The nearly man of years gone by, Jurgen van den Broeck’s road to recovery since suffering a season-ending crash at last year’s Tour has been an arduous one.
However, the Lotto-Belisol man – fourth in 2010 and 2012 – gave a reminder of why he is considered a contender for the Tour podium with a great Dauphine, ultimately finishing third overall.
The Belgian consistently stuck with the big contenders, making the spit when Froome lit up the race on the Col du Beal. He was then fifth on stage eight, joining the strong race-winning break at the foot of the final climb.
His team is built more for Andre Greipel’s sprint, but the likes of hard man Adam Hansen will provide valuable support – and van den Broeck proved he is capable of going it alone when he needs to as well.
After his painful exit from last year’s race, van den Broeck will be keen for better luck this time out. But if he gets it, an overdue place on the podium is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.
