Marc Coma final stage report

"I'm proud of my performance in this complicated Dakar"

With five stage wins and a 6-hour, 22-minute penalty, Marc Coma has finished his eighth Dakar in an overall fifteenth place. He leaves behind over 9,000 kilometres ridden over 14 days of competition -almost 5,000 of them timed-, in a race marked by a polemic penalty on the rest day, which dashed all of the Spanish rider's hopes.

This year, Marc Coma has again proven that he is probably the fastest rider on the planet over any desert put in front of him, and overcoming the problems, penalties and polemic, he has finished a Dakar that, living up to its reputation, has once again been tough and demanding.

The 32nd edition of the Dakar has ended and that makes 8 for Marc Coma. Has it been one of the most difficult, especially on a psychological level?

"It has been a very tough Dakar. The conditions have been extremely adverse from the start, especially during the first week, as in the second, I managed to completely isolate myself from any unrelated issues and focus on riding. The truth is that with the help of the entire team, which supported me at all times, it has been easier, but of course it has been a very complicated race."

Keeping focused when everything is going against you, and continuing to set a fast pace in spite of everything, I suppose that requires a lot of mental preparation...

"Yes, that's perhaps what I'm most proud of. How we've overcome such a tense situation, in a race that is already extremely tough. The team has helped me a lot, and I'm proud of having kept my head clear, because when it comes down to it, it's not easy to apply what you have previously prepared."

-source: marc coma