Fabio Jakobsen has joined Team Visma | Lease a Bike with immediate effect, signing through the end of 2028 after leaving Team Picnic PostNL midway through the season.
The Dutch sprinter, 29, will begin working with Visma’s performance staff, but the team has not set a date for his return to racing. His first months will focus on rebuilding his fitness and adapting to its training philosophy, nutrition programme and working methods.
Jakobsen’s contract with Picnic PostNL was terminated by mutual agreement on July 31, allowing him to make the move during the 2026 season.
“My goal is to get back to the level where I can compete at the highest level again and sprint for victories,” Jakobsen said in Visma’s announcement. “As a sprinter, you never win on your own, so being part of a strong team is essential. I believe this is one of the best performance environments in the world.”
“I believe we can learn from each other and continue to improve together. There's a lot of work ahead, but I'm confident this is the right environment to make progress.”
Visma targets untapped sprint potential
Visma head of performance Mathieu Heijboer said the team had been searching for a rider dedicated to pure flat sprints. Its existing options include Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Wout van Aert (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), although both have broader roles than that of a specialist bunch sprinter.
“We had been looking for a specialist for the pure flat sprints,” Heijboer said. “The more we looked into Fabio's situation, the more convinced we became that there is still a great deal of untapped potential. We believe we can create the right environment to help him unlock it.”
Heijboer said signing Jakobsen immediately gives Visma time to begin that work rather than waiting for the 2027 season. The team described his eventual return to competition as a gradual process, with winning flat sprints again the longer-term target.
Jakobsen joined Picnic PostNL ahead of the 2024 season, bringing six Grand Tour stage victories and a European road race title. During his two-and-a-half years with the team, he recorded one victory, a stage of the 2024 Tour of Turkey, while crashes and double iliac artery surgery affected his attempts to return to his previous level.
His 2026 season included six non-finishes and one result outside the time limit. He did not place inside the top 15 of a race or stage before leaving Picnic PostNL.
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