Jurgen Van Den Broeck saw his podium dreams getting crushed when he cracked on the climb to Risoul. The Belgian is now looking for an explanation but refuses to withdraw from the race.

After two weeks of the Tour de France, Jurgen Van Den Broeck finds himself in 11th in the overall standings at the Tour de France.

"No, that was not the plan," he told Sporza on the rest day. "I have to make the best of thi Tour."

"I could ride in the rear end of the peloton and say "This has no interest" but I don't want to do so. I have told my teammates that I don't feel good but I can still perform at a decent level. Otherwise I could just go home, hang up my bike and stop.

What can Jurgen Van Den Broeck do in the final week?

"I have no idea. I will take ti day by day. First I have to feel good again. Soon I will know whether that is possible. Tony Gallpin won a stage and one day later he was sick. But he has bounced back again. Giving up is not an option, that's not where I am."

"I am not focused on a specific position in the overall standings. That maks no sense. I mainly hope to find the good legs back. I want to have that feeling of riding with the best riders on the climbs.

"Saturday I started to take antibiotics as a precautionary measure. In the team we have had some illness and this may be the explanantion. I do not feel 100% and I can't go deep. There must be an explanation: a virus or a crash. The doctors will analyze my blood and then we'll see.

"My condition can not just disappear. In the Dauphine, I felt great but that is no longer the case. On that climb to Risoul I could not even follow Tony Gallopin. That was a terrible feeling but it's not my condition. There must be something wrong with my body."