|
enduro
news |
|
|
News |
|
We were expecting a complicated day today and that’s exactly what we got. It didn’t help that I finished back in 20th place on the prologue stage and so I headed out of Goiânia behind 19 other bikes. It’s been three years since I raced in Brazil and it took me a few kilometres to find my rhythm on the bike. Overall, the stage went well. I kept to the route and the bike felt good right up until the end of the stage. It was really dusty on the course and at one point I passed a rider who had crashed. I’ve now heard it was Tiago Fantozzi and that he broke his arm and maybe even his leg. I hate to see people in trouble out on the stage and I’m sorry to see his race end so early. I finished the stage with a time of 1h 21m 36s, which is kind of what I was expecting from a short but technical stage. I was also very careful about overtaking, especially after seeing Fantozzi’s crash. If my years of experience have taught me anything it’s to remember the risks involved in racing through dust. Because I stopped myself from going as fast as I would have liked, I ended the stage about six minutes behind the leader. I’m not too worried about the gap because I know that the race is not won today – but it could've been lost if I had taken any unnecessary risks. I know that if I don’t make it across the finish line then I have no chance of winning, so getting to the end of the stage safely is always my goal. The stage ended in the small city of Pirenópolis and it looks a like popular place for Brazilians to go on holiday. We've just set up camp next to a small river and I plan to jump in for a quick bath. I’m looking forward to getting some sleep and being fresh for the long route to Porangatu tomorrow. I’ll be starting the stage in 9th place so there’ll be plenty of opportunities to pass some of the bikes in front of me. Cyril Despres
After an early morning start at 5:45am and another tough stage I can confidently say that this is no summer holiday for me in Brazil. Even though it was a tough day I really enjoyed it out there and the course had a little bit of all the elements you expect from a rally stage. Early on in the stage we came to river crossing and I struggled to find a narrow stretch to get over to the other side. Eventually I found myself pushing my bike across the 80 metre wide river with the water over my knees. After going in the river I was soaking wet for the rest of the stage. The river was not the only surprise out there today after something got lost in translation at the race director’s briefing last night. He told us about a section of today’s stage with lots of alternating right and left turns and I understood that this passage would take place on a flat sugarcane field. When I reached the section today I realised we had to make these sharp turns not on flat land but on the side of a mountain. I went up, turned 90 degrees to the left and came down before turning 90 degrees right and going up again. Up, left, down, right, up, left, down, right for over an hour in the mountains. Having to get my bike through that section was the equivalent of a daylong session in the gym. Tonight I’m going to paying more attention to the briefing that’s for sure! In general I avoided the dust today I was able to overtake by braking late and accelerating early. The first two days have not been suited to my big bike but tomorrow there will be plenty of open space. Tomorrow I want to get some time back on the race leader. After two days riding I’m feeling good to be back on the bike and enjoying my time in Brazil. Cyril Despres
Another day in paradise! I haven’t seen any palm trees or beaches here in Gurupi, but it’s a kind of paradise for me and the other guys to be here in Brazil. It was a real tough stage today that was made tougher by the dry conditions. I had to stop to take a drink whenever I could. The rest of the day was spent pushing to get some time back on the two guys in front of me. The competition in this race is strong, but I have come to expect this. Whenever I go around the world racing you always come up against a group of guys who have spent the year training for one specific event. They have the advantage of knowing the course and terrain. Today was another day that was not well suited to my big desert bike. The guys at the front are on much lighter bikes that are much better for the tight, technical stages that we have had so far. I was speaking to my team-mate Joan Pedrero at the end of today’s stage and we’re both impressed with how the two guys at the front are handling the race. We also said that this race has about twice as many, maybe three times as many, tight turns in a day compared with the Dakar. Despite pushing as much as I could I was still way off the pace today when I arrived at the refuelling point midway through the stage. At the end of the stage though I had managed to get back to within a few second of the leaders. I think their set-up of a light bike and motocross tyres helped them early in the day but then my desert tyres were more stable later on and helped me to get back in contention. My team know how hard I’m pushing out there because when I finished the stage my boots had nearly fallen apart. This is because I had my foot down through all the tight turns out there to maintain speed and traction. I know I just need to stay in touch with the leaders until we reach the desert stages because then I think I will be able to make my move and pass them. Unfortunately we don’t enter the desert until after another technical stage tomorrow. Cyril Despres
