Defending Dakar Champion Ricky Brabec has won stage 7 of the 2021 the Dakar Rally while his HRC teammate, Nacho Cornejo, claimed the overall lead just one second ahead of Toby Price via second place on the stage.
Heading north from the rest day bivouac at Ha‰Ûªil, stage seven led riders to Sakaka. This first half of the event‰Ûªs marathon stage will see riders sleep in a temporary camp before continuing with the second leg on Monday, stage eight. Arriving at the bivouac, competitors are forbidden from receiving any outside mechanical assistance on their machines and must carry out maintenance and any needed repairs themselves. As such, bike preservation over the entire two-day challenge is extremely important.
It proved a favourable day for
Ricky Brabec, who came out determined to play his strongest hand in a bid to keep any end-of-rally options open. The American rider reached the finish-line, registering the best time of the day, to claim a second stage win so far in this Dakar. The current champion lies eighth in the overall standings, 14 minutes behind the race leader.
"Today I had a good day," Brabec said. "I didn‰Ûªt expect to win the stage but I‰Ûªll take it. I started catching Joan by refueling and he was like a 1 minute ahead. When I caught up, we opened the track together to the finish. I open the track tomorrow with my teammate Nacho who finished second today."
