tombeej Posted June 2, 2016 Author Posted June 2, 2016 Been wondering when we'll get to see Main-cheese. Yeah, me too. There's a bit of a question mark hanging over him at the moment. As Cycling News points out: Having transferred to the Italian team from MTN-Qhubeka at the end of 2015, Meintjes made his Lampre-Merida debut at the Tour Down Under finishing in 16th place. The 24-year-old then placed 22nd overall at Paris-Nice but has since failed to finish his last 3 stage races; Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco and Tour de Romandie. Hope he comes right, here in the Alps.
EmptyB Posted June 2, 2016 Posted June 2, 2016 Correction: I've just had a look at the profile of the Prologue. This is for the climbers:Should make this short prologue rather interesting....
jimmycool Posted June 2, 2016 Posted June 2, 2016 I see the prologue is classified as a 1st category climb and it doesn't even cover 4km!
'Dale Posted June 2, 2016 Posted June 2, 2016 I see the prologue is classified as a 1st category climb it doesn't even cover 4km!More here: https://youtu.be/csHtCgVgglE
'Dale Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 I see BMC is splitting their fortunes With Richie Rich here at DauphineAnd TvG at Tour de Suisse They mos have a co leader strategy for TdF
tombeej Posted June 3, 2016 Author Posted June 3, 2016 Really like Meintjies, but GC??? You serious? Louis was signed to Lampre-Merida for exactly that role. He's their big GC hope for the future and they have invested in millions of euros to make that happen. Italy is the biggest cycling nation in the world and Lampre-Merida are their last remaining World Tour team. Lampre's structure and culture of racing is geared mainly to stage racing (grand tours and week long races) - that's their key focus. Their manager (Giuseppe Saronni) is a 2-time winner of the Giro d'Italia. And with all the options out there, with all the big-name Italians around, they chose Louis as their GC guy. That's huge. The Italians first sat up and took notice when he came 5th overall (and won the white jersey) at the 2014 Giro del Trentino, one of the biggest & toughest Italian races on the calendar. He was still only 22 years old. Then last year, aged just 23, Louis finished top 10 in a grand tour (Vuelta). That shows he has some serious GC racing chops and Lampre-Merida knew they'd made the right choice investing in a lighty from SA as opposed to a big European name. Last year he backed up that Vuelta performance with a 6th overall at the Tour of Oman (1st Young rider) and won the overall GC at the 2015 Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali (incl. winning the final stage). For this Dauphine, Lampre-Merida have named Louis as their protected GC team leader. The team has been built around him. ----------- But because he's had a very quiet start to 2016, the pressure must be building a bit. I'm sure the expectations from the team are going to be high - the Italians have never been known for their patience.
'Dale Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 Really like Meintjies, but GC??? Yip, he is a being shaped into becoming a formidable GC challengerIt takes many seasonsTons of experiencesSeveral failures and lots of lessonsAbove all else, patience and stamina He's been quiet yeah and there's been limited infoHad a hard crash earlier in the year
pe3nguin Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 Really like Meintjies, but GC???If not a GC candidate, what role do you see him fulfilling at Lampre? He was signed by the filthy Italians for exactly that reason. He turned 24 in February, age is on his side and he finished 10th in the Vuelta last year. I know everyone is jizzing over this years Giro, but lets be real for a moment, the Vuelta is the REAL GRAND TOUR. Even a brief glimpse over his palmares shows a rider who surely has GC aspirations for 2016 and then you couple that with the fact that Marco Marzano (Sports director for Lampre-Merida) is even quoted as saying Meintjes is GC hopeful after some serious altitude training in the buildup. Or is he now using his massive 60kg build to switch to track? Idunnolol
Tugboat Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 To me, it looks like Lampre have deliberately been holding him back a bit this season so he peaks well for TDF. He did have a long season last year with a very high volume of racing days so I have a feeling he will come through strong in the Dauphine.
jimmycool Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 Seems like everyone typed the same thing at the same time!
jcza Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 I imagine Quintana will rock it in Tour de Suisse... Staying in Columbia and training apparently
pe3nguin Posted June 3, 2016 Posted June 3, 2016 Seems like everyone typed the same thing at the same time!Tom was the most eloquent anyway. The man was on the ball for 99% of his post... ...did spew some rubbish about Italy, blah blah, biggest cycling nation. Even smart men have their flaws
tombeej Posted June 3, 2016 Author Posted June 3, 2016 Tom was the most eloquent anyway. The man was on the ball for 99% of his post... ...did spew some rubbish about Italy, blah blah, biggest cycling nation. Even smart men have their flaws I said biggest (yip, in pure participation numbers, races, etc).Belgian racing is still the best
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