After a fifth place finish in last year’s Vuelta to La Camperona, Louis Meintjes of MTN-Qhubeka repeated the feat in stage eleven of the Tour de France over the mighty Tourmalet up to Cautarets. What made his achievement even more impressive was that he did so after crashing earlier in the stage.

“It was tough to sleep because of my injuries but the satisfaction of doing a good ride helps cancel out the pain a little bit,” Meintjes told Cyclingnews as he headed to the start of 13 in Muret.

“You can never say (how it would have gone) because there are so many things involved but you have to be able to stay on your bike to win the race. It’s just one of those things.”

Meintjes says that his performance two days ago has given him huge confidence for the Alps in the final week of the race.

“Today I’m pretty sore and so we’ll see how my body reacts but take every opportunity that comes,” Meintjes said. “It (my ride) has given me extra motivation and encouragement. Being able to be up there is good, so I’ll give it another go in the Alps.”