BarcelonaThe ninth stage (a 277-kilometer loop around Wadi ad Dawasir) has brought changes in general on two wheels, the image of a fighting Barreda and an almost solid approach by Nasser al-Attiyah to the title.
Barreda does not give up
The Torre Blanca rider finished in fifth place on the stage. The injury he suffered in the fifth stage, which has been dragging on for days, has not prevented him, despite the pain, from having a great day and continuing to stay for minutes and miles in his toughest Dakar. A fall between kilometers 265 and 270 of the fifth stage caused a fracture in the collarbone of his left shoulder that endangers his continuity in the Dakar, but the Castellon has overcome one of the most dangerous and fastest stages of the ral With honorary registration.
Change of leader on two wheels
While the car general seems doomed to Al-Attiyah, the two-wheeled one has turned upside down on this ninth day. Chilean José Cornejo (Honda) won the stage and Austrian Mattias Walkner (KTM) took the lead with exceptional time. Cornejo’s second victory in this Dakar led to Walkner, who had started the day four minutes behind the leader, reversing the situation and advancing overall with more than two minutes ahead. The previous leader, the British Sam Sunderland (KTM), has entered the fourteenth place, 8 minutes and 3 seconds from the winner.
Al-Attiyah has it up
It seems like a chimera for Nasser Al-Attiyah not to take the Dakar. The Qatari prince is ironically leading the world’s toughest engine test car category. This time, despite not winning – he has already won two stages in this edition – he has finished in third place, with a time that takes him even further away from his direct competitors, Sebastian Loeb and Fabian Lurquin, who have finished fifth. The Toyota driver has dedicated himself exclusively to his car this year. With no boat races and no participation in the plate shooting discipline at the Tokyo Olympics, Al-Attiyah has prioritized his preparation for a Dakar that seems impossible to resist.
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