Friday's rest stage was vital in the first week of the Dakar 2025, where the riders experienced one of the toughest and most demanding editions to date, wreaking havoc on riders of all disciplines. While the participants were trying to rest and recover physically, the mechanics of the Rieju Pedregà Team worked hard to completely dismantle their bikes and get them ready for the second week of the race.
STAGE 6
The sixth stage would not be less and the participants had to cover up to 829 kilometers from Ha'il camp to Duwadimi, being the longest of the rally, 605 kilometers, with a first part through rocky areas and the second part with dunes and sand.
Despite staying 12 hours on the bike and arriving at the bivouac almost at night, Daniel Nosiglia was happy with his performance, as he felt very comfortable throughout the stage and without making big mistakes. He finished the stage in 20th place, maintaining the same position in the provisional general classification.
Less lucky was his teammate, Marc Calmet, who lost all his chances in the general classification, as with 70 kilometers to go before the end of the special, he lost his clutch. Calmet tried to repair it, but was unable to do so. Finally he contacted the organization to go to rescue him, but as they were saturated by the problems with several participants, they picked him up with a broom truck that was uploading more riders throughout the night and part of the next morning, this made Marc arrived at the camp 15 hours later, without sleep, very tired and with the logical nerves of knowing if he could reengancharse as Dakar Experience, which was his idea to try to reach the end of the Rally.
STAGE 7
Stage 7, Al Duwadimi - Al Duwadimi, with 412 km of special stage and 297 km of liaison, in a day that started with a little rain and with a less cold temperature. Under these conditions, Daniel Nosiglia felt very good again, which allowed him to get a high race pace, and without notable errors he managed to reach the finish line in 21st position, gaining a place in the provisional overall standings, being 19th. For his part, Marc Calmet was waiting to rejoin the race on stage 8.
Daniel Nosiglia:
“Stage seven completed, the truth is that I felt very good during the day, it was a very fast stage, with many tracks and little dune, a good day, I felt comfortable on the bike, I could finish 21st and move up in the overall, which is super important, we are 19th, let's go, there are five days left!”
Marc Calmet:
“Stage 6 was a very long day for me. I had a mechanical problem when I only had 70 kilometers to go, I ran out of clutch, I tried to fix it there, but I couldn't, from that moment I contacted the organization to come and pick me up to try to get to the assistance at the end of the stage, but they sent me a truck that was going slow and picking up other riders stopped with breakdowns or accidents. So we spent all night and arrived at 11 am, nothing to sleep, I was inside the truck 15 hours, like a mixer, luckily we are here in one piece. Tomorrow I will try to rejoin the race and I will try to continue, which is what I want and we will do everything possible. It's a pity because I can't aspire to anything in the standings, but finishing the Dakar is already important and even more so this year”.
STAGE 8
Hard setback for the Rieju Pedregà Team, during the dispute of stage 8, which led the caravan from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh, shortly after starting Daniel Nosiglia suffered a heavy fall; after the accident, the Bolivian rider was taken by helicopter to the medical center, although he has no serious injuries, he has injured his shoulder. A real pity as he was improving stage after stage and was currently 19th in the general standings in what was his seventh Dakar. For his part, Marc Calmet was able to rejoin the race today on the Dakar Experience.
Daniel Nosiglia:
“Well, here we are in stage 8, unfortunately with an abandonment. I had a fall at the beginning of the special, I was coming from the dust of the rider in front and I did not get to see a cut that was a little bit on the side of the road and I suffered a very hard fall, I was quite hurt in the shoulder, we are going to check obviously calmly to see what it is, but well, happy because it was a very hard fall and I do not have any serious injury, so well, that's how it is. It's very hard not to be here, you work very hard to achieve your goal and things don't always happen as you plan them. A special thanks to the whole team that has worked hard during these two weeks and also send a greeting to all the people who are always supporting”.
If you want to follow the course of the rally of the Rieju Pedregà Team riders, don't miss our content on Instagram, with live videos of Arnau “Willy Foxx”!
Photos by: @charlylopezph
