WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen is in good condition after he was brought out of an induced coma following a controversial crash near the finish line at the Tour of Poland.
Doctors at the hospital in southern Poland where Jakobsen is being treated said on Friday he was responsive, breathing on his own and could move his limbs.
“We have good news, the patient is in really good condition with no neurological symptoms,” said Dr Pawel Gruenpeter, deputy director of St.Barbara's Specialized Hospital in Sosnowiec.
The bruising that Jakobsen sustained to his chest still needs doctors' attention and he will need physical therapy after the crash, but could possibly leave hospital in about two weeks, Gruenpeter said.
On Friday, French cyclist Mickael Delage racing for Groupama FDJ was injured in a fall while going downhill. The team said he was conscious when he was transported to the hospital in Bielsko-Biala for x-rays.
Chief doctor of the race, Barbara Jerschina, said Delage suffered a head injury.
In the crash on Wednesday's first stage, Jakobsen, who races for Deceuninck Quick-Step, was sprinting to the finish with countryman Dylan Groenewegen when the latter deviated from his line and sent Jakobsen crashing through roadside barriers.
Groenewegen crossed the line in first place then hit the tarmac in a mass crash.
Jakobsen, 23, suffered injuries to his eye socket and jaw prompting doctors to put him in an induced coma and operate on him for five hours on Wednesday.
“He is young and practices sports intensively and that saved him in this situation,” anesthesiologist Dr Rafal Kazanowski said.
Jakobsen was later awarded the stage win and Groenewegen was disqualified.
The International Cycling Union condemned Groenewegen’s actions and determined he was responsible for the crash. Groenewegen said on social media the incident was “terrible,” and his Jumbo-Visma team offered “sincere apologies.”
Polish prosecutors have opened a probe into the crash.
The incident in the southern city of Katowice took place exactly a year after Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht died in hospital from injuries when he crashed into a concrete barrier during the third stage of the same race.
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