When I'm climbing in the front group and there are only 10 guys left, that gives me a lot of satisfaction...
What many cyclists dread, Louis Meintjes craves. That’s hills – the steeper, the better. “When I’m climbing in the front group and there are only 10 guys left, that gives me a lot of satisfaction,” says Meintjes, who is riding for UAE Team Emirates. It’s no surprise then that he’s been tasked with goals fit for a dyed-in-the wool climber: go for the GC, and take the lead in the mountains.
It’s easy for a young man to set his sights too high, but Meintjes is a level-headed lad. “My goal is to achieve the best GC result I can. Hopefully, that will be enough to earn the White Jersey,” he says.
Meintjes has been to only two Tours de France, but has already learned that to achieve your goals, you need to race as flawlessly as possible. In the high-stakes environment of the Tour, he says, there is no room for error.
This story is from the July - August 2017 edition of Bicycling South Africa.
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This story is from the July - August 2017 edition of Bicycling South Africa.
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