Cape Town - As the Tour de France entered its first rest day on Monday, South Africa's Louis Meintjes could put his feet up in the knowledge it's been a successful tour for him thus far.
After nine stages, Meintjes lies ninth on the overall standings, 55 seconds behind leader Chris Froome, while he is second behind Adam Yates (39 seconds) in the young rider category (white jersey).
Meintjes, still just 24-years-old, is in his second Tour de France. In last year's race he was forced to withdraw while riding for the MTN Qhubeka.
This year he is riding for Lampre-Merida.
Meintjes has been vocal in his desire to secure a stage win at this year's Tour, but for the time being his ability to stay with the favourites hasn't gone unnoticed.
The Tour de France resumes on Tuesday, when the 10th stage will see riders travel 197km from Andorra to Revel.