Dakar: Despres new leader
With the third stage in the Dakar today, Cyril Despres has taken his first victory. The two-time overall winner was the fastest in the 182 kilometer ride from La Rioja to Fiambala. The Portuguese Helder Rodrigues and Paulo Gançalves finished second and third respectively at 10'40" and 12'09". Loser of the day was Marc Coma, who lost more than 21 minutes due to mechanical problems. As a result, Coma tumbles from second to eighth place in the standings. The official KTM pilot Jordi Villadoms also had a dark day. After 70 km the Spaniard went off quite hard. He complained of chest pain and was taken to hospital as a preventive measure. So it's over and out for Villadoms.
There was positive news for go-getter Frans Verhoeven. Yesterday he had to wait 8 hours for assistance, but the Brabander did finish and had to leave last time today. Despite the heavy traffic that Verhoeven and his BMW G450X had to overcome, he finished 11th! The Belgian Verhoestrate also did well today. The KTM rider finished 26th. Henk Knuiman finished 32nd.
Dakar standings after three stages
- Cyril Despres (FRA-KTM)
- David Casteu (FRA-Sherco) 10'03"
- Helder Rodrigues (POR-Yamaha) 17'57”
- Luca Manca (ITA-KTM) 24'29"
- Alain Duclos (FRA-KTM) 30'58”
- Jonah Street (KTM-USA) 33’26”
- Francisco Lopez (CHI)Aprilia) 37'15”
- Marc Coma (SPA-KTM) 42'04"
- Pal Anders Ullevalseter (NOR-KTM) 45'23”
- Paulo Gonçalves (POR-BMW) 53'13"
30. Frank Verhoestraete (BEL-KTM) 2:10'32”
33. Henk Knuiman (NED-KTM) 2:13'44"
49. Hans-Jos Liefhebber (NED-KTM) 2:55'37"
53. Richard De Groot (NED-Yamaha) 3:05'17”
57. Frans Verhoeven (NED-BMW) 9:34'31"
Photo credit: Marcelo Maragni/Red Bull Photofiles
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