I kept up my push for the lead today. The stage went well so I’m still in touch with the leaders. It was the fastest stage of the rally so far and I think I could've won today if it wasn’t for a little bit of bad luck out there. During the special stage I reached a point of the course totally filled with cows. They were everywhere, at every turn. To avoid them I took a different route but I ended up getting lost so I had to turn around. I got myself back on track by riding to the place where I first saw the cows. The whole episode ended up costing me a bit of time. Seeing those cows out there reminded me of the surprise barbeque the organisers arranged for us at the camp the other night. The meat they served was incredible and I made sure I tasted everything they put on the fire. The barbeque made me even more determined to get cooking out on the course! I’m still impressed every single day by the other riders I’m up against here in Brazil. I think tomorrow is a great opportunity for me to get myself in the lead. These next two days are a marathon stage, which means none of the riders can have any work done to their bikes tomorrow night. I’m talking with the team about how we’re going to fix my bike to cope with the combined 700km. We’re now entering the second part of the Rally dos Sertões and I’m expecting to find a few more open spaces. We’re also going to have more sandy sections and this will be a big advantage to me on my desert bike. I’ve lost some precious time in the first four days over some very technical stages. It’s not been easy to keep pace with the leaders and every day small problems made my job even more difficult. I’m counting on this two-day marathon stage to put that right. Cyril Despres
This race is really starting to feel like a rally after all the distance we covered in the past two days. Things were made challenging because these last two days were one big marathon stage. This meant that last night we were unable to work on the bike. Luckily my KTM is a very solid and reliable machine so we were able to pass many kilometres without any serious problems. I took the decision to give it everything I had yesterday. Not far into the stage I managed to pass the group of guys who were in front of me. When we arrived to the camp in the middle of nowhere I was pleased to find out that I had not only won the stage but also taken the overall lead. We headed back out into the barren, nowhere land today and I got a problem with my navigation device after hitting a rock. I have an alternative navigation system but it’s in a lower position on the bike which makes it harder to see. When I reached the refuelling point halfway through the stage I decided to have a look at fixing the problem. It was a hectic 15 minutes because I also had to make sure I had some food and attach the second roadbook of the day to my handlebars. Carrying out the repairs cost me some time but it also helped me to arrive at the finish line safely. If experience has taught me anything it’s the importance of making sure you finish the day safely. We have already covered a lot of distance here in Brazil and I’m happy to say I haven’t even broken a fingernail! There was a big push from Felipe Zanol today and after racing for over five hours out there I eventually beat him on today’s stage by only a tenth of a second. Tonight my mechanic gets a chance to look at the bike so hopefully we can fix the problem with the navigation system. Also we crossed about 12 rivers out there so there’s plenty of cleaning to be done. We wanted a tough race to help us prepare for the Dakar and so far Brazil has not disappointed. Cyril Despres
More fun in the sun here in Brazil, the same as it has been every day since I got here. Yesterday there was just a hundredth of a second between second place Felipe Zanol and me. Today was another tight stage. It was not the most interesting stage I have ever been on in my life, the first part was just straight and fast. Afterwards was a little better though as we hit a sandy path in the middle of some lush vegetation. It got really twisty through that section, like a motocross slalom ride. Most of corners were banked up so it was fun to go through these turns with the bike very close to the ground. I managed to pick up another stage win but again Felipe [Zanol] was very close behind, only seven seconds today. I’m with Felipe pretty much every single minute of the day because not only are we riding out front on the stage but we are also sharing space in the camp. We’re eating together and even sharing the same showers! Felipe is a really cool guy and very fast as well. While I was in the city today I managed to pick up a present for my little girl’s first birthday. I went into a flip-flop shop and brought her a pair of size 20 Havaianas. They’re so small they look like something to put on your key ring. I just hope she doesn’t read my newsletter or it will spoil the surprise! Looking at the stage tomorrow I know that I can’t afford to make any mistakes because Felipe is giving everything out there. I’m lucky to be able to count on my bike and tyres. I would say that today’s stage win was not a victory for me but rather for KTM and Michelin. It was the bike and the tyres that were doing the hard work on today’s stage. For this race I’m using a new model of tyre, the Desert Michelin that will be on the market in time for next year’s Dakar. The race is now getting closer to the ocean and the bigger cities so we’re seeing more fans coming out to enjoy the race. You can feel the atmosphere of Brazil all along the course with music playing and people coming out to have fun. This is the type of cool atmosphere that I think is typical of the Brazilian style of living. Cyril Despres
