Jakobsen remains hopeful for the Tour after major surgery, but Terpstra is adamant: "Please put it out of your head"

A narrowing of the femoral artery is one of the most common problems for cyclists, but it is almost impossible to prevent and difficult to detect. "It's not always immediately visible on a CT scan," said Jakobsen. "Veins run the way they run; you can't see inside them. In my case, you couldn't see fibrosis (thickening of the vein) right away, but you could see a point where the vein could kink."

At the start of the new season, Jakobsen was confident after a good winter, but the first races were a disaster. The sprinter and Picnic PostNL decided to investigate. "We did a test to rule it out. I had heard so much about it: it's always one leg, a numb feeling. I didn't have any of that; I just had the acidification I was used to. I just couldn't sprint anymore."

Jakobsen ended up at Soudal Quick-Step for that test, not at his current employer. That was a conscious choice. "I just wanted a neutral, independent view of what might be going on. Away from the media and my current advisors, purely for myself." If the test showed more than 9% deviation in one of the legs, the artery could be narrowed. Jakobsen's results: 37% and 42%.

It was a huge blow. It was clear that if the career of the “Hulk” wanted to be saved, surgery was necessary. “I still had two races scheduled because this was after Paris-Nice. Your world kind of collapses because I had a dream of winning in Lille. You see that dream vanish right before your eyes. My mind was racing faster than the doctor could talk."

"As a rider, you start looking for answers. What has changed? You look for the logical things: the training was different, the equipment, the teammates... The doctor guesses that it has been going on for two or three years, largely due to overexertion from top-level sport." So, the injury had been going on for quite some time and was probably already present at Soudal Quick-Step. "But it was definitely already there in the spring at DSM-Firmichen-PostNL. When a vein like that starts to kink, you get thickening because the vein starts to protect itself against the weak spot."

Nevertheless, Jakobsen can consider himself lucky, more so than other riders. "I'm lucky that I caught it fairly early, and of course, I'm a sprinter. You can just see: he could win, and now he can't anymore. It's only riding in the drops with a heart rate higher than 170 that I have a problem. During endurance training, and also tempo endurance training, I actually feel great."

So, his motivation for 2025 was very high after his good winter. But in the AlUla Tour, things went completely wrong in the first stage despite a perfect lead-out. "I didn't even finish second or third, but 11th. As long as the pace was steady, it was fine. But when it got really fast, I suddenly felt terrible. I couldn't explain it. I thought I needed to work more on my VO2 max and that I was getting old."

Now, it's time for Jakobsen to rehabilitate. "I haven't been able to do anything for four or five weeks. After the surgery, that wasn't possible either because they go in through the abdomen. That was really tough. I can now imagine a little bit what a C-section is like for women. Last week, I was outside for an hour a day; the week before, I was on the roller for half an hour. Next week, I'm allowed two hours a day." The Dutchman is also going to training camp with Nils Eekhoff. Initially, that was intended to prepare for the Tour de France.

Despite his major surgery, Jakobsen doesn't want to rule out La Grande Boucle completely. "It will be very tight; I can't say yes or no. But the chance that I won't go is much greater than the chance that I will. Other guys are in top shape, and they deserve the opportunity to ride, too. You never know, but it's a tiny chance."

Terpstra, a good friend of Jakobsen and his mentor during his early years at Quick-Step doesn't think it's a good idea. The Tour de France is likely too early, and he doesn't beat around the bush. "Please get it out of your head. If you have a goal that is not realistic, you will push yourself too hard. I have had many injuries and have made that mistake often enough," said the former professional cyclist.