Patrick Lefebvre spoke about the high-speed crash caused by Jumbo Visma's Dylan Groenewegen at the finish of the first stage of the Tour de Pollogne on Wednesday. The owner of Dečuninck-Quick-Step expressed anger and disappointment over Groenewegen's line deviation in the last few meters of the sprint, calling the maneuver "criminal."

"He should be put in jail," Lefebvre posted directly to social media on Wednesday. In a report published 24 hours later on the Belga news agency, Lefebvre stood by his initial comments and confirmed that he had filed a formal complaint with the sport's governing body, the UCI, and that he intended to file a complaint with local Polish authorities as well.

"I am still very angry and stay behind that Twitter message," Lefebvre told Belga news agency. 'It's a very dirty act by Groenewegen. They should not do that. We have already filed a complaint with the UCI and will do so with the Polish police. We are not going to let this go."

The crash occurred in the last few meters of the first stage between Groenewegen and Jacobsen, who were sprinting for the finish in Katowice. Video footage shows Groenewegen veering off line toward the right side of the road and Jacobsen crashing through the roadside barrier.

Groenewegen finished first, but lost control of his bike and crashed shortly after the finish. Half a dozen riders also went down in the accident, including Marc Sarrault (Groupama-FDJ), Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates), Damien Touze (Cofidis), and Eduardo Prades (Movistar), who broke his cervical spine. A roadside official also suffered head injuries from the impact of the crash and was taken to the hospital, but is now confirmed to be in stable condition.

Jacobsen suffered the worst of the crash and was immediately treated by the on-site race medical services. He was then airlifted to the hospital in critical condition and placed in a medically induced coma in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Sosnowiec.

"It's a dirty act. You can't do that. Yesterday I saw the footage on my cell phone. On the other hand, I also saw it on the big screen. I watched the footage several times after the fact. In fact, I've seen that sprint dozens of times. I don't understand Groenewegen's behavior at all. Athletes have to stay in their lines. He starts the sprint in the middle (of the road) and of course he can choose his line. But then (Groenevegen) resolutely went to the right and further to the right. He sees Fabio coming and puts his elbow out again. Fabio loses his balance and falls into the barrier.

"I don't understand this. He really ran Fabio into (the barrier). I wasn't a sprinter, but I've been involved in cycling for years and I know a thing or two about racing. This is not possible. Fabio had to wait until the last 50 meters to get going. If it wasn't for Groenewegen's action, Fabio would have passed him."

"So I'm not going to take back what I said last night," Lefevere added. 'I have already filed a complaint with the UCI and the team intends to do the same with the police in Poland.'

Lefebvre confirmed that he received a phone call last night from Richard Plagge, the team boss of Jumbo Visma. 'I think it was very brave of him to call me, but I also told him that I have absolutely no understanding of the Grunewegen operation. It's something I can't do."

The UCI issued a statement after the crash condemning Groenewegen's actions. Due to the seriousness of the incident, the sport's international governing body requested that the matter be immediately referred to the Disciplinary Committee and that Groenevegen be sanctioned. The Commissaires' Committee of the Tour de Pollogne disqualified Groenewegen and fined him CHF 500. Local authorities are currently investigating the circumstances and cause of the incident, according to a tweet from the police department of the Autonomous Region of Silesia.

Jambovisma later issued an official apology for the incident and confirmed that Groenewegen, who broke his collarbone in the crash, would be placed on inactive status pending a decision by the UCI Disciplinary Commission. I feel very sorry for Fabio and all those who crashed and were hit. Fabio's health is the most important thing right now. I am always thinking about him."

Deceuninck-QuickStep released a medical update on Thursday morning, confirming that Jacobsen remains in the intensive care unit and is in serious but stable condition after undergoing 5.5 hours of facial surgery overnight. Jacobsen is in a coma, but doctors plan to bring him out of it at a later date.

"His condition is serious. Fortunately, no vital organs have been damaged and he is stable, but the next few hours are critical. They are trying to wake him up. All the bones in his face are broken. It's really bad," Lefebvre said.

Lefebvre has spent the last 24 hours arranging for Jacobsen's family and girlfriend to travel to Poland to be with him at a hospital in Sosnowiec. He also arranged for Jacobsen's teammate, Michael Vershev, the team's sports psychologist, to be able to attend the race.

"At the moment we are not working on that," Lefebvre said in response to a question about whether he would go to Poland. 'I've been busy with his family, trying to figure out how to get him to Poland as soon as possible. Yesterday I called Fabio's father. They were already going to get in the car and drive over 1000 km, but I quickly arranged a private flight for his parents and girlfriend. They took off this morning in Rotterdam and are on their way to Poland".

"The team psychologist will also fly with them. He will support the athletes there. It is important that the players get the support they need there. It's a big blow to the team and it will leave its mark.

The Dečuninck-Quick-Step team has opted to stay on for Thursday's second stage, the Tour de Pollogne, which runs from Opole to Zabrze.

"We have already discussed this with sport director Klaas Lodewijk. We will protect and position Lemko so that he can fight for the ranking in this Tour of Poland."