Photo: dakar.com
Joan Barreda Bort is the rider who lost everything in terms of Dakar podium glory after his troubles in the two marathon stages, but this doesn’t mean that he abandoned the fight. In fact, his third stage win of the 10th act of the Dakar allowed him to climb two more positions, and he is now 15th overall.
With stage victories remaining the only glory he can conquer, Barreda set an insane pace in Stage 10, and finished 1’39” ahead of Marc Coma who wasn’t slacking either. Ruben Faria arrived third in Cachi, followed by a very consistent Toby Price and Paulo Goncalves who had no other option than to let around two minutes slip to the advantage of Coma, his direct rival.
Svitko, Helder Rodrigues, Pablo Quintanilla, Jakes and Vogels rounded up the top 10, while Laia Sanz rode to a very good 12th best time. Austrian rookie Matthias Walkner, who already won a stage this year, had to abandon during a liaison section, so his road to the Buenos Aires finish line was cut short.
Chilean KTM rider Pablo Quintanilla is third in the general ranking, with no chances to catch up with the two in front of him, under normal circumstances. However, his position is anything but secured as Australian rookie and fellow KTM rider Toby Price is all over his rear wheel with a marginal 24-second gap, so each wrong move from either riders will weigh a lot during the final stages. Stefan Svitko is fifth, 13 minutes behind Price and he can ride in peace, with David Casteu (6th) an hour behind.
Stage 11 links Cachi and Termas de Rio Hondo and contains a 357 km (222 miles) special stage with a very steep climb and an equally abrupt descent which could introduce solid differences in the time sheets.
Stage 10 - Car/Bike - Stage Summary - (Calama... by Dakar
Svitko, Helder Rodrigues, Pablo Quintanilla, Jakes and Vogels rounded up the top 10, while Laia Sanz rode to a very good 12th best time. Austrian rookie Matthias Walkner, who already won a stage this year, had to abandon during a liaison section, so his road to the Buenos Aires finish line was cut short.
Serious fights for podium positions
The remainder of the 2015 Dakar will see two fierce fights for positions 1 and 2, as well as for the last step of the podium. Currently, KTM’s Marc Coma has a 7’35” advantage over HRC rider Paulo Goncalves, and the two are separated by a gap almost 32-minute wide, which is huge considering the number of stages left. Podium positions can change only if one of the top riders makes a dramatic navigation error or is forced to abandon, but we know that these fellows will not take unnecessary risks in the final rounds.Chilean KTM rider Pablo Quintanilla is third in the general ranking, with no chances to catch up with the two in front of him, under normal circumstances. However, his position is anything but secured as Australian rookie and fellow KTM rider Toby Price is all over his rear wheel with a marginal 24-second gap, so each wrong move from either riders will weigh a lot during the final stages. Stefan Svitko is fifth, 13 minutes behind Price and he can ride in peace, with David Casteu (6th) an hour behind.
Stage 11 links Cachi and Termas de Rio Hondo and contains a 357 km (222 miles) special stage with a very steep climb and an equally abrupt descent which could introduce solid differences in the time sheets.
Stage 10 - Car/Bike - Stage Summary - (Calama... by Dakar
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