Warsaw (AFP)

Violently fallen at the finish of the Tour of Poland on Wednesday in Katowice (south), Fabio Jakobsen was still in an artificial coma Thursday while the person responsible for this terrible massive fall, Dylan Groenewegen said he was "sorry".

The 23-year-old Deceunink runner, whose condition remains serious but stable, underwent five-hour head surgery overnight, doctors at the hospital where he is being treated said Thursday morning .

Jakobsen crashed heavily shortly before the finish line of the first stage of the Tour of Poland on Wednesday. The defending Dutch champion was crushed by compatriot Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) in a sprint at full speed, downhill, and was thrown over the barriers.

Groenewegen, who had surgery for a broken collarbone, apologized on Twitter Thursday.

“I think it's terrible what happened yesterday. I can't find the words to describe how sorry I am for Fabio and others who have fallen or been affected. At the moment, the health de Fabio is the most important thing. I think about him all the time, "Groenewegen wrote.

"Dylan feels very bad about what happened. He was deeply affected by it. Soon we will discuss the incident in detail with him," said Richard Plugge, general manager of Jumbo training. Visma.

This did not prevent Patrick Lefevere, the boss of the Deceuninck team, from announcing that he had filed a complaint.

- "A very dirty action" -

"It was a very dirty deed by Groenewegen. We don't do that kind of thing. We have already filed a complaint with the UCI and we will do the same with the police in Poland. We will not let that go." , he told the Belga agency.

"I've watched this sprint dozens of times. I don't understand Groenewegen's action at all. A runner has to stay on his line," Lefevere added.

Katowice police said they were investigating the case and local prosecutors were considering the need to initiate proceedings.

While medics have a feared time for Jakobsen's life, they finally managed to stabilize his condition late Wednesday evening and were scheduled to attempt to lift him out of a coma on Thursday.

"A CT scan was done and the brain does not appear to have been damaged," Pawel Gruenpeter, deputy director of Sosnowiec hospital, told Polish media.

"The main injuries are on the face. Fortunately, the eyes were not affected," said the deputy director of the hospital.

On Thursday morning, race organizer Czeslaw Lang said he was "somewhat relieved" after speaking to medics.

"After seeing the accident, we feared the worst, but now we know the situation is serious but stabilized," he added.

- "A silly downhill sprint" -

Mr. Lang gave reassuring news of the race marshal hit hard by Jakobsen: "He has regained consciousness and his condition is stable."

If Groenewegen is generally designated as the first person responsible for the accident - he was moreover quickly disqualified -, the organizer of the race was also singled out for the choice of a downward false-flat finish, thus only for the type of barriers used.

"Every year, the same idiotic downhill sprint at the Tour of Poland", reacted in particular the German Simon Geschke. "Every year I wonder why the organization thinks this is a good idea. Massive sprints are quite dangerous, you don't need a descent at 80 km / h!"

Jakobsen's fall came a year to the day after the death of Belgian hopeful Bjorg Lambrecht (22), who died after falling and hitting a concrete structure on the same Tour of Poland.

© 2020 AFP