Visma | Lease a Bike pleased with Fabio Jakobsen's 'best race in two years' on debut

On paper, the Dutch team might have had a better chance of winning the German one-day race with Matthew Brennan. But Jakobsen turned out to be the sprinter of the day, after leaving Picnic PostNL over the summer and suddenly finding himself sprinting in yellow and black. Finishing 15th in the results felt like a good start.

Jakobsen didn't come close to the winner, Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM), or the podium, but in a press release, the Dutch rider looked back with satisfaction on his official debut. “I felt pretty good. I was happy that I was able to stay with the group and that I then also got the chance to give it a shot in the sprint. The guys helped me out a lot all day.”

While Jakobsen had struggled to finish races at Picnic PostNL, in Münsterland he was right in the thick of things in the final. “I might have been a little too far back in the sprint, but I think I’ve taken a step in the right direction,” he said, offering a critical yet upbeat assessment. “It might not be exactly the result you want when you’re in that position, but for now, it was the best I could do.”

"I mainly want to use these races to make some progress, so I'm definitely satisfied. This is the best race I’ve ridden in two years, so I’m looking forward to the future with optimism,” said Jakobsen, who will be racing even more often for Visma | Lease a Bike in 2026, including at the Tour of Guangxi in China.

Team leader Robert Wagner said his team rode hard for Jakobsen, but: “We really did our best, but unfortunately Fabio got completely boxed in. What matters most to me right now is that he’s back in the final after more than 200 kilometers. He’s come a long way, so I’m very satisfied that he made it there in the first place.”

The German team leader for the day saw “a very good team,” so the conclusions were mostly positive afterward. “We had a plan and we executed it perfectly; we were actually in control the whole time. The agreement was that we’d go for Fabio if he felt good, and that was the case.”

"Matthew also gave it a try on the hills, but the course wasn't challenging enough for him."