Dakar 2013: Cyril Despres wins his fifth crown on motorcycles

The Dakar ended less than three hours ago and I’m already looking forward to the next edition. You can find a thousand faults with the organization’s performance, but the rally the French rider put together has been incredible: it was consistent, tactical, and he attacked when he needed to. If it hadn’t been for that engine he had to change during the “marathon stage,” he would have won by a bigger margin.

But what Chaleco López did, in my opinion, was even better: he nearly lost his bike, and the problems in the early stages cost him quite a bit of time. Moreover, he rode alone, without a backpacker; just him, his KTM, and the desert. Hats off to the Chilean, who at least was able to win the last stage morally—let’s not forget he was penalized 15 minutes for changing the engine. And if he hadn’t changed it? What an ending we would have had…

Rubén Faria is one of those people who do their job to perfection, who look out for the team more than for themselves. He could have won the Dakar, it’s true, but he chose to help Despres by losing about ten minutes, which cost him his first “Dakarian” crown. And he very nearly lost second place too…

And what can we say about Joan Barreda… His performance was huge; only that one problem kept him from fighting until the last minute. The Husqvarna rider is clearly the favorite for the coming years, and if he improves his navigation—perhaps his weakest point—he’ll be able to say a lot to his rivals. In the end he finished 17th, three hours and four minutes back. That’s almost all he lost that day…

We can’t overlook the Slovak Jakes either. As consistent as anyone, he finished fourth, 23:54 behind Despres in the overall standings. Closing out the top five was Joan Pedrero, the best-placed Spaniard. He’s the last rider under the hour mark: 55:29 slower than Despres over 14 stages.

Laia Sanz? Tremendous. In the end she finished 93rd, but you know why: the great Miguel Puertas had to tow her a couple of stages back to the bivouac because her bike gave up. Riding a Gas-Gas, a bike one step below the KTMs, she’s causing a lot of talk. Next year, for sure, she’ll be even more of a threat.

Stage standings – Final standings

Cyril Despres

It’s true that you have to reach the finish line, see all the photos, and see all the people here to know that nobody can take this victory away from me. I went for it, despite all the surprises a Dakar can hold: the small navigation errors—although I had fewer problems than others—but I knew how to manage the mechanical side, and I have a good team. In the end we can be very happy. If the Dakar became easy to win, it wouldn’t be interesting. I don’t think that will ever happen! It’s a race that’s too long, too hard, where it’s either too hot or too cold. You have to get up early, you have to get out of the dune mazes of Peru and Chile, you have to dodge the rocks and cacti on the tracks of Córdoba… It’s too complicated to be easy to win. And victory, when it’s hard to achieve, tastes sweeter. I always stay focused on what I’m doing: I think too much about this race to have impressions. We faced a very tough element: the desert. There are rocks, there are the Andes. We lived all of that. It’s something very real.

Chaleco López

Yesterday I had problems with the gearbox, so we had to change the engine. It was a shame because I was second overall. But it was better to be able to reach Santiago than to chase an impossible second place. I’m happy because I won the stage yesterday. I’ve given my best every day. With four stage wins and a podium, I’m happy—for myself, for the people, for Chile, for my family, for my wife. The decision to make the change was a good one. Otherwise I’d still be out on the track. This third place is worth more than any second place, especially after what I went through last year and that tough accident. It’s like winning the Dakar!

Ruben Faria

Yesterday I had lost second place and I was telling myself that it was already great to get a podium spot, being Cyril Despres’s backpacker. It didn’t seem possible, it was unimaginable. Then Chaleco had to change his engine, and I thought there were still a few kilometers left and that I wanted to defend my position. Even so, I crashed in the last ten kilometers while riding in the dust at Pizzolito. But it was nothing. I’m very happy!

Olivier Pain

The first week was great, at the head of the rally for 5 stages. Then I made a small navigation error that cost me dearly. During the second week I was running a bit further back and problems kept piling up. I fell once onto my back, then on the same special stage my tank was punctured. And there I lost an enormous amount of time. Then I went and cut my elbow open. I needed some time to recover and get back to my level, so I rode calmly. And in the last few days I managed to climb back up the standings a little. Now I’m 6th. The goal was to reach the top five. I came up just short, but my results in the first week make up for it. It’s been a beautiful Dakar.

Quads: Second crown for Marcos Patronelli

Marcos Patronelli confirmed today what had been obvious since the midpoint of the Dakar: his second quads crown, after the one he won in 2010. The Argentine was the fastest on his Yamaha in almost every stage. The Chilean Casale tried to stop him, but in the end he finished almost two hours back: 1:50:35. Sonik, Bonetto and Palma close out the top five.

Stage standings – overall standings