After a crash which forced him out of the jubilee edition of the Tour de France last year and difficult beginning of the 2014 season, it has been extremely difficult to gauge Jurgen Van den Broeck’s disposition even for Lotto-Belisol sports directors, but the 31-year old Belgian sent a highly promising signals with his appearance at the Criterium du Dauphine.

With the pre-race favorites Froome (Team Sky) and Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) both out of this year’s Tour, Van den Broeck possibly faced an opportunity of his career to excel in the French three-week event do it doesn’t surprise how harsh he was on himself after he saw all his chances crushed in a consequence of two bad days in the Alps.

“I still have to recover from this blow. The doctor thinks I might have a virus, but that’s just a speculation. As long as the reason remains unknown, I find that I have failed,” Van den Broeck told Vive Le Velo.

“I’m not a great talent so I had to work hard and make a lot of sacrifices. I train like an animal and it sometimes amuses me how far it have already brought me in my career.”

“I would consider myself lucky if I could prophesy and therefore continue to work hard every day. I am greatful for the opportunities that I got and yes, I can muster again. Next year I will try again if the team still wants me to perform in the Tour.”

“It’s not easy mentally to accept harsh criticism. People expect so much, and so do I. But I’m self-aware and I know that if you’re not a talent, everything needs to go well. To perfection, and it didn’t happen.”