With the Vuelta a Espana into its final week, one rider's consistency stands out. Plenty of water has flowed under the bridge since I took this photo of Louis Meintjes at the 2017 Abu Dhabi Tour. Louis' career was on the up at that stage and he achieved his second consecutive top-10 finish at Le Tour that July. And then a few lean years followed, but not for the want of trying. While penning a magazine article on Louis' travails in 2019, it emerged that his poor results that year weren't down to lack of focus – quite the opposite actually. Louis's penchant for hard work had gone a bit far and the inevitable spiral from overtraining was the number one contributing factor to his poor form at that stage. It looked like it was all over, that the South African rider was a shadow of his former self.
Which makes his 2021 campaign even more remarkable, and inspiring. Louis's move to a Belgian squad may have been met with skepticism in many quarters but it obviously was the correct decision. Climbers and “old school” Belgian teams are an unlikely mix but perhaps this change of environment is just what the diminutive strongman from Pretoria needed. And if this season is anything to go by, Louis' form is clearly on the up. He is currently lying in fourteenth overall, the same position he finished at Le Tour in July. And with a week littered with massive climbs ahead, a top ten finish in Santiago de Compostela is a highly realistic possibility.
Enjoy the rest day today Louis. Voorspoed meneer and remember that it's never over until it's over!
