Tour de france 2017
Froome's key man Kwiatkowski signs new Team Sky contract
Polish all-rounder Kwiatkowski, the 2014 road world champion, will stay with Sky for at least another three years.
The Briton suffered a few hiccups but was always in control over the three-week race thanks to his excellent team mates who sheltered him when it mattered.
The South African cyclist finished 8th at the Tour de France won by Team Sky’s Chris Froome on Saturday for the 4th time.
Froome, 32, goes on to the Tour honour roll as the first person to win three times in a row since Indurain who was unbeatable between 1991-95.
Meintjes’ finish maintains his 8th spot on the general classification with Chris Froome, who was 3rd on Wednesday, still in yellow with a 27-second lead.
Meintjes stunning performance at this year’s tour has been exceptional but he will not reflect too well on Mandela Day the race’s 16th stage.
The team are set to hand out hundreds of t-shirts along the route as well as inflatable hands to fans to showcase the work of the charity.
A day after Froome showed a sign of weakness, Team Sky sent Spain's Mikel Landa in front when two-time champion Alberto Contador attacked early on.
Briton Froome could not match the pace of the top guns in the finale in Peyragudes, surrendering the yellow jersey to Italian Fabio Aru.
The defending champion escaped unscathed after an action-packed ninth stage of the Tour de France as one his main rivals crashed out of the race.
Organisers said that Thomas, who went down on the slippery descent from the Col de la Biche, had retired from the Tour.
The 24-year-old fought off a bout of cramp to claim a solo win in the eighth stage of the Tour de France on Saturda.
Froome got a brutal reminder of the unpredictable nature of the Tour de France when he crashed to the ground in Sunday’s second stage.
it will be the third time for the African Team at cycling’s most iconic race.