'Feels like the Tour de France' - Jakobsen embraces comeback at Tour of Holland

Fabio Jakobsen (Picnic PostNL) has been blighted by injuries in recent seasons, and after enduring another difficult campaign filled with setbacks, he is looking to take a firm step in a positive direction. 

The Dutchman returned to action at the NIBC Tour of Holland, which itself returned to the racing calendar for the first time since 2004, and has enjoyed racing on home roads so far.

"It feels a bit like a Tour de France with so many people along the roadside shouting my name,” Jakobsen told WielerFlits.

Having missed a large chunk of the season, having successful surgery to address blow-flow limitations in both legs, Jakobsen didn’t race from March after abandoning the Classic Brugge-De-Panne until returning in August at the PostNord Tour of Denmark.

Jakobsen raced two stages in Denmark before being withdrawn by a mutual team decision to build up the Dutchman’s return to racing carefully and to prepare for the Renewi Tour. However, disaster struck for Jakobsen after suffering a broken collarbone in a crash on stage 3. 

For a rider as resilient as Jakobsen, who has been through a lot during his career, his mindset remains the same as he made his comeback at the NIBC Tour of Holland.

"It was an unfavourable break. A huge slab on top, a lot of debris in the middle. I can start here, but not in top form. The goal is to rack up the miles," Jakobsen explained regarding his crash at the Renewi Tour. 

"That's a shame, because my form was on the rise. Without a crash in the Renewi Tour, I could definitely have been fighting for the top spots again here."

The former European Champion certainly feels motivated to return to a high level and has the added boost of racing on home roads, with the Dutchman expressing his enthusiasm for the return of a major stage race to his home country.

"The Netherlands, the cycling nation, needs a race like this. I'm glad it's back. Everyone would rather ride here in their home country than in China," said Jakobsen, referring to the ongoing final UCI WorldTour stage race of the season, the Gree-Tour of Guangxi in China.

Instead of contesting sprints, with the stage 1 being won by Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), Jakobsen has embraced his temporary role as a domestique, spending kilometres at the front of the peloton during Wednesday's stage, where his teammate Tobias Lund Andresen ended 3rd.

"Now it's just helping the guys and keeping the engine running, then enjoying the winter. I'll go on a short vacation and then kind of see it through," he said.

"For me, it's really great that I can do this work here. I train here half the time and can dream of the roads. I'd rather sprint than do this work, but for now, I'm trying to enjoy it."