So a lot of us wondered how come the Stage 2 winner Joan Barreda lost so much time in the Stage 3 of the Dakar. Well, he found out that leading the pack and starting first is not always as good as it seems; even more, the decisions the first riders have to make can also mean winning or losing a stage.
Basically Barreda and the other guys starting first in Stage 3 had to decide which road were they going to take: follow the roadbook and avoiding getting lost or playing the navigation skills card and cut the corners, hoping that the “come what may” doesn't bring insurmountable obstacles.
Barreda and Fish chose to ride by the roadbook and this proved to have been the wrong decision for Stage 3, as they went on with low speed. Km 39 checkpoint saw the leading pack riding at 50 km/h (31 mph), while Chaleco Lopez blasted through at double that speed, to another stage win.
With Despres following at a comfortably small (for him) distance and coming in the third position, the French will not be the first to start today's Stage 4. Talking about strategy... the old fox is not that easy to be tricked into winning quite all stages.
Stage 4 is going to be a very brutal one, linking Nazca to Arequipa, with a 289 km (179 miles) liaison and no less than 429 km (266 miles) of special stage.
Barreda and Fish chose to ride by the roadbook and this proved to have been the wrong decision for Stage 3, as they went on with low speed. Km 39 checkpoint saw the leading pack riding at 50 km/h (31 mph), while Chaleco Lopez blasted through at double that speed, to another stage win.
With Despres following at a comfortably small (for him) distance and coming in the third position, the French will not be the first to start today's Stage 4. Talking about strategy... the old fox is not that easy to be tricked into winning quite all stages.
Stage 4 is going to be a very brutal one, linking Nazca to Arequipa, with a 289 km (179 miles) liaison and no less than 429 km (266 miles) of special stage.
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