Jakobsen: Groenewegen ‘has not offered a personal apology’
A few days after Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) said that he had had a “pleasant” conversation in a recent meeting with Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Jakobsen said on Thursday that he was “disappointed” with the way Groenewegen spoke of that meeting.
Last week, Groenewegen acknowledged in a media appearance that he had recently met with Jakobsen in person for the first time since the crash at the Tour of Poland that left Jakobsen seriously injured. Groenewegen said that he wanted to keep the content of his conversation with Jakobsen private, but that both riders had taken the opportunity to express their feelings. Jakobsen offered a different take on social media on Thursday, and also noted that his lawyers were handling proceedings against Groenewegen now.
“I would like to set the record straight, though: Dylan has not offered a personal apology and he has not shown willingness to take any responsibility for his actions,” Jakobsen wrote amid a series of tweets. “I still would like to reach an understanding with Dylan, but it takes two to tango.”
What did Jakobsen say?
Jakobsen addressed his meeting with Groenewegen, which happened in Amsterdam ahead of Jakobsen’s return to racing at the Tour of Turkey, across four tweets posted on Thursday.
He noted that he was “surprised” that Groenewegen had spoken at all about what was supposed to be a private meeting, and went on to emphasize that Groenwegen had not taken responsibility for the crash.
The content of this meeting was supposed to stay confidential, between the two of us and our legal teams.
I am disappointed that Dylan has talked about our meeting publicly. I will not do so.
— Fabio Jakobsen (@FabioJakobsen) May 6, 2021
Further proceedings are now being taken care of by my legal team and for that reason I will not be able to make any further comment.
— Fabio Jakobsen (@FabioJakobsen) May 6, 2021
How did we get here?
Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen were sprinting for the win in the opening stage of last year’s Tour of Poland when Groenewegen drove Jakobsen into the barriers on the right side of the road near the finish line. Jakobsen crashed hard into barriers, which broke apart. He was seriously injured in the crash, spending time in an induced coma and suffering numerous fractures to his face.
Groenewegen was disqualified with Jakobsen declared the winner of the stage, and the UCI then handed Groenewegen a nine-month suspension. Jakobsen spent months recovering, undergoing multiple surgeries. He finally returned to racing in April at the Tour of Turkey. Groenewegen is set to return from his suspension at the upcoming Giro d’Italia.
Groenewegen said in an interview last week that he had met with Jakobsen in person before Jakobsen’s return to racing at the Tour of Turkey. Groenewegen described their conversation as “very pleasant,” but Jakobsen’s comments on social media on Thursday suggest that he had a different view of the situation.
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