Fabio Jacobsen has switched from the trusted and proven Soudal-Quick Step sprint train to a little-known combination with Team DSM-Filmenig-Post NL.

Speaking to a small group of media from the team's training camp in Spain, Jacobsen shared his plans for his main goals: stage wins at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

"We'll start the season with the Tour of Oman, then a long block in the Middle East to connect to the UAE Tour, followed by the Paris-Nice and De Panneh World Tour one-day races, then build up to the Giro with the Tour of Turkey," Jacobsen said. "After the Giro, the Tour de France is the next stop. After the Giro, we'll be in Belgium for the Tour of Belgium in preparation for the Tour de France.

Jacobsen spent the first six seasons of his career with Quick-Step, dominating the Grand Tour sprints after a life-threatening crash at the 2020 Tour de Pologne. prize, he made his Tour de France debut in 2022, winning the second stage but struggling in the mountains.

This year's Tour was even worse, as he suffered a major crash on stage 4 and finally missed victory on stage 12 after suffering injuries. This year, he has only one goal: to win the Tour.

"I want to keep riding my bike. If I hadn't crashed on the racetrack, I could have won a stage at last year's Tour. If I hadn't crashed on the racetrack, I would have won a stage at last year's Tour." "I was in good shape before the crash and I was in good shape after the crash.

"That's my first goal for the Giro and the Tour. If we start with this train, with the experience of all the riders, and especially with the intention of making the early part of the season better, I think some things will fall into place by the Giro and the Tour."

Jacobsen noted the possibility of seven or eight lead-out train members, including Groupama-FDJ's Bram Welten and Jumbo-Visma's Timo Roosen. Julius van den Bergh could also be counted on as a competitive lead-out train, along with already established speedsters such as Nils Ehoff, John Degenkolb, Alex Edmondson, and Tobias Lund.

"I don't expect to be successful from day one of the race," van den Berg said. 'If not, we will build from there. Right now we're just doing physical training, getting to know each other, working together, and talking a little bit about what strategies might be possible."

One important aspect of the strategy will be how to beat last year's outstanding sprinter, Jasper Philipsen. Jacobsen is not only focused on Philipsen; he has beaten Philipsen in the past, especially just days before the 2023 Tour de France.

"I have beaten him in the Tour de Belgium. Of course it would be difficult. The year before last I couldn't beat him. This year. So maybe next year I can win again. He is certainly the one that everyone is looking at and trying to follow, but I am not completely focused on [Philipsen]. It is always a question of who is the fastest. And I want to be the fastest."

Jacobsen recognizes that he is at the start of a three-year process of building a sprint team around him and is ready to take on more responsibility by voicing his opinion and working to find the best formula.

"We all know that it is a team building process. I signed a three-year contract with this team. We have to deal with some bumps and we will not be successful all along the way. In cycling, fewer people win than lose. "

This season, Jacobsen has done more than one Grand Tour in a season for the first time and feels it makes him stronger. Although he left his former Quick-Step colleagues to chase the Tour de France overall with Remco Evenpole, he appreciates the experience he has gained over the past six seasons.

"I was lucky to start my career there when I was 21. Starting with four directors like Tom Steele, riders like Keyes, Morkoff, and Sabatini, and even classic riders like Nicky Terpstra and Yves Lampert, who shared their experiences back then.

"I learned what it was like to be at the tail end of the lead-out train and what it was like to try to lead it in the pre-race meetings and evaluations. So I'm going to try to do the same thing here. Of course, we are a young team with some young riders, but we also have experience, like Timo Roosen and Bram Welton.

"A lot of the riders are like little brothers, eager to learn and full of energy. And I think that's what cycling is all about, especially the lead-out train.

The transition to a new team simply meant that Jacobsen, who has been racing for years on Specialized gear, had to make some major changes to his equipment. He now races on a Scott bike with Shimano shoes, and he says the change in fit, especially getting the shoes to fit just right, has been the most difficult.

"It wasn't smooth; most riders dread changing one of their most important points of contact with the bike after six years of riding with the same setup. But it was smooth. The shoes needed some fine-tuning. But I was able to do all the training, and camp one and camp two went fine."

"I was able to do all the training and camp one and camp two without any problems.

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