(Reuters) – Dutch rider Fabio Jakobsen spoke on Tuesday of how he had feared for his life after a Tour of Poland crash two weeks ago and said he still faced “multiple facial surgeries” to treat his injuries.
The Deceuninck-Quick Step team member was put in a medically induced coma after a collision with compatriot Dylan Groenewegen as they sprinted to the finish on the first stage of the race. [nL8N2F77B1]
The 23-year-old, who was pitched into the barriers and collided with a race official, was operated on for five hours after the accident and transferred to a hospital in the Netherlands last week.
“The trauma doctors and nurses at the finish line in Katowice saved my life, for which I am extremely grateful to them,” he said in a statement on the team website (http://www.deceuninck-quickestep.com).
He said it had been a “difficult, dark period” in intensive care and one “where I was afraid of not surviving”.
Jakobsen said he was now home and would have to rest in the coming months due to a severe concussion.
“Step by step I can start to live more independently…in the coming weeks and months, I will undergo multiple surgeries and treatments to fix facial injuries,” the rider added.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Hugh Lawson)
