Fabio Jacobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) apologized for his comments after Sunday's sprint finish in Slenderborg on stage 3 of the Tour de France.

The sprint win was won by Dylan Groenewegen of Team BikeExchange-Jayco, but Jacobsen failed to get into position during the final push and finished fifth.

After the race, Jacobsen said in an interview: "Jacobsen said in an interview after the race: 'I'm very happy with my finish.

"Before I crashed, I admired and even respected him a little bit for his palmarés.

"But now, because of the mistakes he made, after the crash, that's completely gone."

He also said.

On Tuesday, Jacobsen was a bit more cautious. Jacobsen told NOS (open in new tab), "Of course, I understand that he and his family have been through a very difficult time. 'Of course, I understand that he and his family have been going through a very difficult time. Sunday was a little frustrating. I apologize for that."

Jacobsen suffered life-threatening injuries in a fall at the Tour of Poland in August 2020. Groenewegen was suspended for nine months for his involvement in the accident and received hate mail and death threats after the accident.

There was no affection between the two for the next two years, and Jacobsen previously claimed that Groenewegen had not apologized, despite the two riders meeting in April 2021.

Both riders are back on form after a period away from racing.

Jacobsen made a comeback at last year's Vuelta a España, winning three stages and a points prize. He now wears the Tour de France green jersey on behalf of Wout Van Aert after winning a sprint win on the second stage in Nyborg, Denmark.

Groenewegen has won the Tour of Saudi Arabia and Tour of Slovenia so far this year, but the Tour de France stage win was his first major victory since 2019.