Determined to hit the ground running in their second season together, Team Picnic PostNL put in strong work in the winter period, building Jakobsen’s shape and base form nicely; ready to tackle 2025 head on. However, in the high intensity moments in those early-season races, Jakobsen found himself unable to push on the pedals as hard as he previously could.
Conducting further tests with the team’s medical staff, it was revealed that Jakobsen has flow limitation in the iliac artery in both of his legs.
Team Picnic PostNL doctor Camiel Aldershof explained: “Unfortunately after conducting recent tests, we have discovered that Fabio has flow limitation of the iliac arteries. As the diagnosis is very clear and currently limiting him on the bike, he will undergo surgery to attempt and fix the issue.”
“Thankfully, he has a more favourable prognosis to return due to the type of limitation; however, this can take some time to come back from.”
“The surgery means that Fabio will be off the bike for around six weeks initially, with no other strenuous physical activity allowed. In the meantime, we will monitor his progress and from there, when he is ready, we will gradually have him return to training and slowly build up intensity again.”
Jakobsen added: “I trained well this winter and came into the season with some confidence. We picked up some top ten results at UAE Tour and Paris-Nice, but when it came to those key moments and high intensity sprint efforts I suffered; my legs simply weren’t working as they should.”
“It’s mentally of course a setback, but now that we have found the cause of the issue, I am hopeful that the surgery can then solve it. Sometimes you need to take one step back to be able to make two forward, and I hope that’s what I’m going to do now.”
Jakobsen will undergo surgery on Wednesday 2nd April, before a period off the bike and his rehabilitation begins. His race program for the remainder of 2025 remains open and is dependent on how his recovery goes.
