Louis Meintjes admitted he still felt tired as he headed to the start of the stage to Rodez but was also quietly proud of his fifth place on the tough mountain stage to Plateau de Beille.
The MTN-Qhubeka rider and African continental champion was in the break of the day, making the key selection, before he crashed hard on a wet decent but got back up to fight all the way to the finish atop Plateau de Beille - arguably the toughest mountain finish in this year’s Tour de France.
Meintjes is still only 23 and has already shown signs of his climbing talent but performing so well at the Tour de France has boosted his confidence in his own ability, and convinced him that he can take on the best in the world.
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“It was tough to sleep because of my injuries but the satisfaction of doing a good ride helps cancel out the pain a little bit,” Meintjes told Cyclingnews as he headed to the start of 13 in Muret.
He has no regrets about the crash and what he could have done. “It’s always nice when you have something to show for what you went through. It’s definitely better than crashing and finishing at the back,” he said.
“You can never say (how it would have gone) because there are so many things involved but you have to be able to stay on your bike to win the race. It’s just one of those things.”
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