Illness has meant that Jurgen Van Den Broeck has not had the Tour de France he was hoping for but today the Belgian proved that he refuses to go down without a fight. Having been part of the big breakaway in the queen stage, he played a key role in the dramatic race and moved to 12th in the overall standings.

The second Tour stage in the Pyrenees was a tough one. With 124.5 kilometers it was the shortest stage, except for the time trial, but there were three climbs of first category to cover and the finish line was drawn at Pla d'Adet after an hors catégorie climb. Jurgen Van den Broeck attacked on the Col du Portillon and got in the front group. Rafal Majka turned out to be the strongest.

Van den Broeck crossed the finish line as 19th and moves up one place in GC, he's now twelfth.

"I actually didn't feel so well today," he said. "Beforehand I had the intention to join an interesting breakaway. As expected Movistar wanted to make the race hard and send a man in the break.

"On the way to the Col du Portillon I didn't think I would succeed, but I could jump away after all. Majka and Rolland were the better riders in front. It wasn't a surprise Majka won the stage.

"I never had the feeling I was strong. Nevertheless I showed myself in a different way and animated the race. It wasn't a surprise that I wasn't 100% of course, now I know what's the problem.

"It won't be easy to recover during this Tour or even get better. Still I want to show myself instead of riding to Paris anonymously. Like I said before, the GC isn't a goal in itself anymore, but today I could maintain my position."