going better than before. Recently, I went for a check-up six months post-op. The results looked good,” he explains.
“At diagnosis, blood pressure measurements showed between 38 and 42% less pressure in the ankles compared to the elbows,” he explains. “At the most recent check six months after surgery, the difference was four to two percent. So that is now good, because ideally that should be between zero and ten percent. Anything higher means reduced blood flow. It’s as it should be. I notice it too. During training camp, I had to do some threshold blocks averaging 400 watts for about eight minutes, then follow it with a sprint. Last year, I wouldn’t have been able to do that; everything would have burned out. Now it felt relatively easy.”
That felt good to Jakobsen, although he admits he still has a way to go. “I have to be honest, it really takes a toll on my body. I notice I need to recover well from efforts because sometimes it really hits hard. I think that’s because I was out for so long, then came back a bit, and was then set back again by that broken collarbone. The body doesn’t like that. Constantly pushing your limits and recovering is something I missed for a while. And the year and a half before my operation I pretty much ran myself into the ground—looking back. The narrowing had already been going on for one and a half to two and a half years, according to doctors.”
Sparkle in his eyes
That now seems behind him, and so the focus can shift to 2026. “I’ve set myself the goal of being relevant in finals again, and then the rest follows. By that I mean having enough awareness to make the right decisions. Having a sprint in my legs again to move up from eighth to fifth place, or from fifth to the podium or even further. I will have to rebuild that step by step. It’s not very realistic to say I want to win a stage right away at the AlUla Tour. First, I want to be in the position to sprint. After the UAE Tour, I’ll do some smaller Belgian classics. After the Scheldeprijs, we’ll evaluate the first results.”

Jakobsen in the unchanged yet new kit of Picnic PostNL - photo: fotopersburo Cor Vos
Jakobsen himself hopes that by then he will have proven he is good enough to work towards the Tour de France. When we ask Jakobsen if he can beat riders like Olav Kooij and Paul Magnier, a grin appears on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. “Those guys are not unbeatable, although it’s tough to beat them. It’s really a new generation stepping up. I like seeing that. I think they are more complete riders than I am. If I can sprint again, I believe I can match their top speed. But first, I want to mix it up in finals again. With them. Against them. Let’s hope I can finish ahead of them once.”
Being a top athlete and competitive is still what the former Tour stage winner enjoys most. Yet a challenge awaits as Jakobsen’s contract with Picnic PostNL runs out at the end of 2026. “I have to show I am still a sprinter, that I deserve a pro contract. That aligns with rehabilitation and coming back to a higher level. And ultimately delivering results again in the big WorldTour races, as I did in 2021, 2022, and 2023. That motivation and drive run parallel with recovery and wanting to stay a pro cyclist. It pushes me in the same direction. It starts with performing, and the rest will follow. At least, that’s what I assume.”
| Race | Date |
|---|---|
| 27 Jan - 31 Jan | |
| 16 Feb - 22 Feb | |
| 3 Mar | |
| 18 Mar | |
| 20 Mar | |
| 25 Mar | |
| 8 Apr |

| Year | Team |
|---|---|
| 2026 | |
| 2025 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2022 |