tian will get better soon; it was
disheartening to see him lying on
the side of the road injured. My
thoughts are with him."
Consistency is the key with
any rally, but especially one as
long as the Dakar, and that's
exactly what Ricky Brabec has
shown thus far. Despite not
having won a stage as Cycle
News closed for publication for
this issue, Brabec's worst result
has been 13th on the Prologue.
Stage One saw the former Dakar
winner take second behind
Branch, fifth on Stage Two and
second again on Stage Three
to sit comfortably in third place
in the overall standings, 5:08
behind leader Branch.
"It was a long day, and I had
a couple of hiccups early on but
here we are at the end of day
three so I'm happy to be able to
start stage four," Brabec said.
"There's a long way to go, but we
will keep fighting."
Brabec's Honda teammate
Jose Ignacio "Nacho" Cornejo
has had a solid start to his cam
-
paign as he attempts to take his
first triumph in the rally. The Chil-
ean took the gold on Stage Two
and sits second overall in the
standings, 3:11 behind Branch.
Reigning Dakar champion Kevin
Benavides has begun his march
to the front after a slow start to
Dakar 2024, the Argentine taking
the Stage Three win to move to
sixth overall. However, his lack
-
luster start to the rally sees him
20:32 behind leader Branch, with
Red Bull KTM teammate Toby
Price one place back in seventh.
The Australian has not enjoyed the
best of starts to his Dakar Rally; a
pair of seventh-place finishes on
Stages Two and Three are his best
results thus far.
"I was stuck in the dust of an-
other rider for a fair few kilome-
ters but managed to get past him
in the sand and was able to make
Kevin Benavides has
taken some time to get
going, but the defending
Dakar Champion took the
win on Stage Three and
lies sixth overall.
Ricky Brabec has been
a model of consistency,
sitting third at time of
publishing.
VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P41
