Joan Barreda lived by way of one of many hardest phases he can bear in mind in his lengthy historical past within the Dakar Rally. Successful with a rock within the closing kilometers of the second particular, with a end line among the many spectacular landscapes of Al-Ula, brought about a fracture within the distal phalanx of the massive toe of his left foot. The 39-year-old from Castellón intends to proceed within the race even though the ache is acute and when he reached the end line he didn’t really feel the limb.

“100 kilometers from the tip I caught a stone that made me lose my place on prime of the motorbike, it took my ft off the footrests and I hit one of many 1000’s of rocks that there have been and I already seen that it was a really robust affect. The primary kilometers I barely felt my foot, I had to have a look at him to see if he was from the blow I gave him, ”she defined after studying the analysis. The precedence of the Honda rider, third general, 2m03s behind Mason Klein (KTM), the brand new chief and winner of the particular, is to deal with the irritation all through the evening and discover a bandage that may enable him to alter gear with out an excessive amount of discomfort to have the ability to take the beginning of the third stage, with the aim in Ha’il.

It’s not the primary time that Barreda competes injured. With out going any additional, final 12 months he raced with a damaged clavicle and pelvis and nonetheless managed to complete fifth after starring in a film comeback, pissed off by a penalty and a fall on the ultimate day. “Final 12 months was actually robust. I don’t know this 12 months, however I’m a bit uncertain about how he’s going to go, as a result of I don’t know if I’ll actually have the ability to really feel good on the bike, with out discomfort. Merely going with my foot on the footrest, with all my weight, will already be painful, ”he commented with a resigned air.

The Torreblanca driver, who’s collaborating in his thirteenth Dakar, has hinted that this can be his final participation within the occasion. Though he has by no means managed to carry the dear Touareg, the Honda is the motorist with the third most stage victories in historical past (29). Though he by no means explicitly acknowledged it, he had his eye on the file of 33 wins shared by Cyril Despres and Stéphane Peterhansel. His two fifth locations (2017 and 2022) have been his greatest general end result to date, with a complete of 5 retirements and numerous crashes.

unanimous critiques

The damage on the way in which to Al-Ula was yet another instance of the various penalties of the 430 km time trial proposed by the group. Because the presentation of the rally originally of December, David Castera, its director, warned that he had listened to the individuals, who had been asking for a more durable route. What occurred this Monday was, within the phrases of Barreda and lots of others, an excessive amount of. “We’ve got gone by way of kilometers and kilometers of areas the place no animal, automotive or something had ever handed. Placing an off-piste with stones or stony paths is ok, however not due to open fields with stones on a regular basis, ”he criticized.

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