Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates) heads into the Tour de France aiming for a top-five spot in the general classification and the best young rider's white jersey after finding form in last month's Criterium du Dauphine.
The South African climber finished eighth in his final outing before the Tour de France and turned in one of his best performances this season on the final mountain stage, dropping Chris Froome (Team Sky) and several other Tour de France contenders.
"Hopefully I have the same legs, if not a little bit better," Meintjes told Cyclingnews on the eve of the Tour in Düsseldorf, Germany.
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Dropping Froome on the final climb of the final stage at the Dauphine was an important moment for Meintjes. The 25-year-old typically enjoys a quiet build-up in the months before a Grand Tour objective but the sight of him giving a double take as he looked back to see Froome slip from his wheel provided him with an important confidence boost.
"Froome's normally in really good form but if you can go away from him then it boosts your confidence and your morale a bit. It showed that I'm capable of contesting things in the front group. We were in a pretty select group and I could see that the other guys were really suffering but I still felt good. I took some confidence from that."
With just three summit finishes in this year's Tour de France, Meintjes's plan is to survive the first week – starting with the individual time trial in Dusseldorf – before showing his form on the stage 5 to La Planche de Belles Filles.
Thinking about the future
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