Injury rules out star attraction Jakobsen from LTdL

Painful ordeal: European champion Fabio Jakobsen broke his collarbone during the Renewi Tour last month. — AFP

PETALING JAYA: Hopes of seeing former European champion Fabio Jakobsen in action at Asia’s oldest race stage, the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTdL), were dashed after he confirmed his withdrawal at the last minute.

LTdL chief operating officer Emir Abd Jalal said Jakobsen, who rides for Team Picnic–PostNL, broke his collarbone during the Renewi Tour last month and was rushed to a hospital in Belgium for surgery.

Jakobsen was initially optimistic about recovering in time for LTdL, but the Dutchman informed Emir last week that he would not be able to compete as he had yet to fully recover.

“From our side, we did announce earlier that several superstars would be coming. But in Fabio Jakobsen’s case, it was confirmed that he had an accident at the Renewi Tour in Belgium at the end of August,” said Emir.

“That was quite recent, a World Tour event. He suffered what was believed to be either a fracture or a crack in his shoulder.

“While in hospital, he even sent us a photo and said, ‘I’ll be there’ for the Tour de Langkawi.

“He thought he could make it in time. But it was only last week that he confirmed he would not be able to come,” said Emir.

Emir was also taken aback when several teams made last-minute changes to their rider lists, resulting in more star names missing from the race.

Among them is Alberto Dainese of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team.

Ironically, the Swiss outfit replaced him with sprint specialist Arvid De Kleijn, nicknamed the “Little Gorilla”, who has made his mark in past editions of LTdL.

Kleijn won the fourth stage from Kuala Kubu Bahru to Bentong and the fifth stage from Kuala Lumpur to Melaka in the last edition, and he also donned the orange jersey as the sprint classification leader.

Still, the absence of several star riders is unlikely to dull the excitement of this year’s race, with the spotlight set to fall on other big names such as Fredrik Dversnes of Uno-X Mobility and Aaron Gate of XDS Astana.

Another rider expected to make waves is Magnus Cort, who boasts stage wins in the Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana and Giro d’Italia.

All 22 teams have until tomorrow to confirm any last-minute switches before the race begins in Langkawi.