Jordan Jegat shocked to finish in the Top10 of the Tour de France, "now I want to try to do better"
Cycling
Jordan Jegat was the great revelation of the Tour de France, a rider whom few had even predicted could be in GC contention, ended up finishing in the Top10 through good climbing performances, heavy consistency and also well timed breakaways. The Frenchman embodied the aggressive spirit of the French in the Grand Boucle and in 2026 he wants more than a 10th place.
"Top 10 it was crazy and before the Tour de France I thought about top 20. During the race, I thought about the top 15, and it got better day after day. So finally I finished in the top 10 just one day before Paris," the Frenchman said in words to Domestique. "Before the Tour de France, the manager told me 'please lose time during the first week to go in the breakaway and to try to win a stage'."
Jegat had finished 14th at the Itzulia Basque Country and Criterium du Dauphiné, so he is someone who values the overall classification ambitions. But at the Tour the level is higher, and a 14th place wouldn't be valuable to many riders, even at ProTeam level. But that was not the case with Jegat, who continued to make the effort throughout the first week to stay within GC contention. He was in 14th place, again.
Into the Pyrenees, he performed strongly and improved his position, going up to 11th at Superbagnères with a successful breakaway. But stage 11 into Toulouse, with a few hills, was the first day where he felt he was truly in the fight. "It's the first day when I played with the best riders, and this day I thought, maybe I can do that during the whole Tour de France. And it was the change in my mindset that day."
He benefited from his small team and the pressure that was on the shoulders of other riders instead of him. "I didn't really have any pressure also with the French media because there was also Kévin Vauquelin who was in front of me, so it was good to be the second French rider for me, with the media and for the pressure."
And into the final week of the race, he was strong enough to remain in 11th place, then gaining. On stage 15 he gained serious time on his GC rivals from a breakaway on a hilly day and on the final competitive day to Pontarlier he did the exact same, entering a breakway despite other riders knowing of his danger to the Top10.
"In the third week, it's different because it's a final for the GC. For example, stage 20, when I went in the breakaway, Ben O'Connor rode in the bunch to catch up to me [...] Now I want to try to do better because now my team and I know that I can do that."
GC is easier than KOM for Jegat
"Of course, the best goal is the total defense for the GC or for the stage win. Maybe one day for the polka-dot jersey. But now it's again difficult with Pogacar and the top riders," he adds. The KOM system currently fully favours the GC riders, with Pogacar and Vingegaard taking up the first two positions this year despite not even contesting for the classification.
Lastly, the Frenchman already knows that he is going in to the 2026 season with a clear set of big goals, and they are all in the main races: "For next year, it's the Tour de France but also the Basque Country, Dauphiné and Paris-Nice maybe".
Jegat during the 2025 Tour de France. @Sirotti
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- You despise him because he calls out the truth....OK clown !frieders303-11-2026
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
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