Relive #Dakar2002 with Annie Seel – Stage 9

Relive #Dakar2002 with Annie Seel 

STAGE 9, Loop: ATAR-ATAR (404 km)
Monday 7/1 2002

“It’s been a shit day”. 

Today’s special stage of 366 km started out good. Riding cautiously on very soft sand. Suddenly I did a real “face plant” hitting a rock hidden in the sand. Smashed the navigation tower and wind shield, so spent some time fixing it. 

Also hit both my thighs as I tumbled over the handle bars.

It felt so unfair and I lost a bit of confidence, riding even slower feeling unsure what next was hiding in the sand. The secret to riding in soft sand you red to keep up the momentum and surf on top, and going slower will only break the flow and make you struggle. 

So I struggled and completed the stage, hoping tomorrow was going to be better.

And most important, I was still in the race, which wasn’t the case of Swedish top biker P-G Lundmark who retired with a broken clutch. 

Now it’s “only” the remaining half of the rally to go…

 

STAGE 9, Loop: ATAR-ATAR
Monday 7/1 2002

Liaison : 33 km 
Special : 366 km 
Liaison : 5 km 
Total : 404 km