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 | SA-Dakar Rally: Alain Duclos and Aprilia 17th - "Today was hard to overtake"
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A momentary calm after monday´s polemic concerning the time given back to Despres after he was trapped in the mud. Riders were back in the race with the 9th stage from Antofagasta to Iquique, the mining city of Northern Chile and also, the duty free. The special of 556 kilometers with a neutralized section of 126 km, finishing in the famous downhill with a 70% slope that seems like taking riders straight to the Pacific Ocean.
The stage victory was for Cyril Despres, who took the lead 2:28 minutes over Marc Coma from Spain. Aprilia´s Alain Duclos started 22nd this morning and arrived to Iquique in the 17th position. It was another step to Lima, Peru, where the Dakar will finish next January 15th.
"This morning I took a nice start, but after 20 km my bike stopped. I changed an electrical connection, but a bunch of riders passed me" reported Alain Duclos after the stage.
"It was hard to overtake them after words because of the dust cloud. I overtook Aubert and other riders and I had a good ride until the end, working hard in the last part, the off road section at the end. This stage helped me to acquire more experience for me and my Aprilia, and the idea is to arrive to the end with just one engine."
2012/01/10 | 21:06 CET | ARTICLE: MR/SY/BAUER
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