"The trauma doctors and nurses at the Katowice destination saved my life, for which I am extremely grateful. I spent a week in intensive care at St Barbara Hospital in Sosnowiec. There they operated on me for five hours and gave me life back ", says Jakobsen in a press release from the stable Deceuninck-Quick-Step.

"It was a difficult time in the intensive care unit, as I did not know if I would survive."

On Wednesday, however, Jakobsen could be transported home to the Netherlands and has now had to leave the hospital.

“Step by step, I am becoming more and more independent. I have to rest a lot because of the severe concussion. And in the coming weeks and months, I will undergo several surgeries and treatments to fix the facial injuries. "

It was during the riot during the first stage that the accident happened. Dylan Groenewegen was in the lead when Fabio Jakobsen passed by. Then Groenewegen closed Jakobsen's road and the latter crashed, at high speed, into the billboards.

Watch the clip on Jakobsen's crash:

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Fabio Jakobsen in a coma after a nasty bike crash. Photo: Eurosport / TT News Agency