Vuelta a Espana: Louis Meintjes achieves first Grand Tour stage win with stage nine victory
- Published
Meintjes is only the second South African stage winner in the Vuelta, claiming victory two decades after Robbie Hunter
South Africa's Louis Meintjes achieved his first Grand Tour stage win with a superb solo effort on stage nine of the Vuelta a Espana.
Belgium's Remco Evenepoel extended his lead at the top of the general classification to one minute and 12 seconds over Spain's Enric Mas.
Meintjes, 30, broke away with 2.5km to go and finished more than a minute ahead of Italy's Samuele Battistella.
"It's something really special," Meintjes said.
"I think it still needs some time to sink in. I've actually never been on the podium of a World Tour race except for team classifications."
Three-time defending champion Primoz Roglic struggled in the closing stages while Evenepoel pulled away from his general classification rivals to finish fourth on stage nine.
Riders will rest on Monday before taking on the 30.9km time trial from Elche to Alicante on Tuesday.
Stage nine result
1. Louis Meintjes (SA/Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) 4hrs 32mins 39secs
2. Samuele Battistella (Ita/Astana-Qazaqstan Team) +1min 01secs
3. Edoardo Zambanini (Ita/ Bahrain Victorious)+1min 14secs
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Quick-Step-Alpha Vinyl Team) +1min 34secs
5. Filippo Conca (Ita/Lotto-Soudal)+1min 58secs
6. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 08secs
7. Simon Guglielmi (Fra/Team Arkea-Samsic) same time
8. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar Team) +2mins 18secs
9. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/INEOS Grenadiers) +2min 20secs
10. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) +2min 26secs
Overall standings
1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Quick-Step-Alpha Vinyl Team) 34hrs 02mins 32secs
2. Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar Team) +1min 12secs
3. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Jumbo-Visma) +1min 53secs
4. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/INEOS Grenadiers)+2mins 33secs
5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 36secs
6. Simon Yates (GB/Team BikeExchange-Jayco)+3mins 08secs
7. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +4mins 32secs
8. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col/Astana-Qazaqstan Team) +5mins 03secs
9. Jai Hindley (Aus/BORA-hansgrohe) +5mins 36secs
10. Pavel Sivakov (Fra/INEOS Grenadiers) +5mins 39secs