I fractured my skull and lost 10 teeth after HORROR crash, now I’m Mark Cavendish’s biggest rivals at Tour de France

CYCLIST Fabio Jakobsen has recovered from a LIFE-THREATENING crash to become one of the best sprinters in the world.

The Dutch rider, 26, was the victim of one of the sport’s worst ever collisions during the Tour of Poland back in 2020.

Fabio Jakobsen has recovered from a life-threatening crashRex

GettyJakobsen went into the barrier during a nightmare crash at the Tour of Poland in 2020[/caption]

Fellow countryman Dylan Groenewegen, 30, nudged Jakobsen into the barriers and he hit the fencing at remarkable speed.

The crash left him with a fractured skull, 10 missing teeth, and a host of other injuries.

Speaking in Netflix’s Tour de France documentary “Unchained”, he said: “I lost ten teeth. I had 130 stitches. I lost bone in the upper and lower jaw. I had a lot of cracks in the skull.

“Maybe I’m forgetting something but I think that’s already enough.”

Groenewegen was handed a nine-month ban for his part in the crash.

But both riders were back racing in 2021 – and swiftly returned to the pinnacle of the sport.

In 2022, Jakobsen won his first Tour de France stage to complete a sensational comeback.

Then just 24 hours later, Groenewegen was celebrating his own victory – his fifth at the Tour.

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AFPJakobsen won the second stage of last year’s Tour de France[/caption]

Now Jakobsen returns to seek more sprint victories at the 2023 edition of the race – which gets underway in Bilbao on Saturday.

With eight clear opportunities for the fast men across this year’s three-week route, few would back against the Soudal–Quick-Step rider from adding to his 43 Pro Tour wins.

But Jakobsen’s delight could come at the expense of British legend Mark Cavendish.

The Isle of Man-born icon, 38, equalled Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour de France stage wins in 2021 when he claimed four victories.

But he was not picked for last year’s race as his team selected Jakobsen ahead of him.

Cavendish has since left Soudal-Quick-Step and joined the Astana Qazaqstan Team.

And he comes into the Tour off the back of his first win of the season at the Giro d’Italia.

But Cavendish, who confirmed during the Giro that the 2023 season would be his last, remains adrift of the more fancied sprinters at this year’s race – the likes of Jakobsen, Groenewegen, Jasper Philipsen, Mads Pedersen, and all-rounder Wout van Aert.

And former world champion Cavendish has admitted he will have to wait until Saturday to know where he is at physically – 15 years on from his first stage victory at the Tour.

He said: “You never really know where you’re at in the race until you start racing.

“The nature of sprinting [of cycling] means that it’s more quantifiable. It makes the physical level higher. I feel that everyone’s closer.”

When pressed on what breaking the Tour stage victory record would mean, he added: “In all honesty, I don’t know. I’m just trying to win as much as I can. I’m sorry.

“The whole experience of the Tour, you can’t describe it. This race gives me the most incredible emotions.

“Unfortunately you can’t really analyse it and appreciate it until afterwards.”

Mark Cavendish is seeking a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage winAP