Fabio Jakobsen is not in the business of excuses. 2024, his first season with DSM-Firmenich PostNL (now Picnic PostNL), was a bit pants. From prolific sprinter at Soudal–Quick-Step for six seasons, winner of 45 races, to a rider often spat out the back before the sprint trains even formed. It was a dramatic cliff jump from one of the fastest men on two wheels, to a hanger-on gasping for air in the gruppetto.
“It was not good enough,” the Dutchman, characteristically candid, says. “In terms of results and races, it was not very pleasurable. At top [level] sport, especially in the WorldTour, once you are a little behind, it’s hard to catch up. It was definitely not my most fun year on the bike but I learned a lot.”
Following his horror crash at the Tour of Poland in August 2020, in which the Dutchman’s life appeared to initially be in danger, Jakobsen spectacularly recovered to once again be among the best sprinters, winning stages of the Tour de France, Vuelta a España and a host of other top-level races. Aged 27, when he joined his new team, and with no apparent ongoing physical or mental repercussions from his incident, all seemed set for Jakobsen to lead DSM into a new era as one of the foremost sprint teams. But that hasn’t happened – yet. What went wrong?
The principal factor was changes in his training, a point he raised at various intervals throughout 2024. “It’s all in the details, but I think the aspect of strength and building mass was a bit much,” he says. “You want to have a good sprint, you want to be able to completely explode at the end of a race, but I think throughout the year we realised that is not really my problem. My problem is getting to the end of the race. So that means more endurance rides, intervals, more general all-round training. I’m not particularly talented for the endurance part of cycling – I really have to put in the hours and work, perhaps more than the others. So instead of emphasising more on the strength in a sprint, [he has to focus] on getting the hours in, making sure that I still have a decent level at the end of a race and that I can still do a good sprint. There may not be world class watts per kilo numbers or somewhere in the high zones, but at least I’d be good enough to win a race.”
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Photo by Getty Images
The issues weren’t limited to just Jakobsen’s condition. “And not only on the personal physical level, but also the cooperation within the group,” he goes on. “I was new to the team, new teammates, and we have to find each other in the final, learn how to speak to each other, the commands. I think here and there we made a few mistakes. And if you only race at the highest level, you pay a price if you make those mistakes. If you make one, two mistakes, you’re not in the sprint – you can forget it. You finish sixth or even 50th. If you miss something left, something right, which is not always someone’s fault, then you’re not competitive anymore.
“This team is also younger and less experienced and I think that’s a big difference. In bike racing, experience is important. Reading a final, getting used to each other, remaining calm, knowing what to do. And if you’re younger, you’re gonna make more mistakes and that’s normal because you’re young and you need to learn.” The average age of Picnic PostNL’s 28 riders is 25.8, and 17 of them are 25 or under. “I knew that before [he signed], so it’s not that I am disappointed about that, but we have to learn from our mistakes and I think we’re doing that. It’s a process that has to keep evolving.”
Picnic PostNL are famed for having a rigid framework within which they work: it works for some, not for others. Has Jakobsen been able to air his concerns? “In a team like this, there’s time to evaluate, discuss,” he says. “I gave my point of view and how I saw things in the training group and the management gave their view. In the end, they connected quite well so we’re all on the same page.”
We’ve seen this movie before, the one where Quick-Step winners fail to replicate their success elsewhere. “That doesn't happen with you!” Jakobsen quips when asked how he makes sure he’s not another permanent casualty of the post-Quick-Step trend. “I’ve had just one year to show that it’s not only that team [Quick-Step] that can do it [win]. We have to be honest, they’re always in the top five of the WorldTour, we’re talking about the best-organised team and our team is, budget-wise, more towards the bottom which is why there is a gap.”
No elite sportsperson enjoys a torrid season like Jakobsen had, but few are able to put it into perspective like he can. “If you’ve been in a hospital bed for a few days, the only thing you want to do is get out, and I can still go back to the place. Where I’m at now is a much better place but you want to win, want to give your best,” he says. “But if it doesn’t happen, I don’t try to dwell on it for too long and be negative or sour. It’s just: OK, what are we going to change? What are we going to adapt? I’m going to follow the whole plan and style of training and do what is asked. But now I also think I’m allowed to at least share a bit more of my experience and what works for me and I think we’ve got a good balance there.”
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Photo by SWpix.com
Alongside Jakobsen’s honesty and pragmatism is a thirst to make 2025 better. Not only is he eager to return to the top, but Picnic PostNL are scrapping for UCI points to ensure that they’ll remain a WorldTour outfit in the coming three seasons. “We’re at the bottom end of the 18 teams and we need to score points,” he says. “That doesn’t change my responsibility within the team, which is winning bike races because that’s going to end up getting the team points.” Is there pressure on him? “Of course, but it’s always 50% because it’s also the responsibility of the team to perform and I’m only one rider in the team. It’s a shared responsibility that we all know it has to be better.”
Providing the problems are fixed and Jakobsen is competing with Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Jonathan Milan at the sharp end of sprints, there is a major prize to be won this July. “The yellow jersey is up for grabs in Lille,” he says of the Tour de France’s first stage. “That's the big goal for the year, that first stage there.” No one would begrudge Jakobsen, the ever-polite and courteous man who mounted the greatest and most impressive comebacks of recent times, leading the world’s biggest race.
*Cover image by Getty Images