Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Materiaux) gave an emotional interview atop Alpe d'Huez after finishing second on the iconic climb during stage 12 at the Tour de France.
The South African climber finished 48 seconds behind stage winner Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). When asked by a reporter what the 'so close but so far' performance meant to him, Meintjes paused to gather his thoughts before replying, "It's been a few difficult years so to finally be up there is nice."
Meintjes, who twice finished top-10 at the Tour de France in the 2016 and 2017 editions, only recently captured his first victory in seven years at Giro dell'Appennino in June. The 30-year-old then finished sixth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné before starting the Tour de France as a GC contender for his Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux team.
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Pidcock and Meintjes were part of the day's breakaway that dwindled to five upon reaching the base of Alpe d'Huez. The group also included Chris Froome (Israel Premier Tech), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) and Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost).
They started the final climb nearly six minutes ahead of the GC selection, that included overall race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
Pidcock rode away from the breakaway with 10km to go but Meintjes remained the closest to the British rider, following at a few seconds back until the gap pushed further apart near the top of Alpe d'Huez.
"I thought it was ideal that he was in front because then we go full gas, if we get together we slow down and play poker and then maybe there is an acceleration, which, I think he's better at," Meintjes said.
"So, for some time I was just trying to stay behind him, to make sure he was also committing 100%, but finally the elastic snapped and he was just stronger today. That's how it goes; you're not always the best."
Meintjes finished 16th on the first major summit of La Super Planche des Belles Filles after being forced to run up the steep gravel sector to the finish line after suffering a mechanical issue. His performance on Alpe d'Huez moved him up three spots to 13th overall.
Asked if he were thinking about the general classification in future stages, he said, "I think first I will enjoy second place as much as you can, and then get ready for what is to come."
