The Cream Rises

It was a day that challenged the navigation skills of all the riders. Many made huge mistakes today and dropped time. The top of the board is starting to look like the usual suspects, with the exception of Sherco’s Alain Duclos who continues to shine. Yesterday’s stage winner Sam Sunderland dropped over two hours today. Laia Sanz had another solid day,climbing her way into the top 20 overall.

From Dakar.com – Joan Barreda set a new record today. He became the first Dakar rider to reach an altitude of 4,300 metres on a special stage. This unofficial honour gave him an unbeatable preview of the spectacular landscapes on offer at this height in the Andes Mountain range. Although a keen geographer, it is most certainly the sporting performance he accomplished today that will satisfy the Spanish Rider. Impressive throughout the 243 km of a special stage slightly shortened in order to avoid unstable terrain on the first part of the route, “Bang Bang” again made a big impact, picking up his second stage victory this year after having opened the way for the majority of the day. With a lead of 4’41” over Cyril Despres on arrival at the bivouac which marks the mid-way point in the marathon stage, Barreda opened a gap of 13’04 over the title holder. The Frenchman can consider himself to have enjoyed a good stage: 8th in the general standings this morning, he is now the closest pursuer of the race leader. This tough stage has thus revealed the best technicians in the discipline. The day’s leading trio, like the podium in the general standings, was completed by Spaniard Marc Coma, who is 52” behind Despres.

Behind them, Alain Duclos and Chaleco Lopez are still in with a shout, less than 20 minutes behind, but there will already be plenty of disillusioned riders, even before they tackle the evening on their own without assistance. The dream is over for Ruben Faria, who has dropped out of the Dakar after a fall, as well as for Frans Verhoeven, who injured his shoulder. The highest step on the podium will be inaccessible for Sam Sunderland and Juan Pedrero, who have still not yet finished at the time of writing. David Casteu can still hope for a place of honour, 22′ behind the race leader, as can Olivier Pain, who lies 36′ behind. It will however be very difficult for Helder Rodrigues, relegated to more than an hour of his team-mate Joan Barreda after just 3 stages!

Stage 3 Results

Overall Standings

Notable Withdrawals

ALESSANDRO BOTTURI (ITA)
PETER HARDY (USA)
PAL ANDERS ULLEVALSETER (NOR)