The Dutch cyclist Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) assured that he received death threats after causing an accident on August 5 in the first stage of the Tour of Poland in which his compatriot Fabio Jakobsen ended up brutally hitting a fence, for what the police had to monitor his home.

"There were such concrete and serious threats that we called the police a few days after the accident. The following days and weeks the police watched our door. We could no longer spontaneously leave the house. If you wanted to go outside for a moment, there was an officer there. by my side so nothing happens, "Groenewegen said in an interview with WielerFlit magazine.

The Jumbo-Visma rider responsible for the accident was suspended for nine months by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and then apologized through a statement.

"That accident will forever be a black page in my career. During the sprint I deviated from my line. I'm sorry, because I want to be a fair sprinter. The consequences were very regrettable and serious. I am well aware of it and I hope this will be successful. been a wise lesson for all sprinters, "he said then in a note provided by his team.

Referring now to his own personal situation, Groenewegen explained that he received "handwritten letters in the mail, which even included," he said, "a rope on which we could hang our little one later."

"When you read that message and see that piece of rope, it surprises you. That was the decisive factor for (who told me) that it could not continue like this," added the runner, who then went to the police when faced with the threats.

"Crazy things go through your head"

These initially produced "a shock to the body" and fears related to the alarms in the house or vehicles with which he passed.

"I remember one night we had dinner with my parents. On the way, a car passed behind us. It started signaling and headed diagonally behind us. In the end it passed us on a road where that was really impossible. Then the panic. Moments later he turned right and nothing happened. You start imagining things that don't exist at all, "said the sprinter.

Groenewegen, 27, noted that the measures taken by the police reflect "the seriousness of these threats" and acknowledged that it is something that "of course affects you."

"What happened? How is this possible? What sick world do we live in? The craziest things go through your head. Getting out of bed in the morning was quite a challenge at the time," he confessed.

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