Thirteenth in the general classification and fully committed in the battle for the top ten of the Tour de France, Louis Meintjes was forced to abandon in the beginning of the fourteenth stage on this Saturday 15th of July.
The South-African climber was involved in a massive crash just after the start of this big day in the Alps, just like his teammates Adrien Petit, Mike Teunissen and Dion Smith, or half of Team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.
Louis Meintjes was not able to continue because of a collarbone fracture. The seven other riders of the team reached the finish line within the time limit, with courage: Rui Costa, Georg Zimmermann, Dion Smith, Mike Teunissen, Biniam Girmay and despite the pain and bruises, Adrien Petit. The team will send a medical report with more details of the injuries on Sunday morning.
“I was really looking forward to this fourteenth stage, but it didn’t go according to plan. Many riders crashed in front of me and I all of a sudden I was hit from the back, loosing my balance. I wish all of them a good recovery. Talking about myself, I unfortunately had to quit the Tour de France with a broken collarbone. It is very disappointing. But this is cycling, we have to move on and try to get ready for the next goals as soon as possible.”
“The road surface in the beginning of the race was very slippery yesterday. I tried to avoid the big crash in front of me, but I landed in a ditch with rocks. Despite the injuries and the pain, I absolutely wanted to continue the Tour de France. I knew what was coming, we had to cover more than 4000 climbing meters. It was incredibly hard to survive. If I managed to reach the finish, it was thanks to the support of the thousands of fans along the roads. This night, I managed to sleep a couple of hours, but I feel completely beaten up. The perspective of the rest day on Monday gives me hope. I will do everything I can today to finish within the time limits.”
“A rider slipped on the wet road in the beginning of the stage, causing a massive crash. Half of the team was involved. Louis Meintjes, who was moving up on the right side of the road, fell on his shoulder and broke his collarbone. Adrien Petit, Dion Smith and Mike Teunissen could continue and finish the stage. We will heal the wounds and we’ll measure the damage tonight, hoping that our injured riders have a good night of sleep.” “Unfortunately, the loss of Louis Meintjes means that we have to abandon our GC ambitions. Despite our bad luck, we will continue fighting until the end to achieve our first stage win. Our better climbers Lilian Calmejane, Rui Costa and Georg Zimmermann ended the stage unharmed. We hope they can show our colours in the remaining difficult stages, starting this Sunday. For Adrien, Dion and Mike, the goal will be to pass the mountain stages and rest day well in order to support Biniam Girmay in the sprint opportunities in the final stage.”
“Louis Meintjes sustained a lateral clavicular fracture of his left shoulder during the crash in the beginning of the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France. He is now on his way to Berlin, where he will be operated this Sunday. For the moment I am optimistic about the possibility of a fast recovery. After the operation we can make a new assessment.” “Adrien Petit has deep abrasions and a cut on the right leg, from the hip to the ankle. It was not possible to close the cut on the tibia with stitches because of the wounds around. Dion Smith, who crashed in the grass, has some contusions. Mike Teunissen has superficial abrasions over the whole body. These three riders will line up for the fifteenth stage this Sunday and will be followed up closely in the upcoming days.”
