Dakar 2004. Stage 13

Very complicated stage for the Repsol riders
Roma, Esteve and Coma get to the finish despite suffering several falls Roma keeps his leadership in the overall standings with 7.25 over Sainct
The Dakar is back in Mauritania after a very complicated stage, which the Repsol riders have been able to finish, though at the expense of several falls. The most serious one was Marc Coma’s who is right now at the camp’s hospital having a medical check. His right wrist is hurting, the one he broke last year and he has a strong blow on his head. He is all right but he needs a favourable diagnostic to be able to race tomorrow.The route went through tracks made by animals and carts, which connect the different villages. Twisty sections with parallel tracks, narrow and bumpy, sometimes diverting to different directions. Therefore and due to the bad visibility due to the suspended dust, the riders had to give it all to follow exactly the indications of the road book and pass through all the points marked by the organisation, passage controls and GPS.The key point was located 70 kilometres from the finish. On that point it was very important to find a small track between the vegetation, very hard to see, that would take the riders to the finish. That is the point where Despres lost the probable victory of the stage and most of the time he had gained the previous days.The Repsol riders managed well to get past that difficulty and almost all traps of the stage but, as Roma said, the day has been very tense. The leader of the overall standings was able to make up some time thanks to good navigation but he had three important problems. First with the chain. Then with a cow crossing the road, an incident which caused him to fall although riding at a slow pace; and third the alarm of the water temperature that lit up at the end of the route, forcing him to ride with extreme caution.Isidre Esteve also fell due to the lack of visibility caused by the suspended dust he found after starting from a back position. He overtook three riders and when he was trying to overtake the fourth he found a dust cloud and crashed against a tree. He is physically all right.The next two stages will be a key for the final result. Tomorrow will be the start of a marathon stage. The rally enters areas of open desert. The stage begins with fast sections in areas with vegetation, followed by a section filled with dunes and ‘herbe chameau’. The riders will have to find the only existing passage between dunes to reach and climb the famous Taskast cliff (200 metres height), where Nani had an orientation problem two years ago that took him off the Dakar. At this point the riders will have to find the way that will take them to Tidjikja.Joan Roma: ‘It’s been a very intense day and with several problems. I was very concentrated because we all knew that it would be easy to loose the route and the whole rally in a stage like this. In addition to navigation, really complicated, the chain got loose at the beginning of the stage. Then I hit a cow and fell and finally the alarm light of the water temperature went on and I had to ride the last kilometres very slowly. But I finished the stage and I’m happy’.Isidre Esteve: ‘A really strange day. The average speed was very low because the sand was very soft and it was difficult to ride. I started 14th, there was a lot of suspended dust and I wanted to overtake riders too quickly. I overtook three of them and while I was looking for the fourth I hit a tree. Fortunately I’m fine and without any physical problems’.Marc Coma: ‘It was my turn to see the bad side of the race today. I’m angry because I don’t know whether I’ll be able to continue tomorrow or not. I crashed, I’m bruised and don’t feel very well’.Carlo de Gavardo: ‘Today has been a very intense stage. With a very hard route and constant changes of direction and navigation and a lot of animals crossing the track. It took me a lot to pass the other riders but everything went fine’.Jordi Arcarons: ‘We are happy after all. Nani hit an animal and fell, and although it had no consequences it broke his racing rhythm. Later on he’s been brilliant at the key point, where good navigation was vital. Other riders got lost and he chose the right way. I was a bit scared before the stage because there were so many villages to be crossed and constant track changes but Nani has been very concentrated. ‘