Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl) has just about survived to fight another day by making the time cut on today's stage 17 at the Tour de France with just 15 seconds to spare. He was 36:48 down, with the time cut set at 37:03.
The Dutch sprinter had the broom wagon right behind him, and the time cut clock on the big screen counting down against him, as he laboured up the final steep ramp at the top of the Peyragudes to stay in the race.
His team staff, and some of his team mates, were just beyond the finish line willing him on as he barely made it, videos above below. He may have only made it, but he clearly dug deep, really wanted to stay in the race and achieved his goal.
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His lonely ride out the back on his own is a far cry from the whole team dropping back to wait for Mark Cavendish last year on his way to winning four stages and the green jersey at the Tour.
On this Tour, Jakobsen already has one stage win in the bag - triumphing in a bunch sprint on stage 2 into Nyborg in Denmark. Since then, however, he has struggled badly and also lost his main lead-out man, Michael Mørkøv, who was outside the time cut on stage 15.
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The Tour de France isn't always about winning - sometimes it's just a battle for survival!
An incredible moment - Fabio Jakobsen had to give absolutely everything just to make the time cut and stay in the race! #couchpeloton #sbstdf #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/32KEz2indu— SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) July 20, 2022
Jakobsen knows if he can hang in again on the road to Hautacam tomorrow there is at least one more chance for the sprinters; Sunday's big finale on the Champs-Élysées.
"I must say it's almost a victory," QuickStep Alpha Vinyl Tom Steels said seeing his rider make it to the finish inside the time cut. "I think the whole team was quite emotional because they fought all day. They knew it was tight and they had to leave him alone which was not easy because (DS) Klaas (Lodewyck) had to say a few times that they had to leave him alone.
"We made the calculations and we knew it was tight, so we knew we had to leave him alone on the last climb. Just the last one-and-a-half kilometres you [could] see the time going away like nothing but he made it into the time cut.
"It’s always a difficult decision but with or without his teammates the last part he had to do himself. The teammates don’t make a big difference [at that point] and it’s just a fight against himself. He couldn’t go faster than he could, but he made it and that’s the most important thing."
