![\"ccs-41808-0-34528700-1380527447.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.bikehub.co.za\/production\/uploads\/2023\/02\/ccs-41808-0-34528700-1380527447.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m extremely happy,\u201d Meintjes said at the finish. \u201cThis was a goal of mine all season. World champs is always a special race and I\u2019ve been doing it three years in a row. Being an under 23 race, it should technically be a little easier than the level we\u2019ve been racing at this year so I thought I can maybe get a result. When I saw the route after it was launched, I had extra motivation. I went and trained on the circuit and it gave me great confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
The South African team started the race with three riders, Meintjes\u2019 Team MTN-Qhubeka p\/b Samsung teammate Johann van Zyl and Christopher Jennings. With less numbers than the other nations, the team had to rely on riding a clever race.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy plan was to follow wheels and wait until the last hour and see what\u2019s left of the race. I started feeling really well as the race went on. As soon as we got on the finishing circuit I could feel I had the legs today.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is hard work paying off. I think this is going to happen for a lot of riders in Africa and South Africa. It\u2019s just a matter of time before we see more names coming through. This is a result of what we\u2019re trying to do with Team MTN-Qhubeka p\/b Samsung and the investment all our sponsors are putting in,\u201d Meintjes added.<\/p>\n
The race started in Montecatini Terme and finished in Firenze Mandela Forum, a sports stadium named in honour of former South African president Nelson Mandela, making the day more special for the South African team. The race lasted 173 kilometes and included seven laps on the finishing circuit. Meintjes made the select group of favourites with two laps to go until putting in a major attack on the last lap to get to Mohoric.<\/p>\n