Fabio Jakobsen avoids disaster after hitting spectator's phone in San Juan sprint

Fabio Jakobsen narrowly avoided disaster on the final stage of the Vuelta a San Juan after he was hit by a spectator's outstretched arm – and mobile phone – during the sprint finish.

The Dutchman was battling for victory in San Juan and sprinting close to the barriers when he was hit in the face, losing his sunglasses in the process.

The Soudal-QuickStep sprinter, who ended up finishing second behind Team DSM's Sam Welsford at the finish, said later that the incident could have been worse, recalling his life-threatening crash at the Tour de Pologne in 2020.

Luckily, Jakobsen was able to stay in control of his bike and stay upright after the incident in the closing metres of the bunch finish. He did, however, sustain a cut to his right cheek as a result of the hit.

"I thought Nizzolo was going to slide to the left, but I should have known better, and I rode too tight to the barriers," Jakobsen told Sporza.

"Someone reached out with a phone. I think a lot of people got déjà vu after that stage in Poland. It was partly my own fault but there was room. I didn't see the hand.

"I have a cut and it's all a bit swollen but this could have been much worse. Fortunately, it ended up OK."

Sporza reported that Argentine police are investigating the incident and have apprehended the spectator.

Miguel Angel López (Medellín-EPM) took overall victory at the Vuelta a San Juan, beating Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) by 30 seconds at the end of the week's racing. Jakobsen left the race wounded but with a stage victory on the second day in Jáchal to his name.