A few meters before the finish, Groenewegen shifted to the right and hampered Jakobsen with his elbow, which flew into the barriers, in a sprint disputed at full speed on a downward false flat. Jakobsen made a “sun” and hit head-on a racing judge who was at the line, behind a barrier. The barriers then fell on the road causing other falls, including that of Groenewegen who crossed the line first, or of Frenchman Marc Sarreau.
According to his team, Jakobsen was immediately taken to medics, with Polish media reporting that he was taken to a hospital in the area. At the beginning of the evening, no official information on his state of health was communicated. The fall comes a year to the day after the death of 22-year-old Belgian sprinter Bjorg Lambrecht, who died after falling and hitting a concrete structure.
Massive crash on the finish line in stage 1 of @Tour_de_Pologne! # TDP20 (@sport_tvppl) pic.twitter.com/mwvDwS9Y3i
- World Cycling Stats (@wcsbike) August 5, 2020According to the official results published on the Tour website, Jakobsen was declared the winner of the stage after Groenewegen was disqualified. Jumbo-Visma, the Groenewegen team, offered their "sincere apologies" in a tweet for their runner's gesture.
Jakobsen, rising star of the sprint
At 23, Jakobsen had the profile of a rising star in the sprint. He already has no less than 18 victories, three of which were acquired at the start of the year in front of references in the discipline. In front of Groenewegen in the fifth stage of the Tour of Valencia, ahead of the Italian Elia Viviani in the first stage of the Tour of Algarve. But it was last year, during the Vuelta, that Jakobsen really made a name for himself. For his first grand tour, he won two stages, the last of which was in Madrid, each time ahead of the Irishman Sam Bennett.
Having turned professional in 2018 in Patrick Lefevere's Quick-Step team, Jakobsen donned the Dutch champion's tricolor jersey last year in June. He won the sprint before taking part for the first time in the Tour of Poland, in which he took third place in the opening stage.
Another runner involved in the accident, Frenchman Marc Sarreau, "is conscious and on his way to the hospital where he will take x-rays, accompanied by the team doctor," according to a tweet from his team. Same fate for Damien Touzé who “remained conscious despite the fall. He is in the hospital for further examinations, ”Cofidis tweeted.
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