{"id":216924,"date":"2025-10-16T09:08:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/216924\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T09:08:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:08:11","slug":"vuelta-stage-winner-african-trailblazer-and-five-time-grand-tour-top-10-finisher-confirms-retirement-ending-iconic-pro-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/216924\/","title":{"rendered":"Vuelta stage winner, African trailblazer and five-time Grand Tour top-10 finisher confirms retirement, ending iconic pro career"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nA Grand Tour specialist and record-setterAcross 20 Grand Tours, Meintjes carved out a reputation as one of the most consistent climbers of his generation. He finished in the top 10 on five occasions \u2014 three times at the Tour, and twice at the Vuelta a Espana<\/a>. His near-miss on Alpe d\u2019Huez in 2022, when only Tom Pidcock denied him a stage victory, became one of the defining moments of his career.<\/p>\n

Later that season, Meintjes finally broke through with a Grand Tour stage win at Les Praeres on the Vuelta \u2014 a triumph that resonated far beyond the race itself, confirming his place among the sport\u2019s elite climbers.<\/p>\n

\"1076703869\"\/<\/p>\n

Meintjes celebrates at La Vuelta<\/p>\n

An African trailblazer<\/p>\n

Meintjes\u2019 European journey began as a teenager, racing for the youth club in Seraing before turning professional with MTN\u2013Qhubeka. After showing early promise, he became South African national champion at just 20 and captured the silver medal at UCI Road World Championships 2013 in the U23 road race behind Matej Mohoric \u2014 the first African rider ever to medal at a Road Worlds.<\/p>\n

With Lampre\u2013Merida, Meintjes emerged as a Tour de France revelation in 2016, battling Adam and Simon Yates for the white jersey and finishing eighth overall. That same year, he placed seventh at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 road race, further cementing his status as a standard-bearer for African cycling.<\/p>\n

A more difficult period followed at Dimension Data, but Meintjes relaunched his career at Intermarch\u00e9\u2013Wanty in 2021. In their colours, he returned to his best, taking the win at Giro dell\u2019Appennino and adding the Vuelta stage success that had eluded him earlier in his career.<\/p>\n

Respected leader and team player<\/p>\n

While best known for his personal exploits in the high mountains, Meintjes was also a trusted and unselfish teammate. In recent years he played a crucial role in team strategies, notably in support of Biniam Girmay during the 2024 Tour de France, where the Eritrean made history as the first African to win the Green Jersey. His quiet leadership and professionalism made him one of the most respected riders in the peloton.<\/p>\n

In an era defined by explosive talents and big-budget teams, Meintjes forged his reputation through perseverance, quiet class, and historic achievements. His retirement closes a chapter in cycling history \u2014 but his impact will endure long after his final pedal strokes at Il Lombardia.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Grand Tour specialist and record-setterAcross 20 Grand Tours, Meintjes carved out a reputation as one of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-216924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}