Louis Maintus (Intermarché Wanty-Gaubert Materieux), who finished second in the Alpe d'Huez on stage 12 of the Tour de France, gave an emotional interview at the top of the Alpe d'Huez.

The South African climber finished 48 seconds behind stage winner Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers). Just one more step to go. ......"

When asked by a reporter, Meintjes paused to collect his thoughts and then replied, "I'm not sure I've ever done this before.

A two-time top-10 finisher in the 2016 and 2017 Tour de France, Meintjes had just won the Giro dell'Appennino in June for the first time in seven years. The 30-year-old then finished sixth overall at the Criterium du Dauphiné and started the Tour de France as the GC contender for his Intermarque Wanty-Gobert Matério team.

Pidcock and Meintjes were part of a breakaway group that was reduced to five riders when they reached the base of the Alpe d'Huez. The group also included Chris Froome (Israel Premier Tech), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), and Nielson Powles (EF Education Easypost).

They started the final climb with a nearly 6-minute lead over the GC selection, which included overall leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) and Tadei Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates).

Pidcock broke away from the breakaway with 10km to go, but Meintjes followed the British rider by a few seconds until the gap opened further near the top of the Alpe d'Huez.

"I thought it would be ideal to have him in front. If we got together, I'd be on full throttle, slowing down and playing poker.

"So I was behind him for a while, trying to get him to give 100% too, but finally the rubber broke and he was stronger today. But the rubber finally broke.

Meintjes finished 16th after suffering mechanical problems on the first big summit, La Super Planche des Belle Filles, and was forced to race up the steep gravel section to the finish. His performance in the Alpe d'Huez saw him move up three places to 13th overall.

Asked if he was thinking about the overall in future stages, he replied, "First I will enjoy second place as much as I can and then prepare for what is to come."