Meintjes hoping to reign in Spain
VUELTA: THREE SOUTH AFRICANS LINE UP FOR DI-DATA
Eager to regain his best form, Louis Meintjes says he is ready to tackle the final Grand Tour race of the season, as he leads the locally registered Dimension Data team at the Vuelta a Espana starting in Malaga today.
While Daryl Impey was not included in the entry lists, three South African riders were in the line-up for the 73rd edition of the prestigious annual race, with Meintjes joining sprinter Ryan Gibbons and Johann van Zyl in the Dimension Data squad.
Meintjes, who has earned three top-10 finishes at Grand Tour races, was 12th at the Vuelta last year, but he struggled to get going on the circuit this season after his return to the local Di-Data team.
He did not compete at this year’s Tour de France and failed to finish the Giro d’Italia in May, withdrawing due to illness in the latter stages of the race after struggling to produce a challenge up front.
Having finished ninth overall, however, at the five-stage Vuelta a Burgos race earlier this month, the 26-year-old climber said he was ready to put up a fight at the top-flight contest.
“It’s been a challenging year for the team and for me personally too, but we have worked hard to prepare well and build up nicely ahead of La Vuelta,” Meintjes said this week.
The rest of the Di-Data contingent included former Vuelta stage winners Igor Anton of Spain and Steve Cummings of Great Britain, Eritreans Merhawi Kudus and Grand Tour debutant Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, and former American champion Ben King.
“Louis has been getting better and better. He is a world-class rider and Grand Tours are what he specialises in,” said Di-Data sport director Alex Sans Vega.
“We will back him 100% at La Vuelta and we have a strong team to do so.”