The six members of the ALL1 Team, supported by RIEJU, who are competing in the Dakar Rally, started the competition in high spirits and excitement. After two years of preparation, now came the moment of truth, the pressure and nerves were at their peak. They really entered the competition with the prologue that would put them in their starting position for stage 1.
On Saturday 6th January the rally started with stage 1, here the race became very complicated, in fact it was one of the hardest stages to date, very long, with great difficulty in navigation, over very rocky terrain, where it was difficult to stand up and there were numerous falls. The team members said that they had never before experienced such a high level of technical riding difficulty, on a route that became very slow. Unfortunately, Fernando Conde, in a fall, injured his hand and after a visit to the doctor decided to abandon the race. Xavi Pes also sprained his ankle, but continued in the race.
In stage 2, a little less technical and demanding than the first, all the team members were out, except Conde who was returning to Barcelona for an operation. "It's hard when a team-mate has to drop out, but health comes first and we have a lot at stake here, and if this moment comes it should be as short as possible, what we all take with us is amazing, Conde is one of the driving forces behind these projects".
The rest of the riders were able to enjoy the dunes, and despite a slight fall and Xavi Pes suffering from his foot, they all arrived at the end of the stage more satisfied. "You get to km 180 and you are physically destroyed, with 200m high dunes and you are only half way through... it's a great experience, very hard, but we came here because we wanted to and with great enthusiasm".
They started stage 3, a marathon stage, where the mechanics could only work for 2 hours, and the riders had to sleep in tents in the middle of the desert. A very beautiful stage, with large and steep dunes, which they enjoyed surfing, keeping a good pace, although with about 20km to go to the finish line, the terrain changed and became very hard, with hidden traps, an area where falls were again the keynote and some of them escaped, fortunately without physical consequences. They managed to arrive a little earlier than planned to the assistance, commenting that the dunes and landscapes were brutal, speechless, very tired, but satisfied to have come this far, this would allow them to rest a little more. "You have to keep your mind on what's coming next, if you get distracted by other things, you have to be reactive and stay focused, it's very important".
At the end of the fourth stage, ALL1 has completed the 300-kilometre stage from Al-Hofuf to Al-Salamiya without any major problems. In the provisional general classification until the fourth stage, we highlight Josep Pedro Subirats in 44th position, Josep Martí 59th, Javier Amat 82nd, Carlos Llibre 104th and Xavi Pes 110th.
