Dutchman sustains cut to face after being hit by a fan's outstretched arm on final stage
Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-QuickStep) was hit by a fan's outstretched arm during stage 7 of the Vuelta a San Juan(Image credit: Maximiliano BlancoGetty Images)
Fabio Jakobsen narrowly avoided disaster on the final stage of the Vuelta a San Juan after he was hit by a spectator's outstretched arm – and mobile phone – during the sprint finish.
The Dutchman was battling for victory in San Juan and sprinting close to the barriers when he was hit in the face, losing his sunglasses in the process.
The Soudal-QuickStep sprinter, who ended up finishing second behind Team DSM's Sam Welsford at the finish, said later that the incident could have been worse, recalling his life-threatening crash at the Tour de Pologne in 2020.
Luckily, Jakobsen was able to stay in control of his bike and stay upright after the incident in the closing metres of the bunch finish. He did, however, sustain a cut to his right cheek as a result of the hit.
"I thought Nizzolo was going to slide to the left, but I should have known better, and I rode too tight to the barriers," Jakobsen told Sporza.
"Someone reached out with a phone. I think a lot of people got déjà vu after that stage in Poland. It was partly my own fault but there was room. I didn't see the hand.
"I have a cut and it's all a bit swollen but this could have been much worse. Fortunately, it ended up OK."
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Sporza reported that Argentine police are investigating the incident and have apprehended the spectator.
Miguel Angel López (Medellín-EPM) took overall victory at the Vuelta a San Juan, beating Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) by 30 seconds at the end of the week's racing. Jakobsen left the race wounded but with a stage victory on the second day in Jáchal to his name.
Jakobsen's cut face after the incident (Image credit: SEBASTIAN GIL MIRANBELGA MAGAFP via Getty Images)
🇦🇷#VueltaSJ2023 Qué susto de Jakobsen 😨 Y todo por el afán de un aficionado de sacar el teléfono para grabar en una llegada a alta velocidad y donde los sprinters arriesgan al máximo 🤦🏻♂️Por fortuna, se quedó sólo en un susto. pic.twitter.com/5RBHNva4gbJanuary 29, 2023
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
