Jurgen Van den Broeck was aiming for the top 10 in the Giro d'Italia but eventually had to settle for 12th after a bad third week. The Lotto Soudal rider realizes that he has not fulfilled his ambitions. "It is really a pity," he says.

"I've got mixed feelings after the Giro," Jurgen Van den Broeck tells Sporza. "Everything went according to plan until the time trial, but then the misery started. I felt that the strength just disappeared. I have not reached my goal, so I failed to fulfill my own my ambitions.

"However, I was ready because I showed myself in the time trial. But then I must have been infected by a bacterium because I had diarrhea in the third week. That didn't stop before the end of the race.

"That's really a shame, because there's always something that I can't control. I do not know what to do. I can only do my best, I'm not a machine. For me it's no fun to see this happen.

"The criticism of the team? I'm already used to it and know how it is blown out of proportions. The disagreement with Monfort is over. There's nothing broken with the team. I know what they think.

On Saturday, Van den Broeck will be back on the bike for the Heistse Pijl. "It is a race for my own people which is always nice. And it is also ideal to go deep there  between the Giro and the Tour of Switzerland.

"Do I still have future at Lotto Soudal? I leave that to my manager."