Louis Meintjes

Louis Meintjes

Meintjes during the 2018 Vuelta a España.
Personal information
Born	(1992-02-21) February 21, 1992 (age 29) Pretoria, South Africa
Height	173 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb)
Team information
Current team	Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climber
Amateur teams
2011	UC Seraing Crabbé Performance
2012	Lotto–Belisol U23
Professional teams
2013–2015	MTN–Qhubeka
2016–2017	Lampre–Merida
2018–2020	Team Dimension Data[1][2]
2021–	Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux
Major wins
Stage races Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali (2015) One-day races and Classics National Road Race Championships (2014)
Medal record Representing  South Africa Men's road bicycle racing UCI Road World Championships 2013 Tuscany Under-23 road race

Louis Meintjes (born February 21, 1992) is a South African cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux.^[3] He won the South African National Road Race Championships in 2014, and has finished 8th overall in the Tour de France, on 2 occasions in 2016 and 2017. He has also finished 10th overall at the 2015 Vuelta a España.

Career[]

MTN–Qhubeka (2013–2015)[]

Meintjes announced himself to the cycling world in September 2013, when he earned the silver medal in the under-23 road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Meintjes had an impressive 2014 season where he rode his first grand tour, the Vuelta a España. His best result at the Vuelta a España was 5th place on stage 14.^[4]

In March 2015, Meintjes won the final stage of the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali, securing him the overall victory as well.^[5] He was named in the start list for the Tour de France.^[6] He finished fifth on the mountain stage to Plateau de Beille before exiting the Tour due to illness. He was 10th in the Vuelta a España.

Lampre–Merida (2016–2017)[]

2016[]

In September 2015, Meintjes announced that he would be joining Lampre–Merida on a two-year contract from 2016.^[7] He started the 2016 season riding the Tour Down Under and finished 16th overall, and 5th in the young rider classification. Meintjes however, first showed his form in the Critérium du Dauphiné by finishing 9th overall and placing 5th on the stage to Méribel. Then he rode the Tour de France where he took 8th place overall and 2nd place in the young rider classification. He was sitting in 9th place overall after the 10th stage, but lost time in the following stage in the crosswinds. He recovered during the mountain time trial on stage 18, regaining his 9th place. On the following stage to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc, Meintjes finished fourth sprinting with Joaquim Rodríguez and Alejandro Valverde. He finished with the favourites on the next stage, achieving 8th place in Paris. Meintjes' next race was the road race at the Rio Olympics. He was dropped before the last climb but he bridged the gap before sprinting to 7th place at Copacabana Beach.

2017[]

Meintjes finished 6th overall at the Tour of the Basque Country, and two months later he finished 8th overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné. At the Tour de France, Meintjes was once again team leader for UAE Team Emirates, and slowly made his way into top 10 in the second week, as he finished 5th on stage 12 to Peyragudes.^[8] He moved up further two positions in the final week, and finished 8th overall for the second time in his career at the Tour. His last race of the season was the Vuelta a España where he finished 12th overall.

Team Dimension Data (2018–2020)[]

Meintjes returned to his former team, Team Dimension Data, for the 2018 season.^[9] In May 2018, he was named in the startlist for the Giro d'Italia.^[10] However he struggled with his form throughout the spring, and was not consistent at all, and abandoned the race in the third week. His best result of the season came at his final preparation race for the Vuelta a España, the Vuelta a Burgos, where he finished 9th overall. Meintjes struggled once again at the Vuelta a España, and he would go on to finish 58th overall.

Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux[]

In November 2020, Meintjes signed a one-year contract with the Intermarché–Wanty–Gobert Matériaux team.^[11]

Major results[]

General classification results timeline[]

Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	—	DNF	—	36	—
Tour de France	—	DNF	8	8	—	—	—	14
Vuelta a España	55	10	40	12	58	51	—	DNF
Major stage race general classification results
Race	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Paris–Nice	—	—	22	—	—	DNF	—	23
Tirreno–Adriatico	—	39	—	—	17	—	12	—
Volta a Catalunya	—	—	DNF	35	52	—	NH	DNF
Tour of the Basque Country	—	—	DNF	6	—	—		—
Tour de Romandie	—	—	DNF	20	—	34		20
Critérium du Dauphiné	—	52	9	8	—	—	49	17
Tour de Suisse	26	—	—	—	—	—	NH	—

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louis Meintjes.

• Louis Meintjes at Cycling Archives
• Team Lampre–Merida Profile
• Official website
• Louis Meintjes at ProCyclingStats
• Louis Meintjes on Twitter