Picnic PostNL reflect on Jakobsen's difficult spell: 'He couldn't follow the peloton'

Speaking to journalist Daniel Benson at the Tour de France Femmes after Jakobsen’s contract was terminated by mutual consent, Rudie Kemna admitted that both sides had expected more from a deal that began ahead of the 2024 season.

“We had a three-year contract with Fabio, and it's clear that we expected more from it and the results weren't coming as we expected, from our side and Fabio's,” Kemna told Benson.

Jakobsen joined Picnic PostNL as one of the most accomplished sprinters in the peloton, having won six Grand Tour stages, the European title and 45 professional races before making the move. 

However, the Dutchman added just one victory during his two-and-a-half-year spell with the team.

Kemna said the team was unable to identify a single reason why Jakobsen could not rediscover the form that had previously made him one of the sport’s premier sprinters.

“There are a lot of possibilities. Health-wise, I can't say what really went wrong. We did our best to bring our experience and our knowledge into it. It's the same as what Fabio came with, but it didn't fit together; it wasn't the quality that we expected.”

Jakobsen has also struggled to explain his tough spell, admitting that several factors may have contributed to his difficulties.

“Maybe it still plays a role. It could also be a lack of training or simply that my level is not high enough. It is difficult to identify one clear reason,” Jakobsen said in an official statement.

Rather than placing responsibility solely on Jakobsen, Kemna stated that both the rider and team shared responsibility for the outcome.

“I think that we are all responsible. We expected more, but if you say he's a big sprinter, I agree, but in our period we didn't see that. We don't have the big results. There's always a reason for that, but I don't have an exact point.”

Ultimately, Kemna said Jakobsen’s greatest difficulty was reaching the decisive moments of races where he could compete for sprint victories.

“If there's one thing that we can see all the time is that he couldn't follow the peloton. He can't follow into the finals where there's a sprint.”

Kemna also admitted he was surprised by reports linking Jakobsen with Visma | Lease a Bike before Picnic PostNL had confirmed the agreement to part ways. 

“That for me is a big surprise that he goes there, but that's up to him. I didn't know that he could be going there in August.”

Jakobsen confirmed on Wednesday morning that "the talks have been going on for quite a long time," though Visma have yet to confirm the arrival of the 29-year-old.