UAE Team Emirates’ Meintjes finishes fifth in stage 12 of Tour de France

Sport360 staff 20:52 13/07/2017
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Louis Meintjes.

    UAE Team Emirates’ Louis Meintjes continued his fine form as he secured a top five finish during Stage 12 of the Tour de France.

    The 25-year-old was part of the leaders group crossing the finish line, moving up to tenth position in the General Classifications.

    AG2R La Mondiale rider Romain Bardet soloed over the finish in triumph following a 214.5km ride from Pau to the summit finish at Peyragudes, with Fabio Aru taking the yellow jersey from Chris Froome.

    It was a stunning performance nonetheless from South African Meintjes, who said: “Towards the end everything happened very fast. I’m really pleased with my performance.”

    “In stages like these, you have to plan your attack well and know the course in advance especially when you’re up against teams like Team Sky, otherwise you are just wasting your energy.”

    With white jersey leader Simon Yates finishing ninth, Meintjes reduced the gap in the young rider classification by 20 seconds – with the Briton still leading by 2 mins 38 seconds.

    “The White Jersey is still something I am working towards, however the other day I lost quite a bit of time to Simon Yates that I think will be hard to get back. But who knows, anything can happen! I am hoping for the best.”

    Friday’s stage will be another gruelling mountain ride, this time an explosive 101km race through the Pyrenees from Saint-Girons to Foix.

    Recommended