Jegat explains why Pogacar's attacks are 'almost a relief'

Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) has described how he approaches racing the world champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), as he looks ahead to the 2026 Tour de France. 

Speaking to L'Équipe, the TotalEnergies rider, who finished tenth overall at the 2025 Tour, explained how his own race is shaped by Pogačar's attacks.

"I wait for Pogačar to make his move so I can finally ride at my own pace," Jegat said. "I almost find his attack a relief."

Jegat added that he has become more aware of his own limits after previous experiences of pushing too hard.

"I pushed myself into the red so many times before blowing up that I eventually learned to know myself and listen to my body's signals," he said. "If you only look at the wattage, you might think you can hold that high pace for an hour, but there are other factors, heat, stress, fatigue, that you have to take into account."

After recovering from a winter layoff caused by patellofemoral pain syndrome, Jegat returned to racing in mid-April by winning the Classic Grand Besançon Doubs. He followed this up by finishing fourth overall at the Tour of Türkiye, before finishing seventh on three stages from the breakaway at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and at the national championships. Jegat is now looking to make an even bigger impact at the Tour than last summer.

"My primary goal remains a stage win," he said. "I also have other ambitions if I don't win a stage: wearing the yellow jersey or bringing home the polka-dot jersey."

Jegat also believes his current status in the peloton means that he will have more freedom to join breakaways rather than being heavily marked by the strongest GC teams.

"They let Ben Healy go all the time! Even Primož Roglič," he said. "When the peloton knows you aren't a threat for the podium, it's fine. I'll be allowed to get into the breakaway. The teams likely to chase me down would be Uno-X, EF, or Jayco, but only if I threatened their GC standing. The big leaders will let me make my move."

The French climber also revealed that he has received "quite a bit" of interest from foreign teams amid uncertainty over TotalEnergies' future, and confirmed he is now represented by Alex Carera, who also manages Pogačar. 

"I'm letting him handle that side of things," Jegat concluded, confirming his current focus remains on the Tour.