Jakobsen hits out at Groenewegen comments, says he’s now taking legal action

*Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo Visma) and Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) sprint for the line on stage 1 at Tour de Pologne last August just moments before the crash*

Any hope that Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo Visma) would make a smooth transition back into racing action after his nine-month ban was dealt a major blow after the rider he caused to crash last year, Fabio Jakobsen, spoke out against him.

The Deceuninck-QuickStep rider, who has only just returned
to racing after his crash last August, said he was surprised to see comments
made by Groenewegen about a recent meeting they held.

Groenewegen revealed the riders had met and had “unburdened”
themselves during a positive conversation. However, Jakobsen said the meeting
was supposed to be private.

And while it was designed so the Dutch pair could effectively clear the air, Jakobsen has now claimed Groenewegen continues to shy away from responsibility for the crash on the opening stage of last year’s Tour de Pologne.

*Groenewegen recently implied the air had been cleared with Jakobsen, but obviously the two riders don't have the same view of what was said and the level of progress made*

He added Groenewegen had not apologised for what happen
and that he had now decided to take legal action, meaning he could not make any
further comment.

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His remarks come as Groenewegen is about to resume racing
at the Giro d’Italia on Saturday after a nine-month ban imposed on him for
moving to his right in the sprint and causing Jakobsen to suffer a
life-threatening crash.

"I was surprised to read the comments made by Dylan
Groenewegen with regard to our recent meeting,” Jakobsen said in a statement
issued on Twitter.

“The meeting was arranged to try to reach a common
understanding relating to the accident in Poland last August.

"The content of this meeting was supposed to stay
confidential, between the two of us and our legal teams. I am disappointed that
Dylan has talked about our meeting publicly. I will not do so.

"I would like to set the record straight though:
Dylan has not offered a personal apology and he has not shown willingness to
take any responsibility for his actions. I still would like to reach an
understanding with Dylan, but it takes two to tango.

"Further proceedings are now being taken care of by
my legal team and for that reason I will not be able to make any further
comment."