Fabio Jakobsen (25) is one of the trump cards of Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne on Sunday. The Dutch sprint bomber has already won 4 times this year and will head to Paris-Nice after this weekend, where he can compete against a Belgian purebred horse.
Fabio Jakobsen became 4th in 2020 in Kuurne. The Dutchman says he already had the legs to win, but was somewhat locked up by the team tactics. Team mate Kasper Asgreen won after a solo.
“Whether I am plan A or plan B for the team on Sunday? I am a plan, but I don’t know which letter,” Jakobsen laughed at a digital press moment.
“I compare it with the edition that Kasper won: I have to eat and drink and be ready when there is a sprint.”
“We always have several contenders in our team. There is never just a plan A and then nothing.”
Jakobsen has already won 4 times: 2 times in Valencia, 2 times in the Algarve. “I don’t think I’ve been better than now.”
“If I don’t win now, I don’t think I could have done it before. It just has to do with experience and age.”
I compare it with the edition that Kasper Asgreen won in 2020: I have to eat and drink and be ready when there is a sprint.
Cavendish? You’re aiming for rivalry
Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne follows on Sunday, a week later Paris-Nice starts. The fact that he will meet Dylan Groenewegen there gives Fabio Jakobsen “no extra motivation”. However, the Dutchman spontaneously started talking about another competitor.
“I’m looking forward to the sprints against Jasper Philipsen,” he said of the two-time stage winner in the UAE Tour. “We are the young generation pushing the older and experienced sprinters away.”
And after that, in principle, the Tour follows. Or will Mark Cavendish be the sprint iron in France?
“You are driving rivalry between us,” he addressed the journalists. “I have a schedule for the Tour, Mark has a schedule too.”
“But as Patrick Lefevere said: if I’m not in shape, Cavendish can go. Ultimately, the best sprinter will always be at the start. We don’t hand out selections in December.”
