Jurgen Van Den Broeck has not had the Tour de France he was hoping for and now blood tests taken on the rest day give a possible explanation. An increased amount of antibodies for mycoplasma indicates that his body has been fighting an illness and the Belgian will continue to undergo an antibiotic treatment.

When he faded back on the climb to Risoul, Jurgen Van Den Broeck started to search for explanations for his poor performance. He pointed to a possible virus as the cause for his failure and started to undergo an antibiotic treatment.

On the rest day, blood tests were taken to examine the matter further and even though they have revealed no virus, they indicate that Van Den Broeck's body has been fighting some kind of illness.

“The blood test showed that Jurgen Van den Broeck doesn’t have any infections," Lotto-Belisol doctor Jan Matheiu said. "The antibodies for mycoplasma have risen, which indicates that his body had to fight against that the past days. His feeling that he couldn’t go to the limit during the previous stages was an indication.

"Because we took this into account as possible cause, we started a treatment with antibiotics since Saturday, which will make the mycoplasma disappear from the body. It’s difficult to estimate when Jurgen will be back at full strength."