After paying homage to Paulo Gonçalves, riders got back in the sand for stage 9 of Dakar 2020. Heading east for the second part of the special, they needed to cover a total distance of 886 km from Wadi Al Dawasir to Haradh tackling rocky terrain and passing immense cliffs. Of course, sand was predominant.
PABLO QUINTANILLA has had a sore wrist over the last few days but he still pushed hard in stage 9 and utilised his starting position to his full advantage. He put up a flawless performance throughout the stage and grasped his first stage victory since the start of Dakar 2020 and the fourth in his career on the Dakar. His total time was 03H 30′ 33”.
Following Pablo in the 2nd position was titleholder Toby Price. He also pushed to his limits and was in the attack mode in this stage. Consequently, he did manage to shorten the gap with Pablo and finished + 00H 01′ 54” behind him.
Acquiring the 3rd spot in stage 7 was JOAN BARREDA BORT from MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2020 with a time of 03H 33′ 15” and only + 00H 02′ 42” behind the leader.
ABDULLAH AL SHATTI secured the 41st position with a total time of 04H 14′ 43”.
For full results, click HERE.
Source – Dakar.com
