Louis Meintjes a non starter today

South Africa's Louis Meintjes of MTN-Qhubeka won't start today's stage due to illness. “He completed stage 16 in pain and was taken in ambulance straight to hospital where he was resuscitated on intravenous fluids and given some medication”, said team doctor Jarrad van Zuydam in a team press release.” After some investigations, we found he has quite a severe case of gastroenteritis. will spend another day in hospital and then more than likely, he will be discharged tomorrow.”
“It is really sad that Louis won't start today”, echoed team principal Douglas Ryder. “It is Louis first Tour de France too and it is a race he really wanted to do well in, especially these stages coming up that he had looked at previously in training during his preparation for the Tour de France. It is sad for him and it is sad for the team but Louis is a young rider who has a lot to give to cycling in the future. His health is first and foremost, for us as a team it is much more important to realise his potential going forward and we want to look after his health as much as possible. I am certain that Louis will be back at the Tour de France in the future, going for the overall victory and we will absolutely support that in the future but for now his health is the first priority.”