After blood tests have revealed signs of an illness and given a possible explanation for his below-par performance, Jurgen Van Den Broeck bounced back with a decent showing in today's stage of the Tour de France. The Belgian may have dropped to spots in the overall standings but he was pleased to have found his race rhythm again.

After the second rest day the Tour headed into the Pyrenees. The riders left in Carcassonne for the longest stage. After 237.5 kilometers they arrived in Bagnères-de-Luchon. Michael Rogers rode solo towards the victory. Tony Gallopin, who was part of the long breakaway, was tenth.

Jurgen Van den Broeck passed the finish with Bauke Mollema and Fränk Schleck. He's now thirteenth in GC.

"It was our intention to have someone in the breakaway, because we thought it would have a chance," he said. "For myself it was especially about waiting to see if I would have a better feeling and better legs. I'm satisfied that we know the cause why it didn't go as we had hoped until now.

"In the first part of the Port de Balès it was tough when Movistar raised the tempo, but then I could find a good rhythm and caught guys like Van Garderen and I could join Mollema and Schleck. The GC isn't a goal in itself, but I still hope to make something of it. It's positive that there's evolution and I will see what's possible day by day."