I know now what power I need to stay in the front

I’ve had a busy race program the last few weeks but it’s just the way I like it. A big race for us was Giro del Trentino in April. We came up against some big competition like Bradley Wiggins, Cadel Evans and Vincenzo Nibali. All these top guys were there preparing for the Giro d’Italia. As a young professional you wonder what presence they have in the bunch but I found they were just like any other rider but it was quite impressive seeing how organised their teams were. They race as a unit which is very impressive.

I was very happy with my performance in the race as most days we did some pretty steep and long climbs. I prepared really well and knew my form was good. I am happy with my performance but this was totally new territory for me so I had no idea what the result was going to be. I finished the race 40th which might not make the headlines but because of my age and the quality field at such a tough race, the team is really happy. I feel like I took so much away from the race. Especially in terms of the training. I now have a better idea of what power I will need to be able to do to stay in the front group.

I am back in Italy now after returning from the Tour of Norway yesterday. I am tired as it was a really hard race. A lot of the racing was made on the flats in the wind which doesn’t really suit me but this was one of the races I learnt the most. There was one hilly stage in which I finished in the second group, just behind a group of 14 riders who got away. It was a crazy fight for position for 10km leading up to the climb. When you start the climb you just put your head down and go at 100% until you get to the top and then you see in what group you end up in. The ride was enough to keep me in the top end of the field and I finished 24th overall.

For now I think the biggest goal is just to stay consistent for the rest of the season. As this is my first year I will be racing for a full season and not just 3 months like the previous 2 years. My next races for now is the Tour of Korea and then the Tour of Austria which will be a tough race. I hope to write to you with some more good news in the next few weeks.

Louis Meintjes