Pal Anders Ullevalseter retook second place from Francisco Lopez Contardo today with his first stage win in this, or any Dakar. Ullevalseter has grown accustomed to second place finishes behind the likes of Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, and with Despres still an hour ahead, Ullevalseter will have to wait until next year for his shot at the top spot on the podium.
Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez finished today’s race 5’35” behind the stage winner,
which will give him a four and a half minute disadvantage on tomorrows finals stage behind Ullevalseter.
“Today was a route for big bikes,” said Ullevalseter. “We could really attack and in the last hours I was riding at more than 160km/h. It’s perfect!”
With only 666 km left in the Dakar, Cyril Despres is just one day away from claiming his third Dakar title.
“I trust my KTM and my tires," said Despres, who is a sure thing for the win tomorrow if nothing mechanical goes wrong.
Alain Duclos cut 10 minutes off of David Fretigne’s lead for fifth place during today‘s stage. Now only three minutes behind the Frenchmen, Duclos will make a push for the top five on the final stretch.
“I am clinging on to the top 5 because it was my goal. I am happy about today but the game goes on,” said Duclos. “As long as the finish line has not been crossed, I believe in it…”
