Dutch cyclist Dylan Groenewegen has said he and his family needed police protection after receiving death threats for causing the crash that resulted in compatriot Fabio Jakobsen being placed in a medically induced coma in August.
Groenewegen, who rides for the Jumbo–Visma team, was jostling for position with Jakobsen in the final metres of the Tour of Poland's first stage when they came together.
Jakobsen, 24, crashed into the barriers and collided with a race official. He was taken to hospital and underwent facial surgery but is now back on his bike.
Groenewegen, who apologised for the crash, was handed a nine-month suspension by cycling's world governing body (UCI) in November.
"There were such concrete and serious threats that we called the police a few days after the crash," Groenewegen told Dutch magazine Helden.
"The following days and weeks the police guarded our door. We could not spontaneously leave the house. We received handwritten letters in the mail, in which even a noose was added with which we could hang our child.
"Of course (the threats) affect you. The most crazy things go through your head. Getting out of bed in the morning was quite a challenge in that period."