I couldn’t wish to be in a better place right now. After arriving in Teresina we headed into a churesqueria, a typical kind of Brazilian restaurant, for a bite to eat. It feels good to get some cooked food after covering about 600km out there today. The timed special stage wasn’t actually that long today but afterwards we had over 300km of the liaison route to cover. During a long liaison like today I just disconnect from race mode and switch off for a while. This morning, I made sure I remembered to put my iPod in my jacket so I could put on a few tunes while I rode towards Teresina. It’s was good mix, a bit of Tracy Chapman, some Corsican music I’m into at the moment, David Guetta was in there and also a French singer called Zaz. Also on the liaison stage I get the chance to think about my bike and my set-up, thinking about any changes I’d like to make. I was thinking today that I’m going to have to do something about making my jacket lighter before heading off to the Australasian Safari next month. At other times, I like to think about my family and also take in some of the landscape around me. Obviously my mind is only on these other things during the liaison stage, during the timed part of the day there’s nothing else in my head apart from the race. Now the stage is over I’m with Felipe Zanol from Brazil Moto Tour who is still under two minutes behind me in the overall standings. Also at the dinner table is my KTM team-mate Joan Pedrero. On the stage we’re all fighting each other but after the day’s racing is done we’re all friends. One Frenchman, one Brazilian and one Spaniard altogether for dinner, it’s like a mix on the iPod! Again there was only a small gap between Zanol and myself, just seven seconds today. It’s really incredible that our times are always so close at the end of each day. I never had a race like this in my entire career. I was speaking with our KTM team manager Stefan Huber last night and he was also saying that it was just crazy that Felipe and my times are nearly the same everyday. I’m managing to get some distance between the third and fourth placed riders and myself but I just can’t shake off Felipe. Being involved in such a tight battle going into the last two days of the race has to help me with my preparations for the Dakar. During this race it has not been a matter of being worried about dropping a minute of time but rather trying to make every single second count. So far I’ve managed to avoid any big mistakes and I hope that things will carry on this way on the final two stages of this race. Cyril Despres
After an extremely close fought battle, over a particularly tough route, Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) won his second Rally Dos Sertoes ahead of Felipe Zanol and Dario Julio Souza. Cyril Despres It’s been a long time since I have been involved in such a close battle. I started the race off badly with a mistake on the prologue that saw me playing ‘catch up’ for the first part of the rally. Eventually however I found my ‘race pace’ and began to pull back on the leaders, which saw the last five days develop into a battle royal for a final victory. I started the final day knowing that the slightest mistake on my part would be fatal. Happily, in the end, everything worked out and I was able to take a second victory in Brazil. The result was a satisfaction on several levels. First of all I was really pleased with how my 450 KTM Rally performed. We’d made a number of changes to both the chassis and the engine that we wanted to test prior to the Dakar and everything we tried worked out well. I was also really impressed with how the team performed together. Conditions weren’t particularly easy, but there was a great good atmosphere and everybody pulled together to make the win possible. Finally I was pleased with how I felt on the bike and the fact that I was able to raise my game to chase down the win. A major part of rally-raid is going to different countries and being able to adapt quickly to different conditions and different adversaries, who obviously have a much greater knowledge of the terrain than you. You don’t always pull it off, but when you do, it is inevitably a major source of satisfaction. Now I am going on a short holiday with my family before returning to prepare for the Australian Safari in September. I don’t expect that race to be any easier. Once again, I have no doubt there will be some very tough terrain and some very quick ‘locals’. But once again I will give everything I have, plus a little bit more, to try and deprive them of a ‘home’ win. Rally dos Sertoes 2011 – overall results
|
