It was full speed ahead for the main favorites in the 9th stage special test of 361 km between Tidjikja and Atar. Isidre Esteve clinched his first win on this edition of the Telefonica Dakar 2005.
"I am glad to have won the stage", said the Spaniard. "But I‰Ûªm even more excited that I was able to gain a few minutes. I am now one of the top riders and I was hoping to accomplish that before the rest day. I didn‰Ûªt plan on being in the lead, but I didn‰Ûªt want to be too far away from it either."
Meanwhile Fabrizio Meoni took advantage of his late starting position to capture the overall lead.
After an extremely demanding stage 7 and the journey to Tidjikja yesterday (after stage 8 was cancelled), the road to Atar promised to be extremely fast. No camel grass, just a little navigation: in other words an excellent day for the KTM 660cc bikes and especially for the late starters among the favorites. And indeed, Fabrizio Meoni who took off in 8th spot this morning clinched the best time at the first check-point (CP) (km 101) but saw KTM Repsol leader Isidre Esteve show up to grab the virtual lead at the following check-points
As expected, leaving early wasn't a good option on the day. Esteve eventually clinched the win in a final time of 5h14' with a 1'29 lead on Meoni, 4'09 on Ullevalseter, 8'10 on Caldecott and 9'45 on Cox‰Û_ Meanwhile, David FrÌ©tignÌ© who took off first, Marc Coma second and Cyril Despres third, paid the price! Indeed the Yamaha biker had a 14'22 deficit on the day's winner at the finish line while Despres finished at 11'40 and Coma at 13'52.
These big gaps at the end of the special meant changes for the overall standings. Indeed, Fabrizio Meoni conquered the lead with a 2'55 advantage on Despres and 4'49 on Caldecott. Former rally leader Marc Coma moved down to fourth, 4'51 adrift. On the eve of rest day the top six bikers are all within 10', and that certainly promises a fascinating 'finale' to the event.
Andy Caldecott continues to do well, with his 4th place today and is in 3rd in the overall. Thus, he is ahead of several established KTM factory riders.
"It is a comfortable feeling to have arrived in Atar and to be healthy. Last year after this stage I had to pay the doctors a visit because my hand was broken. I‰Ûªm more than satisfied with this year‰Ûªs race. Everything runs well. Although I got to admit that it was incredible strenuous today. We had to navigate a lot and the sand in the last stretch was unbelievably soft."
Tomorrow‰Ûªs rest day is long expected from many. However ‰ÛÏrest day‰Û
