After yesterday's intense prologue, the Dakar 2022 kicked off the second day with a very tough first stage - called 1B - in which the competitors had to complete a total distance of 514 kilometres on a varied terrain: 63% sand, 10% dirt and 27% dunes.
The timed special stage was 333.18 km long, with a first liaison section of 59.90 km and a second of 121.30 km. It was a loop stage, the first of the edition, starting and finishing in Ha'il, with a very complicated navigation that caused problems for a large number of competitors.
Our riders have successfully completed this long mileage special. Daniel Nosigliafinished just outside the top 15, in a creditable 16th place, considering the large number of official riders in this category. The Bolivian is 38'12" behind provisional leader Daniel Sanders. In 36th place was Joan Pedrero, who had a better feeling on the sandcompared to yesterday and rode a very good stage until he lost a few minutes at kilometre 250.
Marc Calmet has experienced a situation similar to Pedrero's. The Rieju rider was riding at a good pace and with a very solid navigation until he got lost at km 168. Despite this moment, the balance is very positive because it has been a day of learning in which he finished in 59th place. Chilean Pato Cabrera is the rider who suffered the most with the navigation, which cost him a lot of time, but he was able to complete the special without crashing in 85th place.
Quotes from the riders:
Daniel Nosiglia #54: "It was a complicated stage. I had a bit of everything. After the refuelling I was able to get back into the pace and finish a good final stage".
Joan Pedrero #17: "I'm very happy because I had a good pace today. I felt good, with a good feeling on the bike. Unlike yesterday in the prologue, today I started with a different mentality and I felt comfortable in the sand. I got lost 50 kilometres from the end but I'm happy. It's a different Dakar. Every day things will happen and those are the moments when we have to take advantage of the opportunities".
Marc Calmet #108: "I was having a good stage but at km 168 I couldn't find the waypoint. There was a group of riders going around, even cars. I decided to push. I'm happy because I was navigating well and catching riders. I learnt a lot. It was a very hard stage1".
Pato Cabrero #50: "I'm not happy because I was lost for a long time, but we got there without any crash".
