Fabio Jakobson is the... Zentertainer

The Dutch sprint ace is on flying form but, post-horror crash, there's a newfound serenity amid the speed

Well, yeah, I’m just me,” says Fabio Jakobsen, but he’s dissatisfied with his answer. “Wait, I’m going to look on Google Translate,” he adds, before unlocking his phone and typing in a Dutch phrase. “OK, translated directly,” he begins to narrate, “the saying is: ‘sport is the most important sideshow in life’.

“We all know that life is about having a good time, enjoying [being] with friends and family, and sport to me is the most important sideshow there is.” He pauses, and then adds a second thought, almost pre-empting the follow-up question. “Especially after the crash, but also before – I could always relate and separate the two.”

Just over two years ago, Jakobsen nearly died. If he had not been surrounded by medics within seconds of a life-threatening crash at the Tour of Poland, he probably would have lost his life. Nearing the end of a slightly downhill sprint and racing at a reported speed in excess of 80kph, Jakobsen somersaulted over the race barriers after being forced into them by a deviating Dylan Groenewegen, his fellow Dutchman.

Jakobsen was placed in an induced coma, suffered serious brain trauma, heavy blood loss, several broken bones and his life was in severe danger. It was staggering that he survived, and miraculous that eight months later he returned to professional racing.

This interview will not recap those events and the aftermath of the crash for they have been widely reported. But at last year’s Tour de France it was hard to not escape the feeling that the events of August 2020 had dramatically shaped Jakobsen’s outlook on life, even though he says, “I’ve given it a place where it doesn’t bother me any more on a daily basis.”