Dakar 2011 - updates

A direct copy from a quote of Cyril Despres from the dakar website...... simply bad editing of the site but very appropriate mistake from the writers:D

Cyril Despres: “A 300-km giant slalom”

“Today the track was full of bends and very skiddy, like a 300-km giant slalom with jumps, like skiing. I noticed at the refuelling point that I’d taken almost a minute less than Coma. I was feeling good, so I decided to attack a bit in the second part, though I was careful to look after my tyres because I nearly wore them through today. The most important thing is to find a god pace and have the right feeling. For the moment, the riding demands a lot of concentration”.

http://www.dakar.com/dakar/2011/us/stage-2/quotes-all.html
 
Si Pavey had a broken subframe yesterday according to a very brief post on Facebook.
 
Apart from the bikes the trucks are brilliant. Stage winner was quick enough to have been 16th in the car class :eek:
 
Si Pavey had a broken subframe yesterday according to a very brief post on Facebook.


Carlton on Eurosport was reporting how the BMW riders were saying how well balanced the bikes were with the fuel tank being slung the way it is.

Bad luck on the subframe though. Hope having replaced it things work out better for him today, sure he will pull through. Top bloke. :thumb2
 
Just heard that Jenny Morgan has had an off. she has escaped injury and is OK to carry on with the race.
 
Just heard that Jenny Morgan has had an off. she has escaped injury and is OK to carry on with the race.


Thank feck for that! The "Countdown to bankruptcy" thread for Jenny on AdvRider is saying the opposite and that she is out with a broken leg.

Let's hope she is A-OK and ready for the next stage. :thumb2

Hang fire anyway - her friend is awaiting Jenny contacting her but her phone is out of reception at the moment.
 
Carlton Kirby on Eurosport just mentioned Jenny - basically saying "it was a good effort" etc. and leaning towards it being definite that she is injured and out. :(
 
Simon Paveys words about stage 5:


Simon has a good day despite struggling with altitude and battling through slower riders in another spectacular Dakar stage.

Stage five of this years Dakar Rally sits on paper like a liaison formality, but today proved to be as far removed from that as possible. With the first rider setting off at a fresh 4am what lay before the riders was over 500km of mountain road through the Paso De Jama into Chile. With the road reaching serious altitude riders spent an hour and a half at over 4500 metres, many of whom suffered from sickness.

“The altitude caught me really unawares. I didn’t suffer as bad as some people but it makes you uncontrollably tired, your eyes start to close and there is nothing you can do about it. It’s pretty scary especially riding mountain roads at 120km/h.”

This stage was set to be important for Simon. After the drama’s with his sub-frame on the previous stage and losing over two hours, he was keen to make up for lost time but starting down in 136th place meant there were a lot of riders to pass and a lot of dust to sit in.

“Today’s stage went pretty well really. I climbed a fair few places and it can be hard to escape from being at the back of the pack because you’re always in dust and always trying to overtake people.* I definitely struggled with at the start of the stage, passing was difficult and the dust was really bad.

The going was really mixed too, some of it was suited to me, technical river beds and difficult navigation and that’s where I made good time. I think a lot of people made navigation errors and it meant passing wasn’t to bad.”

The other half of the stage was the complete opposite and doesn’t suit Simon’s style so much.

“There were some really open and fast desert sections today with lots of hidden traps and must admit I always back off a little on them. For me the risk isn’t worth the 10km/h you gain. I always ride within my ability in the open desert because we see year on year that luck comes into that riding. I think I lost a little time in those sections to people my own speed because they are willing to push their abilities in the really fast areas. I must say that the last two stages, despite all my issues, have been incredible fun, the scenery has been nothing short of immense. It has been fantastic, some of the best riding I have ever done.”

With the race having crossed into Chile and the prospect of the Atacama Desert on the horizon Simon is sitting ready for the navigational and riding challenges that high desert and dunes bring.

Stage five is from Calama to Iquiqe and consists 423km special stage and just 36km liaison with the riders descending over 2000m as they leave the Andes behind.
 


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