After two hard days in the Pyrenees, Louis Meintjes is a nice step closer to the top ten in the Tour de France. 22nd in the classification at the start of the sixth stage, the South-African climber gained six positions after the first mountain top finish on top of Cauterets.
Before the final climb, the parcours of this sixth stage went over the mythical Col d’Aspin and the Col du Tourmalet. Meintjes, who rode alongside the better climbers all day, reached the top of the Tourmalet at 2100 meter of altitude in a group of ten riders including the yellow jersey, chasing the leading group.
At the end of the battle between the favourites on the final climb Louis Meintjes finished sixteenth of the stage. He is also sixteenth in the provisional classification, a little more than one minute from the top ten.
"This start of the Tour de France has been pretty animated, especially the difficult first two days in the Basque Country. I was planning to attack today because we expected a long battle to form the breakaway, but the peloton rapidly blocked the road and the good group was gone almost immediately. In the end, it turned out well because the breakaway was caught and I made a good move in the general classification. My feeling is good, it looks like me condition is growing. The weather has been quite humid so far, I'm looking forward to take advantage from hot days."
