After the problems experienced on yesterday`s stage, things returned to normal on today`s seventh stage held between Balsas and Fiorano, with a total distance of 492 kilometres being timed – one of these 216km. Marc Coma finished fourth, having had to fight back after the result he got yesterday, experiencing many problems. The Repsol rider feels fine on his motorbike, although for the first few kilometres of today`s special he has had to slow down because of the dust kicked up by the rivals who were slower than him but who he had to overtake.
Later on he was finally able to pick up a faster pace and when he crossed the finishing line he had reduced the gap between himself and Rubén Faria, the rider just ahead of him in the overall classification.His teammate, Jordi Viladoms, was sixth today. The great climb up the classification yesterday allowed him to finish in fifth position, and so today he was able to start among the leading riders and compete with them. At the beginning the Repsol rider took things easy so as not to make a mistake and pay for his accumulated fatigue. After a slower and twistier first part the riders entered a faster zone, where neither he nor Coma took too many risks. Bearing in mind the tyre problems that they have had, it made no sense to take risks, above all because the tires do not last long at high speeds (that is to say, over 150Km/h). The morning stage, a 280 kilometre special, is the longest of the three days that are left to the end of the raid. Marc ComaToday I started far back because I lost a lot of time yesterday and I finished a long way behind the winner. At the beginning I came across a lot of dust and I was not able to set a fast pace since I had to try and overtake other riders without taking too many risks. That is difficult because you must wait for places where the wind clears the dust cloud that rises behind the riders, or to take advantage of errors in their navigation. We went along a track with quite a lot of sand, obviously not likedunes but with the added difficulty of it not being smooth. I had to go very carefully, reading the roadbook well because it was full of dangers.Jordi ViladomsToday I have taken things a little more calmly. I am pleased because with yesterday`s fifth position today I was able to start closer to the leaders. Although with all the effort I made yesterday, I noticed today that I was a little tired. But I went calmly, racing calmly without taking any risks as the others ahead of me are gambling on the outcome of the race and have covered a lot of ground. We had a very winding track which was broken by cracks left after rainfall. It was a very slow stage, very similar to those in Morocco, with a lot of stones and gravel. We also rode in some zones that were similar to the savannah, with quite a lot of mud and zones with wet sand.
