Louis Meintjes and Team Dimension Data have a plan. It is not a cunning plan, it is a simple enough one — to build Meintjes into a rider who could become the first African to stand on the podium of the Tour de France in the near future. That plan will take a huge step this week as Meintjes lines up with a Dimension Data squad that includes five Africans, four of them South Africans. Meintjes is the obvious choice as team leader and "protected" rider for the three weeks of the Giro, starting in Jerusalem on Friday, but he still believes he has to earn that position. "I guess we still have to see who has what role in the end," said Meintjes from Andorra on Sunday. "That’s the way it is with these grand tours. First, I need to have the legs to stay up there. The start of the season has been a bit up and down. If the first few days go well, then I can be team leader and the other guys can support me. But I first have to validate that position." Meintjes has the grand tour history to jus...
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