He rode for Lampre in the 2006 Tour de France and came in second in Stage 14.
France | 2006 | Departments of France | 2011 ATP Challenger Tour | 2012 ATP Challenger Tour | 2013 ATP Challenger Tour | Communes of France | 2006 in music | PGA Tour | ATP World Tour 250 series | Louis XIV of France | 2006 FIFA World Cup | Tour de France | Nancy, France | Vichy France | Francis I of France | ATP World Tour 250 Series | Henry IV of France | 2006 Commonwealth Games | Brest, France | Collège de France | stage name | France national football team | Bibliothèque nationale de France | 2013 ATP World Tour | New France | Cinema of France | Louis IX of France | 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games | Swimming at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games |
Although Steegmans was already known in Belgium, he gained more popularity outside Belgium as he piloted Robbie McEwen to two stage wins during the 2006 Tour de France.
Due to the Floyd Landis doping case of the 2006 Tour de France, Phonak withdrew their sponsorship of the team and it hence folded.
At the Tour de France, Mercado won Stage 18 at the 2004 Tour and captured a surprise win on Stage 10 (the first mountain stage) of the 2006 Tour de France in an early breakaway with Cyril Dessel (Ag2r Prévoyance).
At the 2006 Tour de France, Saint-Méen-le-Grand hosted the start of Stage 8.
The 1958 Tour de France has been compared to the 2006 Tour de France: Both Charly Gaul and Floyd Landis were favourites halfway the Tour, both lost dramatically at a stage, but at a later stage made a great comeback, which put them close to the two leaders (Favero-Raphaël Géminiani and Óscar Pereiro-Carlos Sastre, and the day before the last stage to Paris they overtook the two leaders in an individual time trial.