TotalEnergies boss sends blunt Tour de France warning to Jordan Jegat

The TotalEnergies climber, 10th overall at last year’s Tour, returns to stage racing at the Dauphiné, now called Tour Auvergne Rhône Alpes, after a winter ruined by a knee problem. But while Jegat is trying to rebuild confidence on the bike, team boss Jean René Bernaudeau has made it clear that loyalty could also decide his July.

TotalEnergies are still searching for a new sponsor, creating uncertainty inside the squad and interest from rival teams. Jegat has admitted the situation is difficult to ignore.

“It is quite heavy mentally,” he said to Ouest-France. “At the start of the year, I had not even raced yet when people were already telling me that Decathlon had made contact and that there was talk about me in other teams.”

For now, Jegat insists he is trying to shut out the noise.

“It is a shame there are rumours like that,” he said. “I just want to focus on the bike, hope the team continues and that there is a new sponsor.”

Bernaudeau, however, has drawn a firm line. Riders who commit elsewhere before the Tour risk being left out, and his warning to Jegat was blunt.

“If Jordan puts his trust in Stéphane Heulot and me, he will be at the Tour,” Bernaudeau said. “If he does not respect our rule, he will not go to the Tour.”

Bernaudeau’s stance is tied directly to the fight for the team’s future. He said he does not want pressure from agents while talks with potential partners continue, insisting there are serious leads and a positive response from interested sponsors. Together with Heulot, his priority is to keep the team alive, and he expects riders to give them time to do that.

It is a sharp message for a rider who would otherwise look like an obvious Tour candidate. Jegat was one of the revelations of last July, and despite his disrupted preparation this season, he returned by winning the Classic Grand Besançon in April, his first race of the year.

“Winter was completely ruined,” Jegat said. “The inflammation in my knee stopped me from building a solid base. When I was able to resume training properly at the start of spring, I felt much fresher than in other years. I think that is what allowed me to win the Classic Grand Besançon and have a very good start to the season.”

After an altitude camp in Sierra Nevada and a 15th place at the Mercan’Tour Classic, Jegat now has eight days at the Dauphiné to measure himself against World Tour opposition. Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard are absent, but the field still includes Isaac del Toro, Paul Seixas and Juan Ayuso.

For Jegat, that means a week of answers on the road. For TotalEnergies, the harder questions are still being asked away from it.

With the Tour approaching and the team’s future unresolved, Bernaudeau’s words leave little room for interpretation.