Remco Evenepoel dedicated his sublime victory on stage four of the Tour of Poland to teammate Fabio Jakobsen, who was severely injured after a crash at the race earlier this week.

Jakobsen was forced into the barriers during a sprint finish on Wednesday and was subsequently put into a coma while in hospital.

He is now out of the coma but remains in a serious condition in hospital as he continues to recover from horrific facial injuries.

And Evenepoel, who attacked the entire field 51 kilometres out from the finish to ride to a sensational win and take the overall race lead, held up Jakobsen’s race number as he crossed the line.

Speaking after his victory, he told Cycling News: "I wanted to give everything today for Fabio. After stage one, we all had some pretty tough moments, but stayed together and I think the whole world saw today just how strong this team is.

"The good news we received yesterday about Fabio acted as a big morale-boost and for that reason I wanted to do something today.

"That’s why in the morning, before the start, I asked for his race number and the moment I had it in my hands I immediately felt something special.

"It wasn’t easy, and I suffered, but it doesn’t compare to what Fabio’s enduring these days. This gave me the energy to carry on and never look back."

Evenepoel now leads the race by one minute and 48 seconds from Dane Jakob Fuglsang and is more than two minutes in front of third place Brit Simon Yates.

If he successfully secures the overall victory, it will be Evenepoel’s fourth stage race triumph in 2020 following wins at the Volta ao Algarve, Vuelta a Burgos and Vuelta a San Juan.