Was Jordan Jegat THE breakthrough of the 2025 Tour de France? "You can't hold back, don't set limits"
Cycling
The Tour de France is the biggest cycling race in the world and because of the extreme quality at the startlist every year, it is very difficult for any rider to truly surprise. A few managed to do so and perhaps the biggest surprise of them all was Jordan Jegat, rider for the ProTeam-level TotalEnergies who managed to finish in the final Top10 against all odds.
Jegat is not an unknown figure in the peloton, having ridden to a Top15 at Itzulia Basque Country and the Criterium du Dauphiné, but few even put him in the category of a GC contender for the Tour. Even within the team, it was more likely that Steff Cras would have this goal, but the Belgian was forced to abandon with illness.
The team didn't manage to take a stage win as it did in 2024 with Anthony Turgis, but it managed to do something which is perhaps even more immpressive: Place a rider a the Tour's Top10. "If someone had told me that at the start of the Tour I would have said 'but nooooo'. Obviously, I'm happy, I wouldn't have believed it," the 26-year old told Cyclism'Actu in Paris.
Jegat raced in a similar way to compatriot Guillaume Martin, who has in the past ridden to Top10's at Grand Tours through a mix of good climbing and using breakaways both on mountainous and hilly stages to gain time on the direct competition. It's not an unknown tactic but one that is difficult to manage, specially in a Grand Tour where virtually every stage was ridden hard and ultimately where the average speed was the highest in the history of the sport.
Jegat had a strong start to the race showing consistency and not losing much time on the explosive stages, and by the time he entered the Pyrenees he was in 14th place. As the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Matteo Jorgenson, Carlos Rodríguez and others either dropped out of the race or the overall classification, the Frenchman remained consistent and the Top10 realistically became a goal. On stages 14 and 15 he joined the breakaway and came closer to the Top10, but a brutal crack on the Col de la Loze saw this objective fade slightly.
However a brilliant performance on stage 20, the day following the Alps, saw him be the only GC rider to be able to get himself in the day's breakaway and despite criticism from fellow breakaway riders, he pushed through and managed to gain time on Ben O'Connor to successfully enter the Top10.
"But there you go, I did it, so I'm very happy. As I often say, you can't hold back, don't set limits, and always look further ahead. I went after this top 10 with audacity, but also a lot of humility," he believes. "I forged ahead, I managed to make good breakaways that saved me time, without losing too much in the mountains. It's a whole, and that's why I finished 10th."
Jegat is perhaps this Tour's revelation, after an incredibly combative and consistent race that rewarded him greatly in Paris. "This is my second Tour de France, I finished 28th last year as a support rider for Steff Cras. It's true that I felt that physically it was responding well, and that I could do better," he concluded.
"This year, I came more to achieve a stage victory and why not a good overall. In my head, I had set myself a top 20, and to get close to the top 15. So top 10 is simply happiness. A feeling of accomplishment, of pride too after all these years of work,"
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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