The mythical Dakar Rally in its 46th edition, aims to be the toughest that has been held to date in Saudi Arabia, starting today Friday from AlUla with the special prologue, a test that this time has been longer, with 27 kilometres timed and 130km of liaison, on a sandy terrain and some stone, which already required to be very attentive to the navigation.

 

The aim of the six riders is to fulfil one of the 101 dreams of their friend and twin brother Álex Llibre. Not satisfied with making their debut in the race, they want to overcome the demanding challenge and reach the finish line in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, on 19 January.

 

Now, and definitely entering the competition, the ALL1 riders supported by RIEJU, have all completed the prologue special stage well, with the clear idea of getting the pulse of the race and without taking unnecessary risks, have completed this first appetizer of the Dakar. 

 

In the classification of the special prologue, Josep Pedró finished in 34th position, with Pepe Martí in 73rd, Fernando Conde 76th, followed by Javier Amat in 78th place, Carlos Llibre 114th and Xavier Pes, all team members in 118th, thus overcoming the first test of fire of an adventure that is sure to be very intense.

 

Josep Pedró:

"Prologue finished, first stage, very happy, I felt very comfortable on the bike, the feeling was impeccable, now we know a little better the terrain here, it was a special stage between canyons on a 90% sandy terrain, with some hidden rocks, but without danger, but there were some rather complicated navigation points. I made a small mistake and lost 20 or 30 seconds, but I'm happy, I was able to keep my pace, I felt confident and here we are, looking forward to the Dakar".

 

Carlos Llibre:

"We have started, a few kilometres to dust off and start warming up, very calm, we have to play with zero risks, the theme is to go to get the feeling, with no pretensions of getting a good result, just to see the six riders at the end of each stage. It's been great, three things: no crashes, no WP jumped and we've had a lot of fun, so it's perfect".

 

From this moment on, the week is expected to be very intense, tomorrow they start with the first stage of the rally, as it has been announced, they will encounter the first difficulties, as well as in the 2nd and 3rd stage, although the most demanding will come with the Empy Quarter, covering 600km of dunes in two days, after all these intense days, the long awaited rest day in Riyadh awaits them.