After the fifth stage of the Dakar, Cyril Despres and Marc Coma still lead the way, but there 20 minute lead has been cut down to less than 10. Coma had a fall during the early portion of today's stage, and Despres was given a ten minute penalty for a faulty starting procedure during stage four.
Paolu Goncalves was able to take his first stage victory at the Dakar, after his time was adjusted for helping Olivier Pain, who crashed and broke his wrist.
Paulo Goncalves: “I think I rode it well”
“It was a very difficult stage, very long but also very beautiful. I think I rode it well. After the refuelling point, I stopped to help Olivier Pain who had fallen. The rules say we should stop. I waited for 4 to 5 minutes. The main thing is that he’s ok. So I’ll probably have some time taken off my end result. The bike worked well on the quick parts as well as the technical ones.”
Frans Verhoeven: “I was seeing everything double”
“Today was a very, very hard stage, but that’s my kind of thing because I like the long stages with a lot of navigation. As you can see, I had a good result. I attacked all day and didn’t make any mistakes. But just two kilometres from the finish I had a very big crash. Luckily, I didn’t hurt anything, but my head was turning and I was seeing everything double.”
Francisco ‘Chaleco’ Lopez: “The race really started today”
“It was really difficult today. I lost rack of the way twice, but Cyril found the right way. After that, it was my turn to find the correct direction. The navigation was extremely complicated, but that’s the Dakar. The race really started today. It was a genuine day of rally-raiding with technical problems and lots of navigation. In the end, I rode quite cautiously. Grabbing a good finish today was really great.”
Marc Coma: “It was a difficult day”
=“It was a difficult day. I fell then I had problems with my radiator. I managed to repair it and carry on more or less as normal. After the refuelling, I stopped for Olivier Pain who had just had a fall. He was unconscious, so I activated the alarm and stayed with him until my water carrier Joan Pedrero arrived. It was a genuine Dakar stage where all sorts of things happen. I lost time on Despres, but I should recover some time after stopping to help Pain.”
Cyril Despres: “This is why I ride rally-raids”
“I was told at half past four in the morning that I’d been given a penalty. I just forgot my thermal gloves, so I went back to get them and I didn’t see that there were signposts I had to follow at the exit. Unfortunately for me, that’s the race rules, but I’ve already forgotten about it with what I experienced today. This is why I ride rally-raids: 425 km of navigation and pleasure. We had to go looking for GPS coordinates that were genuinely like needles in haystacks. Forgetting about the time or penalties, the most important thing for me is to feel good and enjoy myself. I saw that Marc Coma was carrying out repairs around the 70 km
Here is a video summar of the fifth stage of the Dakar.
